Windwalker Guidance

Classes Monk
1

So, I currently main a Havoc DH and I am really enjoying the spec from a mechanical standpoint, but there’s sort of a disconnect that I feel with it thematically. I guess I enjoy a lot of what DH has to offer (mobility, utility, flexibility, strong AoE etc.) but I don’t like the fantasy of them

Now it seemed to me that WW Monks share a bit of those strengths that I enjoy. However, there’s one glaring concern I have…

Touch of Karma :fearful:

Apparently a good deal of WW’s damage is currently tied to ToK. How does that feel? It seems like it would be awkward and unintuitive. How do you make proper use of it? Just intentionally stand in bad? Is this something that just feels clunky, or do you get the hang of it?

Also I’d like to try and push M+ as much as I can (I don’t raid or take part in rated PvP, so M+ will essentially be my endgame), how does WW feel there?

Appreciate any help I can get :blush:

2

Many WW Monk players also play HDH, including myself. They are 2 of my favorite specs in the game.

In my humble opinion, WW Monk is the most fun melee to play. It is weak overall in terms of raw numbers compared to Havoc, due to eyebeam. Also, DH has more utility than WW.

Youre probably wondering why the heck anyone would play WW then right? Well, theres multiple reasons. First off, we add an auto 5% damage from physical right off the bat to the entire party, which is huge. 2nd, we are mobile. We are faster on foot than DH, except we dont have gliding but you quickly get over that being able to roll and flying kick everywhere.

Touch of Karma is actually awesome. It will feel awkward at first, but its great because it will save your life when you are getting focused on. On the flip side, in a good group, yes, stand in bad or take a few hits. Theres so many different ways to use it and im tired so I wont give you the best examples. in an organized group I taunt, get hit and then tank taunts back, but you REALLY dont need to do this.

Monk has an extremely fluid feeling to it. They are slowly taking our damage away from ToK and (hopefully) bringing it more in line with what monk was before BfA. If you played Monk at the end of Legion with top tier gear, it was the ultimate melee. It ripped everything apart, single target and aoe. It still has the potential to get there, Blizz just kind of… I dont want to say gutted, but moved things around to give Havoc a chance.

With that said, the best thing about WW is that its pretty strong, damn fast, and you have access to playing one of the most desired healing and tanking classes whenever. I know that sounds like a cop out, but really no other class has S tier tank AND S tier healer, and I would honestly put WW at B rank for now, and im POSITIVE as the expansion goes ou WW will move up to A or S.

WW is very good in mythic+. Mythic is dominated by DH and Rogue due to their AOE, but WW is still a damn good mythic class. WW is usually right in the middle of the pack for usage in Mythic, sometimes lower sometimes higher. We have the required AOE to be competitive with other classes 100%, but rogue and DH utility just make them first round pick.

Compared to them though, EVERY melee is lacking in the utility department.

all in all though, if you enjoy havoc, and you enjoy WW play both like I do. They are my 2 mains for BFA (though im an altaholic) and I love them both equal

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3

also I want to add -

playing both DH and Monk, while fun, is also interesting.

You will see how ultimately effective DH is, and how complex and fun monk is. very awesome

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4

What the guy above means is how effective DH is with distinctively less effort compared to WW.

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5

I main both as well and yes, I agree 100%. Havoc and WW are both extremely fun to play. I prefer WW monk just because I love the rotation. Havoc can get a little repetitive but eye beam is always a ton of fun to use on those big pulls. As a WW monk if you have the correct Azerite traits and use CDs effectively you have some very competitive AOE dps and I top charts on AOE pulls pretty regularly. The main difference in havoc and WIndwalker AOE is that havoc can do basically the same as WW but without the CDs. Luckily, windwalker has great cooldoowns. I would say both specs are in a great place at the moment but wouldn’t mind a slight buff to WW because they can struggle on some fights.

TL;DR
Havoc and WW are both fun. WW has harder but more fun and rewarding rotation. Havoc probably has more consistent AOE and is much easier to play effectively.

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6

WW is one the specs that still seems involved and fun to play with the ability squish. Still have more than like 2 buttons to hit and with the mastery it is nice to not just sit there and spam one thing. For whatever reason azerite seems more engaging on WW versus other classes I play (lock and mage mainly); like it seems like certain traits have a noticeable affect on playstyle where as with other classes I forget they are there (for the most part not 100%).

Brewmaster is also good and super fun. DHs are a crutch.

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7

This exactly what I meant I was extremely tired while typing sorry lol

8

Thanks for the input peeps :kissing_closed_eyes:

I think I’ll start working on leveling a Monk. For now I’ll stick with DH as I get accustomed to pushing higher keys. Then once I feel more comfortable with it I’ll see about giving WW a good try!

It’s good to know that there’s another option out there that’s somewhat similar to Havoc but with a bit more complexity

9

I gave up on my WW after I hit about 1k IO and couldn’t get into PUGs anymore. I was having a blast, but when I tried getting into 11s and up to push my score higher, everyone was like “screw off, you’re not a rogue or DH.”

So, now I’m a rogue. And yes, getting groups is easier. I also do more damage.

But, I have to say, I think I enjoyed WW more than Outlaw rogue. Not sure about the other rogue specs, but WW was very fun to play for me. “Fluid” is a good way to describe it. There’s no spamming. You don’t want to be repeating your moves twice in a row, as mastery for WW adds a huge chunk of damage to your next ability, provided it’s not a repeat of the last one.

Also, orbs. Explosive orbs. My GOD those are infinitely easier to deal with as a rogue. Nothing was worse than being in the middle of a FoF channel or up in the air from a WDP when you needed to be off whacking an orb.

So, overall, WW is a ton of fun, but not especially desirable in really high keys. Not enough utility or damage compared to DH or rogue.

The 5% physical damage buff is from any monk in the party too, so if you’ve got one tanking or healing, you’re not adding that to the group.

10

this is the problem and youre not wrong.

WW is in a very good spot, but mythic is currently designed for rogue.

I can, and would argue that WW can compete with DH in terms of damage but not the ridiculous utility DH brings.
With that said, WW has more utility than most melee, but dh and rogue are just… whats desired right now