WoW Windwalker Monk Abilities 101
A Windwalker is 'A martial artist without peer who pummels foes with hands and fists.
' There isn't a single word there I don't love.
With that in mind, I'm going to give a rundown of a Windwalker monk's abilities and their uses.
First, a Windwalker uses energy like Rogues and Feral Druids: many of the monk's abilities draw from a pool of 100 energy, which regens over time (and can be increased by haste).
In addition, the Windwalker uses chi, which is different from combo points generated by Rogues and Feral Druids.
Where CPs are fixed on the monk's target, chi stays with the monk even as he/she switches targets.
This makes chi similar to a Paladin's holy power.
So, here are some of the better abilities: Tiger Strikes (Level 1) - A passive ability where every auto-attack has a 10% chance of increasing your attack speed by 50% and makes your next 4 attacks hit twice.
This looks nicer with dual wielding, although you do get a nice haste boost when you wield two-handers.
Stance of the Fierce Tiger (Level 1) - Increases all damage by 20% and allows you to generate 2 chi each time you jab and expel harm.
This is a no-brainer.
It should be on at all times for a Windwalker.
Jab (Level 1) - This is your standard chi generator for all specs, but talented and in the right stance (see above) this is a great go-to move for Windwalkers since it will generate 2 chi most of the time and 3 chi once every 20 seconds.
I can already see a quick starting combo of Jab (+3 Chi) - Tiger Palm (-1 chi) - Jab (+2 chi) as a good opener leaving you with chi to play with as the situation dictates.
Tiger Palm (Level 3) - A damaging attack that allows you to ignore 5% of your targets armor for 15 seconds, and it stacks 3 times.
Perhaps on a longer fight you might go: Jab - Tiger Palm - Jab - Tiger Palm - Tiger Palm - Jab then be left with 4 chi to use against a weakened foe.
This might be good for a PVE opener though.
PVP is a bit more hectic.
Blackout Kick (Level 7) - A heavier damage 2 chi attack that you could use twice after the above combo in a single target fight.
Fists of Fury (Level 10) - A 4-second channel that stuns and hits multiple foes in front of you once a second.
It costs 3 chi, but looks very nice for AOE.
It does have a 25 second cooldown, so it would be very nice to use early against multiple mobs.
In such a fight you could probably ignore Tiger Palm since it's single target and just go Jab (+3 chi) -Fists of Fury (-3 chi) as your opener.
It says it spreads the hits (likely 4) over your foes, so if there's only one and it's a short fight with no need for debuffing then this would be good for that too.
It could be nice in PVP, but since it's channeled it's open to interrupts.
Also, it looks very cool.
Flying Serpent Kick (Level 18) - The first use of this sends you flying forward and the second drops you down for a nice area hit and 70% 4-second movement speed slow on anyone hit.
It has a 25-second cooldown and apparently no chi cost or generation, so this looks like it could be a nice opener from a distance on a cluster of mobs or players.
You could then move in the Fists of Fury combo above.
I would think it has an energy cost, but right now that is unknown.
Otherwise, a nice looking attack.
Touch of Death (Level 22) - This is a 3 chi attack on a 90 second cooldown that will instantly kill an on-level or lower enemy, but it doesn't work on players.
This is almost certainly going to be used in PVE every time it's up.
I will always refer to it as the Five Finger Death Punch.
Touch of Karma (Level 22) - This is a 2 chi ability on a 90-second cooldown that reverses all damage you take for 6 seconds to your target within melee range.
This looks excellent in both PVE and PVP.
In PVP you can reverse a meleer bursting his cooldowns on you, or just on a mob attacking you if you have the spare chi.
I can see this being used early in a fight if it's up, perhaps in a combo like this Jab (+3 chi) - Touch of Karma (-2 chi) - Jab (+2 chi) - Fists of Fury (-3 chi).
There's some nice sustained, early damage there.
Fortifying Brew (Level 24) - Adds 20% to your health and reduces damage by 20% for 20 seconds.
This is on a 3-minute cooldown and seems like a standard defensive cooldown for all three specs.
Expel Harm (Level 26) - This heals you and hurts the target opponent for 108% of the heal.
It also generates 1 chi (2 with Stance of the Fierce Tiger) The tooltip says it uses mana so this could be Mistweaver only, but this could be an error and actually use energy.
This is nice, but I'm not sure if a Windwalker can use it.
Afterlife (Level 26) - This is a passive ability that means when you kill someone or something you get a healing sphere that heals you for 15% of your health.
Also, if you kill with a Blackout Kick you have a 50% chance to generate a chi sphere.
This looks very nice for PVE since it helps with both healing and chi generation in multi-mob fights.
It also has limited use in BGs where there are multiple players fighting each other.
Disable (Level 28) - This is a 50% movement speed slow that refreshes if the target remains within 10 yards.
If you use it twice on the same target it becomes an 8 second root.
It costs what I assume is 15 energy and looks to have great synergy with Roll.
You could snare a target then keep within range with rolls and beat on them continuously.
It looks very nice in PVP excepting occasions when you get stunned or snared yourself, and even then it's better than the average snare.
Spear Hand Strike (Level 32) - This is a 5-second interrupt that locks the target out of one school of abilities or spells for 5 seconds.
If they're facing you, the lockout is all schools.
It costs 30 energy and looks to be your standard interrupt.
It is on a 25-second cooldown though.
Energizing Brew ( Level 34) - This restores 60 energy over six seconds and is useable once a minute.
I can easily see this being macroed into a high energy cost attack, but if not it's still very nice to maintain sustained DPS in longer fights.
Sparring (Level 40) - Another passive ability where for 10 seconds every 30 seconds you get a 5% increase to your parry chance that stacks 3 times when you attack back.
This is triggered when you're attacked in melee from the front.
Paralysis (Level 44) - This is a 30 second CC on a 15-second cooldown.
It doubles in length if the target is facing you, but can only be on one target at a time.
It says it costs mana right now, but this could easily be an energy ability as well, so it would be open to Windwalkers.
This has nice application in both PVE and PVP (arenas for the most part).
Ascension (Level 45) - This increases your dodge by 1% when you're disarmed.
Since it's passive, there's nothing else to say.
Spinning Crane Kick (Level 46) - This is a nice AOE attack that hits all foes within 10 yards once a second for 3 seconds.
It generates 1 chi which is nice, but it's channeled and costs 40 energy, so my feeling is it's best for PVE.
Although in BGs I'm sure it has some nice uses.
You can move once it's triggered at 70% speed too.
It has nice synergy with the L90 talent Rushing Jade Wind.
Spinning Fire Blossom ( Level 48) - This is a damaging spell that looks untargeted, but will cause damage to the first enemiy it hits within 50 yards.
If it travels more than 10 yards it does 50% more damage and roots the target for 2 seconds.
As a 1 chi, instant cast this looks like a good single attack.
The chi cost means it won't make a good opener unless you've just killed something or have the talent that refills chi.
It's much better at range than close up, but close up there are better things to do with your chi.
Crackling Jade Lightning (Level 54) - This could very well be a mana only ability but for now I will assume it's not.
This is a magic damage 6 second DoT that has a 15% chance to generate 1 chi.
It's channeled, but will knockback anyone that hits you while you're casting.
The knockback has an 8 second cooldown.
This seems more of a Mistweaver ability and looks better in PVE.
For a Windwalker there are probably better things to do with your time, even auto-attacking.
Rising Sun Kick (Level 56) - This is a decent damaging kick on an 8 second cooldown that costs 2 chi.
It also reduces the amount your target is healed by for 10 seconds and causes all foes within 8 yards to take 10% extra damage for 15 second.
Depending on the damage this could be a nice use of your chi when it's up and looks even better against groups of mobs or players.
I could see this being used early as you jump into a big fight.
Tigereye Brew (Level 56 - 60) - For every 4 chi you use you get a stack of this (up to 10 stacks total) which can then be burned of for 2% extra damage per stack at L60.
How long this boost lasts is unknown yet, but since you're always using chi this is going to get used a lot, even if it is on the global cooldown.
Also the difference in level makes little sense, they should either both be 56 or 60.
There's no point in generating the stacks when you can't use them.
Path of Blossoms (Level 64) - I'm not certain this is useable by Windwalkers, but in any case, it produces 1 blossom a second for 3 seconds than cause damage when stepped on.
Nice for when you're being chased in PVP or kiting a mob in PVE.
Grapple Weapon (Level 68) - This is a 40 yard disarm that takes both weapons or a weapon and shield.
If the weapon or shield is better than yours, you get 5% increased damage or mitigation for the 10 seconds of the disarm.
It's an instant cast with no chi costs and a 1 minute cooldown so I think this makes a great opener in all situations if it's not on cooldown.
Just disarm at range then rush them with a Roll or Flying Serpent Kick.
Follow with Jab (+3 chi) then a Fists of Fury (-3 chi) to damage and stun.
There are some nice possibilities here.
Combo Breaker (Level 80) - This is the Windwalker's mastery and gives an increasing chance to make your Jabs cause your next Tiger Palm cost no chi, and the same chance to make your Blackout Kick cost no chi.
This looks nice for increasing sustained DPS in all situations.
Of course, its usefulness diminishes in fights where you don't need Tiger Palm.
Legacy of the White Tiger (Level 81) - This gives you group or raid party a decent increase in their mastery rating.
There's no length specified so I will assume this buff lasts until you turn it off.
In conclusion, I really like what I'm seeing here and it looks as though a Windwalker will be capable of some pretty nice DPS in both single target and multi-target fights, PVE and PVP.
I like the mechanic of channeled melee abilities which is new to me and it will be interesting to see how they fare.
' There isn't a single word there I don't love.
With that in mind, I'm going to give a rundown of a Windwalker monk's abilities and their uses.
First, a Windwalker uses energy like Rogues and Feral Druids: many of the monk's abilities draw from a pool of 100 energy, which regens over time (and can be increased by haste).
In addition, the Windwalker uses chi, which is different from combo points generated by Rogues and Feral Druids.
Where CPs are fixed on the monk's target, chi stays with the monk even as he/she switches targets.
This makes chi similar to a Paladin's holy power.
So, here are some of the better abilities: Tiger Strikes (Level 1) - A passive ability where every auto-attack has a 10% chance of increasing your attack speed by 50% and makes your next 4 attacks hit twice.
This looks nicer with dual wielding, although you do get a nice haste boost when you wield two-handers.
Stance of the Fierce Tiger (Level 1) - Increases all damage by 20% and allows you to generate 2 chi each time you jab and expel harm.
This is a no-brainer.
It should be on at all times for a Windwalker.
Jab (Level 1) - This is your standard chi generator for all specs, but talented and in the right stance (see above) this is a great go-to move for Windwalkers since it will generate 2 chi most of the time and 3 chi once every 20 seconds.
I can already see a quick starting combo of Jab (+3 Chi) - Tiger Palm (-1 chi) - Jab (+2 chi) as a good opener leaving you with chi to play with as the situation dictates.
Tiger Palm (Level 3) - A damaging attack that allows you to ignore 5% of your targets armor for 15 seconds, and it stacks 3 times.
Perhaps on a longer fight you might go: Jab - Tiger Palm - Jab - Tiger Palm - Tiger Palm - Jab then be left with 4 chi to use against a weakened foe.
This might be good for a PVE opener though.
PVP is a bit more hectic.
Blackout Kick (Level 7) - A heavier damage 2 chi attack that you could use twice after the above combo in a single target fight.
Fists of Fury (Level 10) - A 4-second channel that stuns and hits multiple foes in front of you once a second.
It costs 3 chi, but looks very nice for AOE.
It does have a 25 second cooldown, so it would be very nice to use early against multiple mobs.
In such a fight you could probably ignore Tiger Palm since it's single target and just go Jab (+3 chi) -Fists of Fury (-3 chi) as your opener.
It says it spreads the hits (likely 4) over your foes, so if there's only one and it's a short fight with no need for debuffing then this would be good for that too.
It could be nice in PVP, but since it's channeled it's open to interrupts.
Also, it looks very cool.
Flying Serpent Kick (Level 18) - The first use of this sends you flying forward and the second drops you down for a nice area hit and 70% 4-second movement speed slow on anyone hit.
It has a 25-second cooldown and apparently no chi cost or generation, so this looks like it could be a nice opener from a distance on a cluster of mobs or players.
You could then move in the Fists of Fury combo above.
I would think it has an energy cost, but right now that is unknown.
Otherwise, a nice looking attack.
Touch of Death (Level 22) - This is a 3 chi attack on a 90 second cooldown that will instantly kill an on-level or lower enemy, but it doesn't work on players.
This is almost certainly going to be used in PVE every time it's up.
I will always refer to it as the Five Finger Death Punch.
Touch of Karma (Level 22) - This is a 2 chi ability on a 90-second cooldown that reverses all damage you take for 6 seconds to your target within melee range.
This looks excellent in both PVE and PVP.
In PVP you can reverse a meleer bursting his cooldowns on you, or just on a mob attacking you if you have the spare chi.
I can see this being used early in a fight if it's up, perhaps in a combo like this Jab (+3 chi) - Touch of Karma (-2 chi) - Jab (+2 chi) - Fists of Fury (-3 chi).
There's some nice sustained, early damage there.
Fortifying Brew (Level 24) - Adds 20% to your health and reduces damage by 20% for 20 seconds.
This is on a 3-minute cooldown and seems like a standard defensive cooldown for all three specs.
Expel Harm (Level 26) - This heals you and hurts the target opponent for 108% of the heal.
It also generates 1 chi (2 with Stance of the Fierce Tiger) The tooltip says it uses mana so this could be Mistweaver only, but this could be an error and actually use energy.
This is nice, but I'm not sure if a Windwalker can use it.
Afterlife (Level 26) - This is a passive ability that means when you kill someone or something you get a healing sphere that heals you for 15% of your health.
Also, if you kill with a Blackout Kick you have a 50% chance to generate a chi sphere.
This looks very nice for PVE since it helps with both healing and chi generation in multi-mob fights.
It also has limited use in BGs where there are multiple players fighting each other.
Disable (Level 28) - This is a 50% movement speed slow that refreshes if the target remains within 10 yards.
If you use it twice on the same target it becomes an 8 second root.
It costs what I assume is 15 energy and looks to have great synergy with Roll.
You could snare a target then keep within range with rolls and beat on them continuously.
It looks very nice in PVP excepting occasions when you get stunned or snared yourself, and even then it's better than the average snare.
Spear Hand Strike (Level 32) - This is a 5-second interrupt that locks the target out of one school of abilities or spells for 5 seconds.
If they're facing you, the lockout is all schools.
It costs 30 energy and looks to be your standard interrupt.
It is on a 25-second cooldown though.
Energizing Brew ( Level 34) - This restores 60 energy over six seconds and is useable once a minute.
I can easily see this being macroed into a high energy cost attack, but if not it's still very nice to maintain sustained DPS in longer fights.
Sparring (Level 40) - Another passive ability where for 10 seconds every 30 seconds you get a 5% increase to your parry chance that stacks 3 times when you attack back.
This is triggered when you're attacked in melee from the front.
Paralysis (Level 44) - This is a 30 second CC on a 15-second cooldown.
It doubles in length if the target is facing you, but can only be on one target at a time.
It says it costs mana right now, but this could easily be an energy ability as well, so it would be open to Windwalkers.
This has nice application in both PVE and PVP (arenas for the most part).
Ascension (Level 45) - This increases your dodge by 1% when you're disarmed.
Since it's passive, there's nothing else to say.
Spinning Crane Kick (Level 46) - This is a nice AOE attack that hits all foes within 10 yards once a second for 3 seconds.
It generates 1 chi which is nice, but it's channeled and costs 40 energy, so my feeling is it's best for PVE.
Although in BGs I'm sure it has some nice uses.
You can move once it's triggered at 70% speed too.
It has nice synergy with the L90 talent Rushing Jade Wind.
Spinning Fire Blossom ( Level 48) - This is a damaging spell that looks untargeted, but will cause damage to the first enemiy it hits within 50 yards.
If it travels more than 10 yards it does 50% more damage and roots the target for 2 seconds.
As a 1 chi, instant cast this looks like a good single attack.
The chi cost means it won't make a good opener unless you've just killed something or have the talent that refills chi.
It's much better at range than close up, but close up there are better things to do with your chi.
Crackling Jade Lightning (Level 54) - This could very well be a mana only ability but for now I will assume it's not.
This is a magic damage 6 second DoT that has a 15% chance to generate 1 chi.
It's channeled, but will knockback anyone that hits you while you're casting.
The knockback has an 8 second cooldown.
This seems more of a Mistweaver ability and looks better in PVE.
For a Windwalker there are probably better things to do with your time, even auto-attacking.
Rising Sun Kick (Level 56) - This is a decent damaging kick on an 8 second cooldown that costs 2 chi.
It also reduces the amount your target is healed by for 10 seconds and causes all foes within 8 yards to take 10% extra damage for 15 second.
Depending on the damage this could be a nice use of your chi when it's up and looks even better against groups of mobs or players.
I could see this being used early as you jump into a big fight.
Tigereye Brew (Level 56 - 60) - For every 4 chi you use you get a stack of this (up to 10 stacks total) which can then be burned of for 2% extra damage per stack at L60.
How long this boost lasts is unknown yet, but since you're always using chi this is going to get used a lot, even if it is on the global cooldown.
Also the difference in level makes little sense, they should either both be 56 or 60.
There's no point in generating the stacks when you can't use them.
Path of Blossoms (Level 64) - I'm not certain this is useable by Windwalkers, but in any case, it produces 1 blossom a second for 3 seconds than cause damage when stepped on.
Nice for when you're being chased in PVP or kiting a mob in PVE.
Grapple Weapon (Level 68) - This is a 40 yard disarm that takes both weapons or a weapon and shield.
If the weapon or shield is better than yours, you get 5% increased damage or mitigation for the 10 seconds of the disarm.
It's an instant cast with no chi costs and a 1 minute cooldown so I think this makes a great opener in all situations if it's not on cooldown.
Just disarm at range then rush them with a Roll or Flying Serpent Kick.
Follow with Jab (+3 chi) then a Fists of Fury (-3 chi) to damage and stun.
There are some nice possibilities here.
Combo Breaker (Level 80) - This is the Windwalker's mastery and gives an increasing chance to make your Jabs cause your next Tiger Palm cost no chi, and the same chance to make your Blackout Kick cost no chi.
This looks nice for increasing sustained DPS in all situations.
Of course, its usefulness diminishes in fights where you don't need Tiger Palm.
Legacy of the White Tiger (Level 81) - This gives you group or raid party a decent increase in their mastery rating.
There's no length specified so I will assume this buff lasts until you turn it off.
In conclusion, I really like what I'm seeing here and it looks as though a Windwalker will be capable of some pretty nice DPS in both single target and multi-target fights, PVE and PVP.
I like the mechanic of channeled melee abilities which is new to me and it will be interesting to see how they fare.
