SWK Tempest Rush Monk Skills and Runes

Active Skills
Tempest Rush Flurry Sweeping Wind Inner Storm 1 Blinding Flash Faith in the Light 2 Epiphany Desert Shroud 3 Mantra of Salvation Agility 4 Cyclone Strike Soothing Breeze
Passive Skills
Beacon of Ytar Harmony Seize the Initiative Relentless Assault

The build begins runs with an activation of Sweeping Wind, whose stacking mechanic dictates the Sunwuko damage and protection bonuses. Once the tornado is up, you will be Tempest Rushing constantly into enemies, watching the build up of the Flurry rune and trying to release a fully stacked (or close to) strike during the Cold Convention of Elements cycle. When the time comes to unleash the built-up Flurry, apply Blinding Flash on nearby enemies (ideally elites), which both cancels the channeling and explodes your built-up damage, and also nets you the damage bonuses of the worn Cesar's Memento; you will also gain a considerable damage buff from the Faith in the Light rune. Speaking of defenses, you will be popping Epiphany on cooldown for general protection, while the active component of Mantra of Salvation Agility will be used against damage spikes. The resource sustain in this generatorless build will come from the passive regen of Inner Storm and Epiphany.

The primary damage dealer and main focus of the build is Tempest Rush — the Monk's take on channeling attacks, allowing you to dive in and out of enemy packs in a whirling, destructive maelstrom. For Greater Rift progression, take the rune Flurry — its stacking mechanic (going up to the maximum 100 in a relatively short amount of time) can be timed with the Cold rotation of Convention of Elements to deliver massive burst. Make special note of its relatively small detonation though, and ensure that you are right on top of the enemy (ideally elite) before releasing hold of the Tempest Rush button.

Blinding Flash is one of the defense-focused utility skills in the Monk's arsenal, and its Blinding effect finds a fitting place in the crowd control-reliant Tempest Rush Monk (note the requirements of Cesar's Memento). With the addition of the Faith in the Light rune, you also gain another multiplier for your burst damage. Playstyle-wise, make sure to use this skill as a cancel for the channeling of a stacked Flurry.

Sweeping Wind is a vital inclusion whenever the Sunwuko set is concerned, since it reduces incoming damage while active (the 2-piece bonus) and its stacks buff the damage of your chosen spender (6-piece bonus). Crucial as it is to have on your bar, its damage can be completely ignored, and you can focus on utility with your rune choice — specifically by taking Inner Storm for the 8 Spirit per second.

Cyclone Strike will assume a rather passive role in the build, as it is simply taken to apply a rune to the constant passive Cyclone Strikes as you channel Tempest Rush, coming from the equipped Won Khim Lau. The rune Soothing Breeze will assist with the life sustain of the build; note its synergy with Health Globe bonuses in the Secondary stats of your gear, and synergize if possible (see this build's gear page for more information). A notable alternative for this slot for high end GR pushing is Serenity; one of the most potent defensive skills in the Monkarsenal, allowing you a brief window of invulnerability on a reasonable 16 second base cooldown. Note that the downtime begins after the active effect expires, preventing permanent uptime exploitation. Thus, take the longer lasting Ascension rune to maximize its effect.

Mantra of Salvation offers a general increase to all resistances (yours, and allies' in your vicinity) by 20%, as well as an active component that increases resistances by another 20% for a short, 3-second burst. Coupled with the Agility rune and its dodge chance boost, it makes for the best defensive Mantra for the class.

Epiphany is an almost universal addition to Monk builds, since its default crowd control immunity, Spirit regeneration bonus (20/second) and mobility enhancement (dashing you to nearby targets of your choice) are joined by the massive 50% damage reduction bonus of the Desert Shroud rune for an irresistible package.

Cooldown reduction is in high demand for this build, as you will be trying to get back into the CC-safety of Epiphany as soon as possible. To that end, Beacon of Ytar becomes an automatic inclusion.

Harmony fuels your All Resistance with 40% of the single elemental resistance per piece of gear (e.g. 100 Fire Resistance roll on the boots will add 100 to your sheet Fire Resistance and add 40 to your other resists). A well geared Monk will usually sport secondary resistances in all the gear slots that are able to roll them, adding significantly to his overall Toughness.

Seize the Initiative is one of the best damage-oriented passives at the disposal of Monks, providing you with a temporary attack speed increase when engaging enemies over 75% health. As you get more comfortable with the build, you will learn to kite into and pull additional enemies or freshly spawned boss adds to effectively extend the benefits from Seize the Initiative.

Your final passive slot is a little more flexible, with multiple good options vying for the spot. Our general recommendation is to get a damage boost in the form of Relentless Assault (synergizing with the CC-focus of this build), or invest in additional survivability with The Guardian's Path, which will provide a significant 35% extra dodge chance in this dual-wielding build.