Brewmaster Monk Tank Spec, Builds, and Talents — The War Within (11.0.5)

While optimizing talents on a contextual basis is the highly recommended method of setting up your build, the talent tree listed below will work well for general purposes such as Delves, world content, and entry-level dungeons and raids. It is still highly recommended to switch to a more specialized build if engaging in something specific.

When making use of this build in Delves in particular, it is recommended to take advantage of the Shado-Pan Hero Talents due to their additional buff to your Vivify ability through Protect and Serve, which should be used with Vivacious Vivification procs for reliable self-sufficiency. You may still use Master of Harmony talents instead, of course!

Remember that you can easily import the talent tree below into the game with the "Export Talents" button:

The following build is focused on your performance within raid encounters. As such, it does not opt into utility that is rarely seen within a raid or can be covered by another player instead. However, it also chooses to use a point of High Tolerance and Anvil & Stave for defense. If this is not necessary and you wish to push your damage even further, drop one in favor of Face Palm.

As for Hero Talents, the Master of Harmony tree's extra bonuses to Celestial Brew and Purifying Brew are an excellent complement to a defensive playstyle, offering some extra control over your survival and rewarding you with more vitality from the higher damage intake of a raid.

Remember that you can easily import the talent tree below into the game with the "Export Talents" button:

Once you are appropriately comfortable with your playstyle as a Brewmaster Monk, consider switching to this set of talents to fully maximize your single-target damage potential. Be aware that it will require you to make use of Blackout Combo, Scalding Brew, Charred Passions, and Black Ox Brew in particular. As this build is still focused primarily on raiding, it will similarly not have all of your available utility selected. In fact, you may end up dropping further options, such as Peace and Prosperity, in favor of easier Touch of Death usage with Improved Touch of Death. If this build's choices seem too daunting, you can even opt for somewhere in between it and our Default raiding talents, keeping Bob and Weave and Dragonfire Brew.

For Hero Talents, the Shado-Pan tree acts as a clear winner once you are optimizing purely for single-target damage due to its greater synergy with Tiger Palm's and Keg Smash's many damage buffs. However, its defensive potential is often a little lower in a raid environment where dodging may not be as consistent, and you have little need to use Vivacious Vivification. If you are in need of on-demand bonus AoE damage, then Master of Harmony may still prove useful, though its single-target potential will be a bit lower.

Remember that you can easily import the talent tree below into the game with the "Export Talents" button:

Dungeons feature a lot more talent flexibility due to the variety of scenarios you will encounter, such as whether or not you need an extra defensive cooldown in the form of Dampen Harm compared to the passive Dodge of Dance of the Wind, or if you want to opt for a more passive experience with Dragonfire Brew.

Although this build features the Shado-Pan Hero Talents, you can easily switch to Master of Harmony instead. However, its single-target damage output will be a bit lower by comparison in exchange for stronger Purifying Brew casts and a second charge of Celestial Brew. Fortunately, Shado-Pan's Predictive Training is noticeably potent in AoE tanking, and Protect and Serve pairs nicely with Vivacious Vivification for additional self-healing.

Remember that you can easily import the talent tree below into the game with the "Export Talents" button:

As you grow more comfortable playing a Brewmaster Monk in Mythic+, this build can be switched to for a large gain in your damage output and only a small sacrifice to your defenses. Like the advanced raiding build, this is done with the help of Blackout Combo, Scalding Brew, and the Monk Brewmaster Season 1 4pc bonus, though you will still be punished if unable to reliably hit Blackout Kick on cooldown. Much of the talent flexibility from the standard Mythic+ build for defense and utility still applies, however. Make sure you are still willing to switch to Dampen Harm as needed, for example!

When you are using this build, your playstyle will also change slightly. With these talents, you will be consuming all of your Blackout Combo buffs on empowering Tiger Palm. This damage bonus is strong enough that you will not be casting Spinning Crane Kick outside of massive pulls! In addition, due to talenting Scalding Brew rather than Sal'salabim's Strength, you are unable to maintain the DoT effect of Breath of Fire without the help of Charred Passions. Fortunately, in smaller pulls, you can take advantage of Shadowboxing Treads's cleaving effect on Blackout Kick to keep the DoT active. With all of these changes combined, you will still maintain an active rotation with minimal downtime and achieve the greatest damage output possible from a Brewmaster.

As a final note, this build is meant to be played with the Shado-Pan Hero Talents. While there is nothing preventing you from trying its alternate playstyle with Master of Harmony, much of its additional damage is tied to passive effects found in the Shado-Pan tree. Playing without it will largely defeat the purpose of talenting Scalding Brew in the first place, though the other talents such as Blackout Combo are still potent.

Remember that you can easily import the talent tree below into the game with the "Export Talents" button:

Highlighting the unique amount of flexibility available through talent trees, the following build is intended for trivial content that you wish to get through as quickly as possible, such as old raids or previous expansion features. It makes use of talents that are otherwise not taken during your time in The War Within, though you should further complement it with other speed-boosting effects such as a Charged Phial of Alacrity and Exquisitely Eviscerated Muscle.

Remember that you can easily import the talent tree below into the game with the "Export Talents" button: