Windwalker PvE Guide

Talent Builds

There is a lot of flexibility with talents, so if you prefer a different setup or like to change a talent here or there then you can likely do that without dramatically lowering your damage. It’s a game, play what you’d like.

Abilities

Instructions

Windwalkers generally prioritize our abilities by how much damage they do and the resources (Chi, energy, execution time) that they cost. There are a couple of general goals while playing Windwalker that should help with the bigger picture before diving into the priority lists below:

• Manage Energy and Chi – Outside of big Haste cooldowns, Windwalker’s damage is restricted by how many resources we can generate and spend. This means that sitting at the Energy cap or generating more Chi than you have space for typically results in lost damage potential. Your focus is balancing having enough Chi for spenders and using Blackout Kick just enough to prevent overcapping without using it too much and not having the Chi you need when a bigger spender becomes available.
  • During major cooldowns, you will often have more Energy and Chi than you can use due to the GCD and cooldowns of Chi spenders, making avoiding the caps less impactful, but still something to be aware of.
• Keep Abilities on cooldown – With most of our Chi spenders having their own cooldowns, it is important to reduce the amount of time that these harder-hitting abilities are sitting off cooldown without being used. There will, inevitably, be overlaps where you’ll have to choose what to press based on the priority list. A key part of playing Windwalker recognizing that one of these situations is approaching and trying to have enough Chi for what you need to do.
• React to procs – Windwalker has several procs that you’ll need to manage in order to maximize damage potential. The main ones are Dance of Chi-Ji and Blackout Kick!. Both of these can stack to 2 so that you don’t need to immediately use them. However, you will want to avoid risking overstacking, as that is lost damage potential. These procs can play an integral part in helping you balance your resources while still benefitting from Mastery: Combo Strikes. They can also throw off what you were planning, so being able to react intelligently and quickly is important.
• Do not break Mastery: Combo Strikes. Simple as that, do not repeat the same ability twice in a row. For a full list of what counts for mastery, see here. There are currently no situations where it is worth it to break mastery as there have been in the past.

Following these rules is the largest part of playing Windwalker. You may notice that “always be casting” is not one of our core tenets, as you are only pressing something if it aligns with these rules (something comes off cooldown, you are close to capping energy, etc). This means that as a natural consequence of following these, you may not always fill every GCD. WINDWALKER IS A SPEC WITH NATURAL DOWNTIME. This is not an indication that you are playing incorrectly or that you need more Haste (which will not really affect this). To execute these rules in the most efficient way, follow the priorities below with the goal of never using something lower in the list if it will delay something higher in the list.

Cooldowns

As said above, the safest bet is to use things as close to their cooldown as possible. However, if you can use most cooldowns at the same time without losing a cast of them, you’ll get the most out of them. You can read more about it in this article by Talby.

• Celestial Conduit – Use on cooldown, pair it with other DPS cooldowns like Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger and Storm, Earth, and Fire. Read more in the Opener.
• Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger – Use on cooldown, pair it with other DPS cooldowns like Storm, Earth, and Fire if delaying it will not lose you a cast throughout the fight. If you don’t know if it will or not, then use on cooldown as the safest strategy.
• Storm, Earth, and Fire – Used close to on cooldown while lining up with other abilities and damage bonuses. Also useful to concentrate your damage on a specific target. Don’t sit on 2 charges, always have it recharging.
• Touch of Death​ – Use when it can be triggered. If you are looking to really min/max, you can make sure to only use it when it will kill the target, as this can do a maximum of 100% of your HP as damage instead of the 35% it normally does to boss targets. However, the 100% HP hit will be overkill in most cases which wastes the value of your Mastery: Combo Strikes since the hp threshold it will switch to a 100% HP hit is unaffected by your Mastery: Combo Strikes.
• Touch of Karma – Although technically a defensive ability, it can provide offensive power. Best used as frequently as you can, get as much damage absorbed as possible.

Priority Lists

The lists below assume you are doing what you need to do to avoid capping resources, avoid breaking your mastery, and using above cooldowns appropriately. Because Heart of the Jade Serpent has such a big effect on the priority, I have listed it separately. You will follow the standard Conduit priority when outside of the Heart of the Jade Serpent buff, and the Heart of the Jade Serpent priority when the buff is up.

Single Target Priority

NOTES: Skip steps that don’t apply to your Talent build. Those priorities are meant to be used by people regardless of their build, and will include some steps that don’t apply to the recommended builds.

AOE Priority (Generally 3 or more targets)

NOTES: Skip steps that don’t apply to your Talent build. Those priorities are meant to be used by people regardless of their build, and will include some steps that don’t apply to the recommended builds.

Openers

Use these ability orders to start pulls, these may change frequently over time. If you are starting a pull with more Chi, such as in M+, then simply skip the steps that get you to the necessary Chi level. See the Trinkets section further down for how on use trinkets may change your opener.

NOTES: Skip steps that don’t apply to your Talent build. Those openers are meant to be used by people regardless of their build, and will include some steps that don’t apply to the recommended builds.

Ability Usage Notes

• Blackout Kick – Generally used between other abilities to “dump” excess resources.
  • Teachings of the Monastery – Use Blackout Kick as usual UNLESS you are at maximum stacks, then it moves up the priority. DO NOT OVERCAP STACKS.
• Blackout Kick! (Free Proc) – Used before you would potentially overcap on procs (you can hold 2 at a time).
• Crackling Jade Lightning – Used when talented into Last Emperor's Capacitor, ideally with max stacks, can be cast early to adjust to damage amplifiers or addspawns when talented into Power of the Thunder King.
• Dance of Chi-Ji – Simply use the proc on Spinning Crane Kick (according to priority, and even in single target) and spend it quickly enough to avoid overcapping on procs (you can hold 2 at a time).
• Hit Combo and Mastery: Combo Strikes – Generally, any ability that directly deals damage both benefits from and continues Mastery and Hit Combo, as well as a few that don’t directly deal damage. For a full list, see here. Currently, there are no cases where we want to break Mastery that would outweigh its damage bonus.
• Rising Sun Kick then Whirling Dragon Punch – This term is used to describe the Rising Sun Kick that enables the Whirling Dragon Punch and the Whirling Dragon Punch itself. This line, when used, does not apply to Rising Sun Kick unless Whirling Dragon Punch will be used before Rising Sun Kick will be ready again. However, they don’t have to be cast in direct succession.
• Spinning Crane Kick – With 11.2, it’s finally possible again to cast abilities when Spinning Crane Kick‘s global has passed and before its channel has finished. This applies to any ability that has no cast or channel time. Vivify buffed by Vivacious Vivification will still interrupt Spinning Crane Kick.
• Strike of the Windlord – Usage depends on the current build.
  • Shado-Pan builds use Strike of the Windlord on cooldown unless a damage amplifier is happening in the near future. (5 seconds at max)
  • Conduit of the Celestial builds in Season 3 of The War Within rely a lot on stacking Heart of the Jade Serpent windows. Holding Strike of the Windlord is not recommended unless you have a damage amplifier starting within the next few seconds. It should always be followed by casting Slicing Winds to overlap their Heart of the Jade Serpent windows to multiply the effects. Additionally, a proper big burst window is crucial for Conduit of the Celestial builds. Delaying Strike of the Windlord is recommended when the next big burst window with Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger and Celestial Conduit will start within the next 10 seconds. You will instead delay Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger if it comes off cooldown while Strike of the Windlord will come off cooldown in the next 10 seconds.
• Heart of the Jade Serpent – This is a buff that is applied by various abilities when running Conduit of the Celestials. It reduces the cooldown of several rotational abilities, and greatly increases the channeling speed of Fists of Fury. The buff is only applied by Strike of the Windlord after first unlocking the hero talent, but after unlocking Unity Within, a more powerful version is also applied by Celestial Conduit (as one of the “assists” of the Celestials). These two versions do not stack with each other. During Season 3 of The War Within, after unlocking the 2-piece bonus of the tier set, another version of the buff is applied by Slicing Winds. This version lasts longer than the base version, but its effect is the same. This version does stack with the other two.

Gearing

Stats

General stat priority for each Windwalker Hero tree.

Conduit of the Celestials: Agility > Mastery > Haste > Versatility > Critical Strike
Shado-Pan: Agility > Mastery > Haste > Versatility > Critical Strike

Stat priorities can and will change for your character depending on your current gear, stats and talents. Stat weights are largely an outdated thought. Sim the gear you have through Top Gear. If you’re looking for what gear to aim for, use Droptimizer.

Crafting

Generally, we recommend simulating your character through Top Gear to find what piece is best for you.

Weapons and 1H vs 2H

With the improved stat scaling, 2H has caught up and passed 1H faster than usual. Generally you will want to use a 2H weapon.

For specific situations or item level gaps, sim your character’s options with Raidbot’s Top Gear Tool.

Trinkets

Ideally you want Araz's Ritual Forge and an equip trinket like Astral Antenna. As always, sim your options to see what’s best for you in particular.

Honorable Mentions:

• Unyielding Netherprism – A melee’s version of Spymaster's Web. If you’re using this with Araz's Ritual Forge then Araz's Ritual Forge becomes a 3-minute trinket with Unyielding Netherprism in between and try to end a fight with 0 stacks.
• Lily of the Eternal Weave – This is the best 90-second trinket but simply can’t compare to Araz's Ritual Forge.
• Improvised Seaforium Pacemaker – The second best passive trinket and another season of farming Operation: Floodgate.

“Best-in-Slot”

Sim the gear you have through Top Gear. If you’re looking for what gear to aim for, use Droptimizer.

Gems/Enchants

Gems

Use Raidbot’s Top Gear Tool for the most specific and accurate results for your character. In general, it will usually follow the stat priority above.

A special note: Don’t forget you can use Magnificent Jeweler's Setting to put up extra slots on rings and necklaces!

Enchants

• Weapon – Enchant Weapon - Stonebound Artistry
• Cloak – Enchant Cloak - Chant of Winged Grace
• Chest – Enchant Chest - Crystalline Radiance
• Bracers – Enchant Bracer - Chant of Armored Avoidance
• Boots – Enchant Boots - Defender's March
• Ring – Enchant Ring - Radiant Haste or Enchant Ring - Radiant Mastery as a general recommendation, or sim for your character through Top Gear.
• Armor Kit – Stormbound Armor Kit (functionally an enchant)

Miscellaneous

Consumables

• Flask – Flask of Alchemical Chaos
• Potion – Tempered Potion
• Food – The Sushi Special or Beledar's Bounty
• Weapon Enhancement – Algari Mana Oil

Racials

Currently, all races sim within a small range of each other and reshuffle constantly. Other than that, pick whatever race you prefer.

Using the racial available to you depends highly on the exact racial. In general, they are divided into three different groups.
Buff racials, direct damage racials and special racials.

Buff racials are the following racials:

• Ancestral Call (Mag’har Orc)
• Berserking (Troll)
• Blood Fury (Orc)
• Fireblood (Dark Iron Dwarf)

Those are used with your cooldowns and can be put into a Burst Macro like the macro you can find in the macro section.
Direct damage racials are the following racials:

• Arcane Pulse (Nightborne)
• Azerite Surge (Earthen)
• Bag of Tricks (Vulpera)
• Haymaker (Kul Tiran)
• Light's Judgment (Lightforged Draenei)
• Rocket Barrage (Goblin)

Those are very undertuned and are used at the very end of the priority or whenever you are unable to cast something else.
The only special racial existing right now is the Blood Elf racial Arcane Torrent. This can be used whenever you need a quick chi for your big spenders and you are not able to press a tiger palm for it.

Professions

Professions have no bearing on your ability to perform your role. Pick whatever will make your playing time easier and more enjoyable. As a starting point, many players take Engineering and/or Alchemy for some small perks.

WeakAuras

WeakAuras are ways to show things on your screen in a customized and personalized way. The best WeakAuras are the ones that you set up for yourself specific to your style and needs. However, many people have already made ones for themselves to share, so check them out and use them as bases to customize your own.

WAGO.IO

No WeakAuras are “required” but some are very useful:

• Babylonius’s WeakAura Suite – WeakAura group created by Babylonius (author of this guide), aimed at having all you need to play Windwalker.
• Last Ability Tracker – Tracks the last ability you used in order to minimize mistakes with Mastery. Turns red when a mistake is made, turns blue when an ability is dodged, parried, or misses.
• Diffuse Magic – Gives you a warning when you have a debuff on you that can be dispelled or reflected using Diffuse Magic in Mythic/Mythic+ dungeons.
• Dance of Chi-Ji stacks – Displays when you get a Dance proc, with a clear indication when you get 2 stacks.
• Emperor’s Capacitor aka “CJL stacks” – Displays Cracking Jade Lightning buff stacks from Emperor’s Capacitor.
• Shado-Pan Flurry Strikes – Displays and offers customization for the Flurry Strikes energy tracker.
• Conduit of the Celestials – Heart of the Jade Serpent – Displays buff uptime for both “versions” of HotJS.

Macros

Don’t Clip Things

#showtooltip Tiger Palm
/cast [nochanneling][channeling:Spinning Crane Kick] Tiger Palm

Change Tiger Palm to whatever ability you want. This macro prevents you from cancelling the channel of Fists of Fury, Crackling Jade Lightning, and Celestial Conduit early and missing a tick of damage. It is recommended to use this on your main rotational abilities as it’s very very unlikely that we’ll look to cancel these abilities. 

For spells like Fists of Fury, Crackling Jade Lightning, and Celestial Conduit, you should remove the condition that allows the cast during Spinning Crane Kick. 

#showtooltip Fists of Fury
/cast [nochanneling] Fists of Fury

Burst Macro

#showtooltip Storm, Earth, and Fire
/use [pet]13
/use [mod:shift,pet]item:212971
/use [mod:shift,pet]item:212265
/cast Storm, Earth, and Fire

This Macro uses your on-use stat trinket and potions in the correct order to allow your Storm, Earth, and Fire Clones to be affected by the stat buffs as well. However, this macro has a few nuances you need to adjust for your personal use, so here is an explanation for all lines and how to change them appropriately.
/use [pet]13
This line uses your trinket in slot 13 whenever you have an active pet. For Windwalker the only active pet that triggers this condition is a summoned Xuen from Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger. If you have your on-use stat trinket on slot 14 you need to adjust this line. If you don’t use a trinket that should be used that close between Xuen and SEF or don’t have one (example for the first would be a trinket like Treacherous Transmitter) you should delete this line to make sure you don’t accidentally misuse the trinket you have.
/use [mod:shift,pet]item:212971
/use [mod:shift,pet]item:212265
Those two lines allow you to use less binds by using a shift modifier to pop your potion at the same time as your trinket, right before your Storm, Earth, and Fire Clones appear. The used IDs are the Fleeting Tempered Potion and the normal Tempered Potion, both at rank 3. By using this order given in the macro, you will first use your existing Fleeting Potions before starting to use your personal property. If you use rank 2 or even rank 1 potions, you can add those lines by using the same format with the IDs you can find on wowhead. If you want to use different modifiers, you can also replace shift by ctrl or alt or even get rid of it fully. Just be aware that you may end up consuming all your precious potions in content you may not want to use them for if you remove the modifier condition.

Focus Cast Macros

Windwalker has a number of spells you may want to target using the /Focus targetting option. You can replace the sample text in the macro below with spells such as Spear Hand Strike, Paralysis, or Detox depending on your preference:

#showtooltip
/cast [@focus,exists] Sample Text

Mouseover Macros

In some cases being able to cast spells/heals on targets without having to switch targets is extremely useful. You can use the following macro to make the desired spell cast on the target you are currently mousing over instead of your active target. Replace the sample text with the desired spell name:

#showtooltip
/cast [@mouseover] Sample Text

Ring of Peace Placement

The following two macros will place Ring of Peace without having to use a targeting circle to do so The first will place if at your feet when pressed immediately:

#showtooltip
/cast [@player] Ring of Peace

And this will place it where your cursor is currently targeting:

#showtooltip
/cast [@cursor] Ring of Peace