Brewmaster Monk Tank Mythic+ Tips — The War Within (11.0.5)

This Standard Mythic+ is very similar to how you might play as a Brewmaster Monk in raid, making it easy to transition between the two and improve your skills in general. However, if you are looking for a slightly more advanced experience, you can always move the point of High Tolerance to Blackout Combo. Overall, this talent represents one of your biggest optional damage gains, but it does require you to be able to reliably press Blackout Kick on cooldown. Once you have gotten used to it, however, this talent is to be incorporated into all of your builds.

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. This is done with the help of Blackout Combo, Face Palm, Scalding Brew, and the Monk Brewmaster Season 1 4pc bonus. 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 exclusively 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.

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

For the sake of mentioning the rare times these talents may be useful, the following table includes the remaining options available to you as a Brewmaster Monk. Be aware that you will very rarely need to switch to these talents, if ever. However, be on the lookout for these rare opportunities across the many dungeons in a Mythic+ season.

Talent	Usage Tips
Hasty Provocation	This enhancement to Provoke is unique among taunt effects due to the movement speed increase it temporarily gives the Provoked enemy. You can use this to reposition a threat that rapidly needs to move from one location to another, like avoiding a damage-reduction area on the ground. Be mindful of the speed boost, however. If you need to Provoke an enemy you are trying to run away from, they could easily catch up to you!
Spirit's Essence	You generally have enough mobility as a Brewmaster to easily kite away from enemies as necessary (discussed further in a separate section below). However, with this talent, you can make use of a pre-placed Transcendence to greatly extend how long you can do so.
Swift Art	Although you can already remove snares with Tiger's Lust, this talent may enable you to remove a dangerous effect from an ally while still taking care of yourself with a well-timed Roll. Remember, however, that this talent cannot remove roots.
Healing Winds/ Escape from Reality	These talents can be combined for some on-demand self-healing, particularly when you are in the middle of kiting enemies. However, the point investment is hefty and hard to afford in many scenarios.
Clash	Clash acts as a unique way to reposition an enemy, similar to a Death Knight's Death Grip. However, unlike Death Grip, you and the target meet in the middle rather than having them dragged to you. This can be a useful tool to get a stubborn caster or other slow enemies closer to the rest of the group, but be warned that Clash will root targets around the impact point. This root is also special in that it will not break from dealing damage to the enemies! However, Clash also has a minimum range that you must be away from the target to use the ability, much like a Warrior's Charge.
Staggering Strikes	If you are playing in sufficiently low key levels to not frequently reach heavy amounts of Stagger— such as +4 and below — you may consider obtaining Staggering Strikes to gain a more efficient source of Stagger reduction.
Black Ox Adept	Provided your damage intake's high enough for your charges of Ox Stance to be regularly consumed, this talent will provide an additional source of stacks from Rising Sun Kick to grant extra defense. However, this is rarely necessary outside of the most challenging key levels.

Spear Hand Strike is your "kick" and your most important bit of utility in Mythic+, used to stop enemy casts for the benefit of yourself and the rest of the group. It is highly recommended to use a Focus Kick macro for this.

• /cast [@focus,exists,nodead][@mouseover,exists,nodead] [] Spear Hand Strike

This macro will kick your focus target if you have one, mouseover if you have no Focus target, and your target if you have neither of those.

To quickly set a focus target in hectic scenarios, we also recommend a Focus Mouseover macro.

• /focus [@mouseover]

Make sure that your UI shows your Focus Target's casts clearly so that you are always able to kick it on cooldown or in coordination with the rest of your group.

Leg Sweep is your AoE stun effect as a Monk. With it, you can delay or negate dangerous abilities cast by enemies, or you can use it to survive a dangerous pull for a little while longer while you build up your defenses. Remember that certain enemies, such as minibosses, may be immune to its effects and other stuns in general!

Paralysis is a versatile crowd control ability that temporarily removes an enemy from the fight, it is best to cast it before you pull a group of enemies so that the effect will not be broken by a random bit of damage. In addition, you can use Paralysis as an extra interrupt effect in a pinch.

If your enemies are able to be knocked around, then Ring of Peace represents another form of disruption, bouncing them out of the summoned ring. Ring of Peace has a lot of possibilities for its application and is remarkably versatile: you can disrupt patrolling enemies, interrupt an enemy's cast, or keep a fixated enemy away from its target, among other uses.

Crackling Jade Lightning can be a useful tool for pulling a faraway group of enemies by casting it on one of them; just remember to immediately cancel Crackling Jade Lightning's channel by moving or performing another action! However, bear in mind that it will hardly generate any threat.

Roll, Lighter Than Air, and Tiger's Lust can all be used fairly often in a dungeon and are excellent options for repositioning yourself or making a quick escape from danger. Tiger's Lust, in particular, can often remove debuffs that deal damage over time or other negative effects if the debuff also snares or roots the victim!

The Windwalking aura works to provide you and any allies within 10 yards with extra movement speed. In Mythic+, where there is only one healer and the group tends to stay close to the tank, you can provide your entire group with this buff at nearly all times!

When running a Mythic+ dungeon, there may be times when the damage you or the rest of the group is taking becomes too intense for the healer to manage. During these moments, you can utilize kiting to help reduce your damage taken. This can provide precious time for your healer to restore some extra missing health or for you to get more of your defensive resources back.

There is no solid guideline for when in a dungeon; you may need to practice kiting as a Brewmaster Monk. Still, you must not forget it is an available option commonly seen in Mythic+ compared to a raiding environment. Fortunately, all the mobility available to Brewmaster Monks makes kiting reasonably simple. You could choose to Leg Sweep a group of enemies and Roll away afterward, throwing a Keg Smash to slow them down while you play keep-away. Or, you could place a Transcendence beforehand and quickly teleport to it later with Transcendence: Transfer. With the use of talents like Summon Black Ox Statue and Ring of Peace, the only thing stopping you as a Brewmaster from kiting endlessly is your ability to maintain threat on what is trying to reach you.

• Detox
• Pressure Points

• Avanoxx — Ring of Peace is an excellent tool for keeping any Starved Crawlers from wandering too close.
• Anub'zekt — Eye of the Swarm will stay near the boss at all times; limit how much you are moving him during this time and position yourself on the left or right edges of the circle for each Impale.
• Ki'katal the Harvester — Detox can remove Cultivated Poisons. In addition, Tiger's Lust, Spear Hand Strike, Paralysis, Ring of Peace, and even Leg Sweep can remove the root from Grasping Blood.

• Engorged Crawler — Detox can remove the Poison Venomous Spit DoT.
• Bloodstained Assistant — Pressure Points can remove the Enrage effect of Extraction Strike.
• Sentry Stagshell — your crowd control abilities can be used to reset the cast timer of Alarm Shrill; consider using Touch of Death on these enemies in particular.
• Reinforced Drone/Blood Overseer — Take advantage of Tiger's Lust and Roll to avoid being hit by any Erupting Webs while you are potentially snared or rooted by Grasping Slash/ Grasping Blood.

• Detox
• Summon Black Ox Statue

• Orator Krix'vizk — Have a defensive ability ready for each cast of Subjugate. In addition, make use of the ping system to communicate where you are moving the boss to after each Vociferous Indoctrination to help the party avoid taking damage from Lingering Influence.
• Fangs of the Queen — Other players will need to stand near you after each cast of Rime Dagger to remove your stacks of Freezing Blood. Be ready with a defensive; the DoT from this ability is the most threatening part of the fight for a tank.
• The Coaglamation — Slowly move as a group around the edges of the room to limit the space taken up by pools of soaked Viscous Darkness. Be aware that you will receive reduced healing after each Oozing Smash. Help remove Corrupted Coating healing absorbs with your Vivacious Vivification procs.
• Izo, the Grand Splicer — Stand as a group to more easily control where Shifting Anomalies relocate to. Tiger's Lust can be used to remove an Umbral Weave root; consider saving it for your healer. Be ready to separate yourself from the group before Process of Elimination and save a defensive for the three hits of damage.

• Sureki Silkbinder — avoid pulling these enemies in the first section whenever possible, making up your enemy forces count later in the dungeon.
• Sureki Conscript — be wary of how many stacks of Brutal Jab you receive from these enemies, but consider pulling a lot of them for easy enemy force count.
• Royal Venomshell — Detox can remove the Poison DoT from Venomous Spray.

• Pressure Points
• Clash

• Speaker Shadowcrown — Obsidian Beam inflicts a burst of damage to you when it begins; be ready with a defensive. In addition, make use of Vivacious Vivification procs to help remove Shadow Shroud when Burning Shadows is dispelled by your healer.
• Anub'ikkaj — Do not pull this boss without first removing all three stacks of Empowered Might by defeating the three lieutenants marked on your map. Be aware that Terrifying Slam also has a slight knockback effect; counteract it with Lighter Than Air and Transcendence.
• Rasha'nan — You can never leave melee range of the boss, lest you trigger a Tacky Burst; it is up to your allies to handle all mechanics in this encounter.

• Nightfall Commander — Ensure Abyssal Howl is interrupted, prioritizing it over anything else.
• Manifested Shadow — Dark Floes will occur when this enemy runs out of Mana from casting its other abilities. Be ready for the extra damage!
• Nightfall Tactician — Tactician's Rage is an Enrage effect that can be removed with Pressure Points. You may need to kite these enemies if it is not removed.

• Pressure Points
• Summon Black Ox Statue

• General Umbriss — Skullsplitter will hit you even if not in melee range of the boss. Do not underestimate its damage while you may be busy avoiding Shadowflame Breath from Commanding Roar.
• Forgemaster Throngus — Be aware that this boss will wander to each end of the room over time before being pulled. Ensure at least two of the three pulls featuring Molten Giants have been defeated before pulling this boss. Throngus will forge weapons in the order of Axe>Swords>Mace. Have a defensive ready for Molten Flurry during the Swords phase, and note that you must kite during Molten Mace while Throngus leaves behind a growing trail of Molten Pools.
• Drahga Shadowburner — It is possible for the Flaming Fixate from Invoked Shadowflame Spirit to target you as a tank player. Make sure you are not the target before helping to defeat them; Touch of Death is a very effective tool for this. A cast of Devouring Flame will be aimed in your direction shortly after each Twilight Buffet; position yourself accordingly.
• Erudax — Ensure that any Summon Twilight Hatchlings do not die before a cast of Shadow Gale has occurred. Provoke on a Summon Black Ox Statue or a Vivacious Vivification are helpful tools for establishing threat on them, but be aware that the boss will also be casting a Crush on you during this time which also knocks you back. You will need to utilize heavy defensives to survive this onslaught of damage.

• Twilight Destroyer — Umbral Wind can be avoided by breaking line of sight with the enemy.
• Twilight Overseer — Pressure Points can be used to remove Reckless Tactic's Enrage effect, though bear in mind this effect is applied to all nearby foes.
• Twilight Earthcaller — Mass Tremor is a more important cast to stop than Earth Bolt.
• Twilight Beguiler — Both Shadowflame Bolt and Sear Mind are incredibly dangerous casts. Do not pull too many of this enemy at once.
• Molten Giant — Lava Fist inflicts incredible damage; have a defensive ready.
• Twilight Enforcer — Pressure Points can be used to remove Ramping Rage's Enrage effect, though you may also make use of kiting or crowd control such as Leg Sweep to have the effect reset.
• Twilight Lavabender — Ascension will be triggered at 50% HP, inflicting Scorching Heat to the party until it is defeated. Be very careful about monitoring this enemy's health.

• Detox
• Pressure Points

• Blightbone — Detox can be used to remove the Heaving Retch Disease from its target. Take advantage of your Leg Sweep and Ring of Peace to keep Carrion Worms away from their target. Be ready to defend against each cast of Crunch.
• Amarth — Pressure Points can be used to remove the Unholy Frenzy Enrage buff. Alternatively, you may use Paralysis on one of the two summoned mages to keep them out of the fight; as long as the CC holds, they will not trigger the bonus damage of Final Harvest. You may also use Leg Sweep on any surviving enemies before the cast finishes to accomplish the same thing! Ensure that Necrotic Bolt is kicked as often as possible.
• Surgeon Stitchflesh — Keep Loyal Creations near the center of the room so players may more easily aim their Meat Hook at the stage.
• Nalthor the Rimebinder — You are unable to dodge the casts of Icy Shard in this encounter, making it especially dangerous. Coordinate with your healer to appropriately rotate defensives and take full advantage of Vivacious Vivification. Be aware that Icy Shard is a Physical ability, so Diffuse Magic will only work against damage from Icebound Aegis. Tiger's Lust can be used to remove Frozen Binds if your healer is too busy to dispel the effect.

• Corpse Harvester — Avoid pulling too many of this enemy at once; Drain Fluids must be interrupted every time.
• Stitched Vanguard — Pressure Points can be used to remove the Seething Rage Enrage buff; be mindful of the damage from Bone Claw if they are sufficiently buffed.
• Zolramus Bonecarver — Boneflay can be dodged, avoiding a substantial amount of damage.
• Zolramus Necromancer — this enemy must be prioritized in any pulls featuring it, due to the Undying Minions passive.
• Kyrian Stitchwerk — Tenderize has a range of 40 yards when its cast starts, but you can kite this enemy to let its debuff expire if your damage intake becomes extreme.
• Flesh Crafter — Throw Cleaver can be used to damage other enemies, or it can be dodged by you in an emergency if it would end up hitting another player instead.

• Detox

• Ingra Maloch — Save your Weapons of Order for shortly before Droman Oulfarran reaches 20% HP, to take full advantage of Droman's Wrath.
• Mistcaller — Paralysis can be used on the Illusionary Vulpin from Freeze Tag to keep it away from your allies. Ring of Peace will not work. Remember that you are the only one who can interrupt each cast of Patty Cake.
• Tred'ova — Limit your movement during each cast of Acid Expulsion, as each cast will also target where you were standing during the previous one(s). Mind Link will always go on you; make use of your mobility and Transcendence to negate its damage entirely. Ring of Peace and Leg Sweep are excellent tools to keep the Marked Prey target safe from the Gormling Larva.

• Drust Soulcleaver — Diffuse Magic can be used to dispel the Soul Split debuff if your healer is occupied. Additionally, consider kiting during Hand of Thros to limit this enemy's healing, though your ability to dodge attacks makes this often unnecessary.
• Drust Boughbreaker — Furious Thrashing is triggered when this enemy reaches 50% HP. Avoid triggering multiple at the same time.
• Mistveil Guardian — these enemies are extremely dangerous due to their Empowered passive in combination with their Anima Slashes. Do not be afraid to commit extra defensives in pulls where one or more are present.
• Spinemaw Staghorn — Both Stimulate Resistance and Stimulate Regeneration must be interrupted. Tell your party members which of the two you will be responsible for.
• Spinemaw Reaver — Detox can be used to remove the Debilitating Poison Poison DoT from Stinging Assault.

• Detox
• Clash

• Chopper Redhook — Be ready to run over a Heavy Ordnance if it is about to go off, and ensure Irontide Cleavers are facing away from other players at all times.
• Dread Captain Lockwood — you must stay in melee range of the boss at all times to avoid having her cast Gut Shot. Paralysis can be used on an Ashvane Deckhand to remove one enemy from each Withdraw phase, but remember to refresh the effect!
• Hadal Darkfathom — From the third Tidal Surge onward, there will be an overlap of the Crashing Tide frontal while you are dodging the waves; communicate with your party through Pings to warn them where you will be standing by the statue to aim it safely.
• Viq'Goth — You must stay in melee range of the Demolishing Terrors at all times to avoid triggering Hull Cracker. Diffuse Magic can be used to remove the Putrid Waters debuff from yourself, but be careful to not knock back any players standing in its circle!

• Irontide Raider — Iron Hook can be avoided by breaking line of sight with the enemy. Position it near a corner or doorway to allow your other party members to do so.
• Scrimshaw Enforcer — Shattering Bellow can be avoided by breaking line of sight with the enemy. Position it near a corner or doorway to allow your other party members to do so.
• Irontide Waveshaper — Watertight Shell is a much more important cast to interrupt than Brackish Bolt.
• Bilge Rat Demolisher — Crushing Slam can be avoided by breaking line of sight with the enemy. Position it near a corner or doorway to allow your other party members to do so.
• Bilge Rat Pillager — Stinky Vomit's Disease can be removed with your Detox ability.
• Bilge Rat Cutthroat — Rotting Wounds' Disease can be removed with your Detox ability.
• Ashvane Invader — Stinging Venom's Poison can be removed with your Detox ability.

• Clash

• E.D.N.A — Seismic Reverberation from Seismic Smash can be dispelled with your Diffuse Magic, though your healer should primarily handle this mechanic.
• Skarmorak — Touch of Death can be used to instantly remove a Crystal Shard created from Crystalline Smash; remember to avoid defeating them too quickly due to Crystalline Eruption.
• Master Machinists — Remember that both Speaker Brokk and Speaker Dorlita must be defeated at the same time to avoid triggering Silenced Speaker.
• Void Speaker Eirich — While you should prioritize having other players remove their Void Corruption first, you must remove yours as well due to its ramping damage with each tick. Commit an extra defensive cooldown if your healer is falling behind or your stacks get high.

• Ghastly Voidsoul — Prioritize interrupting Howling Fear over all other abilities in pulls featuring this enemy.
• Aspiring Forgehand — Watch your stacks of Fracture from Fracturing Blows; be ready to kite if your damage taken gets to be too extreme.
• Engine Speaker — Concussive Smash can be removed with Tiger's Lust.
• Forge Loader — Avoid engaging this enemy whenever possible; its Lava Cannon and Molten Mortar are especially chaotic sources of damage for your healer to manage.
• Turned Speaker — Focus on interrupting Censoring Gear in any pulls featuring this enemy, or your healer could become silenced.
• Rock Smasher — Do not pull more than one of this enemy at a time, as its mechanics are incredibly disruptive to the party.

Brewmasters have a large number of abilities on hand that can counter the Cosmic Ascension casts from the orbs this affix generates. Among these are your Spear Hand Strike, Paralysis, Clash, and even Ring of Peace or Leg Sweep. However, you may want to avoid overcommitting resources to stopping this affix in favor of still having them available for the traditional trash pulls of a dungeon; choose your tools carefully.

Void Emissaries spawned when this affix triggers only have 1 HP, with their health otherwise being an absorb. This means that your Touch of Death can instantly be used on them, dealing its full amount of damage and significantly negating their danger. With the frequency of these spawns, you will be able to cast Touch of Death on most. However, this does mean you will not have access to the ability for "regular" moments of the dungeon.

Tank players will not be seeking out many of the Shattered Essence orbs from this affix, as chasing them down will disrupt enemy positioning. Instead, consider using Ring of Peace or your own kiting capabilities to keep enemies away from the orbs longer if any are getting too close. In a pinch, you can still take advantage of your Roll, Lighter Than Air, and Tiger's Lust talents to grab any lingering orbs.

Void Rift's absorb can be removed after receiving 53% of your maximum health in healing, or instantly with Detox. If you have talented into Vivacious Vivification as well, consider dispelling yourself— due to tanks having more health to heal through otherwise— and using an instant cast of Vivify to help out another player if there are not enough dispels to go around.

Alternatively, if you are the only player taking significant damage, your healer will already be passively counteracting Void Rift by keeping you alive. In these moments, consider using your Detox on another player instead.