Windwalker PvE Guide

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This guide is designed to be a basic, quick guide for Windwalker with just the information you need. For more in-depth, advanced, information follow the links to those pages in the “Further Reading” sections or in the “Advanced” section in the menu above. Navigate quickly to the section you need using the sidebar on the right.

This guide has been updated for Patch 9.1 and is regularly updated when discussion, theorycrafting, or testing yields new information.

Talents

General Talents
  • Tier 1 (lv15) – Personal preference for single target; Chi Burst for Night Fae or anything with more than one target
  • Tier 2 (lv25) – Personal preference
  • Tier 3 (lv30) – Personal preference
  • Tier 4 (lv35) – Personal preference; Good Karma or Ring of Peace as reasonable defaults
  • Tier 5 (lv40) – Dampen Harm for physical, Diffuse Magic for magic damage
  • Tier 6 (lv45) – Hit Combo for pure single target, Dance of Chi-Ji otherwise.
  • Tier 7 (lv50) – Whirling Dragon Punch for all situations

 

War Mode Talents (General Recommendations for Open World)

For more information about talents, including discussion about why the recommendations are what they are see the Talent Guide linked below.

In-Depth Talent Guide

 

Ability Priority

Windwalkers operate on a priority system, NOT A ROTATION. This means that you use whatever ability is available that’s highest up in the priority and try not to delay a higher up ability in favor of a lower one. This priority is aimed at minimizing damage loss. For more information on how priorities are generated, read Babylonius’s Understanding Priorities article.

    Single Target

    1. Fist of the White Tiger (Talent) (if less than 3 Chi AND about to cap energy)
    2. Expel Harm (if less than max Chi AND about to cap energy)
    3. Tiger Palm ( if <4 Chi AND about to cap energy)
    4. Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger
    5. Weapons of Order (Kyrian Only) / Bonedust Brew (Necrolord Only) / Fallen Order (Venthyr Only)
    6. Whirling Dragon Punch (Talent)
    7. Spinning Crane Kick (with Dance of Chi-Ji proc)
    8. Faeline Stomp (Night Fae Only)
    9. Rising Sun Kick
    10. Fists of Fury
    11. Touch of Death
    12. Fist of the White Tiger (Talent) (if less than 3 Chi)
    13. Expel Harm (if less than max Chi)
    14. Chi Burst (Talent) (if less than max Chi)
    15. Blackout Kick (Only if it won’t delay Rising Sun Kick or Fists of Fury)
    16. Chi Wave (Talent)
    17. Tiger Palm

     

    Multi-Target

    (At least 3 targets)

    1. Fist of the White Tiger (Talent) (if less than 3 Chi AND about to cap energy)
    2. Expel Harm (if less than max Chi AND about to cap energy)
    3. Tiger Palm ( if <4 Chi AND about to cap energy)
    4. Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger
    5. Weapons of Order (Kyrian Only) / Bonedust Brew (Necrolord Only) / Fallen Order (Venthyr Only)
    6. Whirling Dragon Punch (Talent)
    7. Faeline Stomp (Night Fae Only)
    8. Spinning Crane Kick (with Dance of Chi-Ji proc)
    9. Fists of Fury
    10. Rushing Jade Wind (Talent)
    11. Touch of Death
    12. Expel Harm (if less than max Chi)
    13. Fist of the White Tiger (Talent) (if less than 3 Chi)
    14. Chi Burst (Talent) (if less than max Chi)
    15. Rising Sun Kick (ONLY to enable Whirling Dragon Punch)
    16. Spinning Crane Kick (At least 3 targets or 2 targets with Calculated Strikes)
    17. Chi Wave (Talent)
    18. Tiger Palm

      

    Opener

    1. Precast Expel Harm 15-20 seconds before pull (to start with 1 Chi)
    2. Precast Chi Burst / Chi Wave to hit after pull
    3. Faeline Stomp (Night Fae Only)
    4. Fallen Order (Venthyr Only)
      – – Use whichever combination of the following will get you to at least 5 Chi, keeping in mind that if you used Chi Burst you are at 2-3 Chi now): – –
    5. Fist of the White Tiger (Talent)
    6. Energizing Elixir (Talent)
    7. Tiger Palm
    8. Expel Harm
    9. – – With 5 Chi: – –
    10. Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger
    11. Weapons of Order (Kyrian Only, alters the rest of the opener. See the Kyrian guide for more info)
    12. Bonedust Brew (Necrolord Only)
    13. Storm, Earth, and Fire
    14. Rising Sun Kick
    15. Tiger Palm  (only if you will cap energy during Fists of Fury)
    16. Fists of Fury
    17. Expel Harm (Tiger Palm if still on cooldown) (only if you are about to cap energy)
    18. Whirling Dragon Punch

     

     

    Ability Usage

    1. 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. If you cannot get the full value from killing the target, or it will be up again in time to try, use it during Weapons of Order for the increased Mastery bonus.
    2. Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger – Use on cooldown, pair it with other DPS cooldowns like  Storm, Earth, and Fire if you are using the Invoker’s Delight Legendary
    3. Energizing Elixir – Ideally used on cooldown when at 0-1 Chi with  Tiger Palm after, to maximize resource gain.
    4. Storm, Earth, and Fire – Used as close to on cooldown while lining up with other abilities and damage bonuses. Also useful to easily tag targets for increased  Spinning Crane Kick damage. Don’t sit on 2 charges, always have it recharging. Ideally you fit in 2x  Rising Sun Kick, a  Fists of Fury, and a  Whirling Dragon Punch.
    5. Spinning Crane Kick – Casting another spell does not interrupt the channel of Spinning Crane Kick, with the exception of anything that is a cast/channel (Fists of Fury, Chi Burst, Crackling Jade Lightning, Vivify, or another Spinning Crane Kick, which you wouldn’t do for Mastery reasons anyway). You can cast your next spell as soon as the GCD is up and not interrupt Spinning Crane Kick as long as it is not one of the abilities mentioned, except Expel Harm which cannot be cast during the channel at all. For when to use this spell in general, follow the AoE priority above, and advanced players can make a copy of this spreadsheet to find more specific comparisons for their character.
    6. Hit Combo and Mastery – Any ability that does damage both benefits from and continues Mastery and  Hit Combo.
    7. Blackout Kick! – Used before you would potentially generate another proc.
    8. Rushing Jade Wind – If you are talented into this, keep it up ONLY when there are 2 or more targets. Be aware of having less resources and make sure you have enough for  Fists of Fury and other important abilities.
    9. 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.
    10. When you have  Dance of Chi-Ji, it is best to use the proc on  Spinning Crane Kick quickly to prevent overwriting a proc.
    11. Expel Harm – Damage based on the healing it does, healing amount is based on your health, but because it generates Chi for very little Energy, just use it on cooldown.

     

    Covenant Abilities

    Advanced Tricks

     

    Covenants

    Covenant Choice

    Currently, Kyrian will remain the strongest Covenant for general purposes, single target or burst damage, Raiding, and PvP. Night Fae and Necrolord will be viable options for players who want to focus on AOE or sustained damage and Mythic+, however both will likely fall behind Kyrian in high Mythic+ that are organized and strategized around large bursts of damage.

    Realistically, due to the relative difficulty of maximizing Weapons of Order compared to Bonedust Brew or Faeline Stomp, many players will see better performance as Necrolord or Night Fae over Kyrian. The gap between these three covenants is close enough that player skill will make the difference. Do not delude yourself by picking a Covenant that you’re not skilled in, costing yourself damage.

     

    Soulbinds

    Realistically the best thing to do is to sim your character at your renown levels, as its impractical to guarantee that these recommendations are the best for each level of renown.

    • Kyrian players may be switching between Mikanikos and Pelagos at max Renown depending on the content; Mikanikos for single target and Pelagos for AOE. For now this is something that will just come down to “sim it” for your character and where you’re at with Renown and gear.
    • Necrolord uses Plague Deviser Marileth for single target and Emeni for AOE
    • Night Fae uses Niya for most content or Korayn
    • Venthyr use Nadjia the Mistblade

    Kyrian
    Necrolord
    Night Fae
    Venthyr

     

    Conduits

    Single Target
    1. Coordinated Offensive
    2. Bone Marrow Hops (Necrolord Only)
    3. Strike with Clarity (Kyrian Only)
    4. Imbued Reflections (Venthyr Only)
    5. Calculated Strikes (If Talented into Dance of Chi-Ji)
    6. Xuen’s Bond
    7. Inner Fury
    8. Way of the Fae (Night Fae Only)
    9. Calculated Strikes

     

    Multi Target
    1. Calculated Strikes
    2. Bone Marrow Hops (Necrolord Only)
    3. Coordinated Offensive (Only take this if you can keep up MotC stacks while fixating your clones)
    4. Strike with Clarity (Kyrian Only)
    5. Way of the Fae (Night Fae Only)
    6. Xuen’s Bond
    7. Inner Fury
    8. Imbued Reflections (Venthyr Only)
    Conduit Guide

     

    Legendaries

    1. Night Fae will use Faeline Harmony for all situations.
    2. Venthyr can use Sinister Teachings OR Invoker’s Delight, they’re currently within 0.5% of each other in sims.
    3. Necrolord will use Invoker’s Delight for everything.
    4. Kyrian will use Invoker’s Delight for everything.

    For more information about all the legendaries (*and an explanation for slot choices), see the Legendary Guide.

    Legendaries Guide

     

    Gearing

    Stats

    Agility > Versatility > Critical Strike > Mastery  > Haste

    Stat priority can change for your character depending on your current gear and stats. 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.

     

    Dual Wielding vs 2 Handed Weapons

    In general, at equal item levels, dual wielding outperforms a 2 handed weapon by 1-2% when fully enchanted and using all consumables. As a rule of thumb, testing very roughly shows somewhere around a 10 item level increase before 2 handed weapons match the damage of dual wielding, with a smaller gap needed in AoE or if you have a relatively lower item level off hand weapon. The difference is also smaller if you are not using all consumables and enchants. As always, the best way to tell what is best for your character is to use Raidbot’s Top Gear Tool for the most specific and accurate results.

     

    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.

     

    Shards of Domination

    All classes want all 5 Domination slots. For Windwalker you want these gems:

    You’ll want to upgrade whatever set bonus you want to use first before moving to the off-set shards.

     

    Enchants

    Major DPS Enhancing Enchants:

     

    Minor Utility Enchants:

     

    Trinkets

    The easiest thing is to look at the lists on BloodMallet or HeroDamage. They’re lists based on the sim profiles.

    “Best-in-Slot”

    The concept of “Best-in-slot” lists is mostly obsolete, although it has “returned” a little bit in Shadowlands. Sim the gear you have through Top Gear. If you’re looking for what gear to aim for, use Droptimizer.

     

    Miscellaneous

    Consumables

     

    Racials

    Currently all races sim within 1.4% of each other and reshuffle constantly. The added utility of Blood Elf’s Arcane Torrent can be useful at times. Other than that, pick whatever race you prefer.

     

    Professions

    Professions have no bearing on your ability to perform your role. Pick whatever will make your playing time easier and more enjoyable.

    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:

     

    Macros

    Don’t Clip FoF

    #showtooltip Tiger Palm
    /stopmacro [channeling:Fists of Fury]
    /cast Tiger Palm

    Change Tiger Palm to whatever ability you want. This macro prevents you from cancelling the channel of Fists of Fury early and missing a tick of damage. It is recommended to use this on your main rotational abilities. If you are using Last Emperor’s Capacitor, you may want to add this line in the middle for the same effect for Crackling Jade Lightning:

    /stopmacro [channeling:Crackling Jade Lightning]

     

    Using Invoke Xuen in a Castsequence Macro

    Normally, Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger cannot be used in a castsequence macro due to the comma in the name. However, there is a workaround that will allow you to, for example, combine Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger and Weapons of Order into a single macro. Note that you still have to press this twice, since they are both on the GCD:

    #showtooltip

    /cast [nopet] Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger

    /cast [pet] Weapons of Order

     
    Talent Swap Macros

    These macros will allow you to have one button that functions for whatever talent you’ve selected at that talent row. This isn’t useful for all talent rows as some take the place of other abilities, or provide massively different functions.

    Tier 1 (Level 15)

    #showtooltip
    /stopmacro [channeling:Fists of Fury]
    /cast [talent:1/1] Eye of the Tiger; [talent:1/2] Chi Wave; [talent:1/3] Chi Burst

    Tier 3 (Level 30)

    #showtooltip
    /stopmacro [channeling:Fists of Fury]
    /cast [talent:3/1] Ascension; [talent:3/2] Fist of the White Tiger; [talent:3/3] Energizing Elixir

    Tier 5 (Level 40)

    #showtooltip
    /cast [talent:5/1] Inner Strength; [talent:5/2] Diffuse Magic; [talent:5/3] Dampen Harm

    Changelog

    • 6/24/2021 = Updated and reviewed for 9.1
    • 3/6/2021 = Updated and Reviewed for 9.0.5
    • 1/12/2021 = Dual Wielding vs 2 Handed Weapons section updated to match balance patch
    • 11/28/2020 = Xuen Castsequence Workaround Added
    • 11/22/2020 = Guide Went Live
    • 11/15/2020 = Guide Created (In Progress)