How It Feels
The Windwalker is pure martial arts. You leap into enemies, chain kicks, punches and spinning attacks and move as nimbly as hardly any other class. At your strongest you split into three elemental spirits or call the White Tiger Xuen to your side.
What makes the Windwalker special: it rewards variety. If you never use the same ability twice in a row, you deal more damage. That keeps you constantly moving and gives combat a true kung fu rhythm.
How Windwalker Works
The Windwalker uses energy and Chi:
- Build Chi: Tiger Palm spends energy and generates two Chi.
- Spend Chi: Rising Sun Kick, Blackout Kick and Fists of Fury are your strong attacks.
- Mix it up: do not use the same ability twice in a row, which boosts your damage.
- Groups: Spinning Crane Kick hits all enemies around you, Fists of Fury all enemies in front of you.
- Big moments: Storm, Earth, and Fire and the White Tiger Xuen are your big cooldowns.
Key Abilities
- Tiger Palm: your basic strike, generates two Chi.
- Rising Sun Kick: a powerful upward kick, one of your most important abilities.
- Fists of Fury: a flurry of punches against all enemies in front of you.
- Blackout Kick: a kick charged with Chi.
- Spinning Crane Kick: a spinning kick against all nearby enemies.
- Storm, Earth, and Fire: you split into three elemental spirits.
- Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger: the White Tiger fights at your side.
Lore: Xuen, the White Tiger
Windwalkers carry on the tradition of the Pandaren Monks who once rose up against the mogu without weapons. Their martial art focuses on speed, precision and inner calm.
The Windwalker is dedicated to Xuen, the White Tiger, one of the four August Celestials. Xuen stands for strength and overcoming your own limits. At the Temple of the White Tiger on Kun-Lai Summit he tests the worthy, and that trial by combat is the Windwalker's fantasy.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
- very mobile and fast,
- strong against groups with Crane Kick and Fists of Fury,
- a varied, active rhythm,
- a unique martial arts fantasy.
Weaknesses
- two resources and the variety rule take practice,
- leather, less sturdy than plate wearers,
- mistakes in the rhythm cost noticeable damage.
Who Is the Windwalker For?
A good fit if you …
- love martial arts and kung fu movies,
- want a fast, mobile melee,
- are drawn to a varied rhythm.
Probably not if you …
- want a simple melee spec, in which case Fury or Retribution fits,
- prefer fighting in heavy armor.
Windwalker, Brewmaster or Mistweaver?
Brewmaster tanks with Stagger, Mistweaver heals with mists. The Windwalker is the choice for everyone who wants to deal damage as a martial artist.
More about the class on the Monk in WoW Midnight page.
Images: © Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. Source: worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com
