The ULTIMATE 10.1 M+ Brewmaster Monk Guide

Welcome to my Brewmaster guide for Mythic Plus Dragonfly Season 2 Patch 10.1 and above. This guide will cover everything you need to know to excel at playing a Brewmaster in the brand new season. If there are any nerves or significant changes to the spec, I'll make notes in the pinned comments below. In the future, this guide will be more focused on Mythic Plus, but some of the knowledge can be applied to raiding as well. All sections are timestamped, so you can refer back to this guide if you're unsure of anything. Without further ado, let's start by discussing why people play a Brewmaster.

When it comes to Dragonfly Season 1, Brewmasters suffered from a noticeable button bloat issue. Among all six tanks, it was the worst problem, mainly due to the introduction of the new talent trees for monks. If you talk to any Brewmaster main from Season 1, they'll tell you that playing Brewmaster sometimes feels like playing the piano. While this fast-paced key-mashing can be fun for some, it can be off-putting for others. Some people think, "Oh, it's such a difficult spec to play. I don't want to learn it." That's the harsh truth about Brewmaster's current state. However, you can alleviate this issue by swapping out some active abilities and taking passive talents, which we'll discuss in the talent tree section. It's important to note that the inconvenience caused by button bloat is compensated by the fact that Brewmaster can dish out significant damage numbers, especially in AOE settings in Mythic Plus. Some may argue that it's currently the highest damage tank in Mythic Plus. Additionally, Brewmaster is highly mobile and, given its class fantasy as a monk, it's expected to be agile. Moreover, Brewmaster has a robust utility toolkit in Mythic Plus, which we'll delve into in the utility section.

Before we proceed, it's worth mentioning that this guide focuses on understanding the core gameplay loop of a Brewmaster rather than just providing a talent tree and rotation. Understanding what makes a Brewmaster tick is crucial to making sense of rotations and cooldowns. It helps you intuitively know where to slot in your rotations, which is especially important due to the button bloat and numerous available abilities. So, let's talk about the core gameplay loop for Brewmaster. Among the six current tanks, Brewmaster's gameplay loop is the most unique. While most tanks have a build-and-spam gameplay loop, Brewmaster's core gameplay loop is directly tied to its class fantasy of consuming specific brews.

Brewmaster is the only tank that automatically spreads out the upfront damage taken as a damage-over-time effect, thanks to its iconic passive ability called Stagger. It's important to note that Stagger is most effective against physical damage, as magical damage is only about half as effective as physical Stagger.

You should always keep one charge of Purifying Brew on cooldown. It's worth mentioning that Purifying Brew is off the GCD, making it easy to keep it rolling. Hold onto that one remaining charge of Purifying Brew. Typically, the rule of thumb is to wait until you have higher stagger levels to purify using the remaining charge, but this is also situational. After playing for a while, you'll develop a feel for when it's best to purify your stagger. Each time you cleanse your stagger, you gain a stack of a buff called Purified Chi Stacks. Assuming you're using the default talent build, you can track this icon on your UI. Purified Chi Stacks can stack up to 10 stacks and directly interact with your active mitigation brew, Celestial Brew. In a scenario where you have no Purified Chi Stacks, meaning you haven't spent any Purifying Brew charges, Celestial Brew will only provide a moderate amount of absorption shield. However, the size of the Celestial Brew shield will scale when you have actual Purified Chi Stacks, which are consumed when you activate Celestial Brew. The usage of Purifying Brew and Celestial Brew's interaction is what truly defines the Brewmaster's gameplay. Now that you understand this core gameplay loop, let's move on to discussing your core rotation.

Regarding the rotation, it's important to note that the so-called button bloat problem primarily stems from longer-cooldown abilities obtained through the talent tree. To make it easier for you to learn Brewmaster, in this section, we'll focus only on the core rotational abilities with cooldowns of 45 seconds or less. I'll also assume that you're using a standard talent build for this rotation section. Don't worry; Brewmasters don't vary much in terms of talent builds traditionally. We'll cover that in the talent section later. Brewmaster uses energy as expected resources to execute its rotation, but there aren't many scenarios where you'll find yourself energy-starved unless you've been using filler abilities at the wrong time.

Before engaging a group of enemies, if you have Rushing Jade Wind talented, make sure to activate it first. Rushing Jade Wind creates an aura and deals AOE damage to the mobs around you. As you move closer to a pack, open by using Keg Smash, which is a ranged ability. Once the Keg Smash debuff is applied to the group, follow up with Breath of Fire to set your mobs in front of you on fire. This sequence also puts a Breath of Fire debuff on the mobs, reducing the damage they deal to you. Therefore, it's crucial to apply Keg Smash first, followed by Breath of Fire. Whenever Keg Smash becomes available again, it should be among your highest-priority abilities. Make sure you're tracking the cooldown of Keg Smash using WeakAuras or a similar tool.

Next, ensure that you use Blackout Kick and Rising Sun Kick on cooldown. For single targets, use Tiger Palm as a filler ability, and for AOE situations, use Spinning Crane Kick. These abilities focus on dealing damage and are relatively straightforward.

I'd like to explain how Expel Harm functions as a self-sustain ability. Expel Harm has a cooldown lower than 45 seconds and plays a role in your rotation. But don't worry; we'll cover that in detail later. So far, we've covered the core rotation, but we haven't addressed the main reason why Brewmasters are said to have a button bloat issue when it comes to offensive and defensive cooldowns. Let's dive into discussing cooldowns.

Like all tanks, Brewmasters have their own set of offensive and defensive cooldowns. Cooldowns with more than a 45-second cooldown are classified as cooldowns in this guide. Let's start with the offensive cooldowns. It's essential to note that most offensive cooldowns are obtained through your talent tree, specifically Talent Tier 3. Depending on your final talent build, you might or might not have all of these offensive cooldowns. We'll discuss this further in the talent section. The staple offensive cooldown is Touch of Death, which is a baseline ability that deals a burst of damage to mobs and executes them if their remaining health is below a certain threshold. Depending on the dungeon, you'll want to use Touch of Death on specific targets. Consult dungeon guides or routes to identify the optimal targets for Touch of Death.

This section will cover the different talent options available to Brewmasters and provide guidance on which talents are generally preferred for Mythic Plus. Talent choices can vary based on personal preference, group composition, and the specific dungeon you're running. It's worth noting that this guide is tailored for Mythic Plus and not raiding, so keep that in mind when making talent decisions. The talents we'll be discussing fall into the categories of defensive, offensive, and utility talents.

Please note that the above talent recommendations are based on general preferences for Mythic Plus and may vary depending on personal playstyle and specific situations.

Brewmaster Monks have a robust utility toolkit that provides significant support to the group in Mythic Plus. Here are some key abilities and strategies to maximize your utility:

By utilizing these abilities effectively, you can greatly contribute to your group's success in Mythic Plus dungeons.

Monk Abilities and Crowd Control: Firstly, as a monk, you bring a five percent physical damage buff to the group in the form of Mystic Touch. You also have a lot of mobility options, including Roll, Chi Torpedo, and Transcendence, which allows you to create an image of yourself and teleport to it later. Additionally, you have effective crowd control abilities such as an AOE stun with Lake Sweep and an AOE displacement with Ring of Peace. Ring of Peace can also be used defensively to keep melee mobs away from you and improve survivability. You also have access to Paralysis, which is a single-target crowd control ability. Moreover, you can talent into Detox to remove poison and diseases, which is useful in certain dungeons, especially in Season 2, and it can also counter specific Mythic+ affixes.

Brewmaster Stat Priorities: Let's discuss the Brewmaster's gear and stat priorities. When gearing your Brewmaster, the general rule of thumb is that item level is the most important factor. Higher item levels grant more stamina and agility, resulting in a larger health pool and increased survivability. As for secondary stats, versatility should be prioritized first. Versatility provides a flat percentage increase in damage and, more importantly, a flat percentage decrease in damage taken, making it effective against all types of damage profiles including physical, magical, bleeds, and environmental damage. The next priority is critical strike, which enhances self-sustain through the Celestial Fortune ability. Critical strike also provides offensive benefits, making it a valuable secondary stat. Mastery is the third priority and functions similarly to dodge chance, offering a modest increase in dodge. Haste is the least important secondary stat for Brewmasters, as the other stats mentioned are more impactful.

Brewmaster Talent Builds & Customization: Now let's cover the general combat rotations, cooldowns, and talent builds for Brewmasters in Mythic+. Regarding talent builds, the displayed build on the screen is the most commonly used default talent build for Brewmasters in patch 10.1. Some Brewmasters choose to allocate two points in Generous Pour to maximize the avoidance gained from this talent in specific dungeons. The second rank of Generous Pour can be obtained by sacrificing Celerity or Chi Torpedo, as these talents can be interchangeable with Generous Pour. Some players opt for mobility talents like Improved Roll, Celerity, and Chi Torpedo instead of Bounce Back to enhance movement. Eye of the Tiger is another viable option for those seeking higher single-target damage.

Moving on to the Brewmaster side of the talent tree, it introduces additional abilities such as Weapons of Order, Exploding Keg, and Brew, which contribute to the button bloat. White Tiger Statue is also available, adding more abilities to the cooldown rotation. In the standard Talent 3 setup for Brewmasters, there are several options to consider. One choice is between Light Brewing and Training of Niuzao. Light Brewing requires active button usage and Celestial Brew to mitigate damage, while Training of Niuzao provides passive defensive capabilities. The selection depends on the specific dungeon and the type of damage encountered. Another flexible spot is between Bob and Weave and Black Ox Brew. Black Ox Brew is optimal for perfect machine rotations, whereas Bob and Weave is more passive and increases stagger duration. Players desiring additional defensive capabilities may prefer Black Ox Brew. Chart Passions and Dragon Fire Brew are also debated as talent choices.

Alternative Talent Build and Button Bloat Management: In patch 10.1, there is an alternative talent build with less button bloat. This build excludes Bone Dust Brew and Bountiful Brew and instead includes Face Palm and Counter Strike. With this build, Tiger Palm deals more damage, and the remaining cooldown of Brew is reduced by one second. Counter Strike buffs all filler abilities each time a dodge occurs. The advantage of this build is that it reduces reliance on cooldowns, resulting in smoother gameplay. By dropping active abilities, the rotation becomes more fluid. This alternative build has gained popularity on the Public Test Realms, and it's worth considering for those who prefer fewer buttons to manage. Removing abilities like Summon White Tiger Statue can further streamline the gameplay by reallocating talent points.

To address the issue of button bloat, you can remove talent points that grant additional active abilities and opt for simpler options, such as Bob and Weave instead of Black Ox Brew. Minimizing the number of active abilities obtained from the talent tree allows you to become familiar with your button rotations and gradually add them back one by one to your action bar by selecting the corresponding talents. This approach helps manage the button bloat associated with being a Brewmaster. These are the talent builds I wanted to cover for Brewmasters and the areas where flexibility exists.

Brewmaster UI FAQ & Conclusion: Finally, in the Brewmaster UI FAQ and conclusion, some may ask about obtaining the UI showcased in the video. It's worth noting that the UI is freely available, and links will be provided in the video description. If you found this guide helpful, consider subscribing to the channel for more Dragonfly Mythic Plus content and guides. The creator also streams on Twitch, so feel free to join the stream. A special thanks goes out to the Patreon subscribers for supporting the channel. Have a great day, and see you soon!