Well, its been a 28 day long week, but the “more updates” that were mentioned to be coming “next week”, finally came, or at least some did; https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/feedback-monk-class-changes/490702/673

Easiest thing to do is to break it down one by one. Its been awhile since I’ve had changes to write about, so I may be a little rusty. I will update with any additional information, and note when I do. So check back every now and again for any updates.

Changes

• Energizing Elixir has been removed from the global cooldown.

This is a HUGE increase to the functionality of this ability. While it doesn’t “technically” increase its strength at all, taking it off the GCD means that we can consider using it again without wanting to bang our heads against the floor. Realistically now that using it won’t cause physical pain, we can consider it with the other options. Ascension was an option in BfA due to an excess of resources generated through random procs like Open Palm Strikes, Dance of Chi-Ji, Glory of the Dawn, Fury of Xuen, and more. Fist of the White Tiger remained the most popular choice throughout most of the expansion, and its unlike that will change dramatically. However, with this change Energizing Elixir will almost certainly move into contention for being “personal preference” with Fist of the White Tiger in single target, with Energizing Elixir having a slight numerical edge and Fist of the White Tiger having a slight mechanical edge. It is likely that Energizing Elixir will be the primary choice for AOE since it provides the most resources and will be very easy to use in AOE situations.

Overall this is an excellent change and one that we’ve been asking for.

• Spinning Crane Kick’s damage is now increased by up to 6 unique targets (was 5) struck by Tiger Palm, Blackout Kick, or Rising Sun Kick, up to 60% damage (was 50% damage).

This is a change that is a relatively new ask. Since Spinning Crane Kick had a target cap of 6, it makes sense that you would be able to tag 6 of them for increased damage. This is a positive change and one that makes sense.

• Haste now affects the periodic of Crackling Tiger Lightning.

I can’t remember how long I’ve been asking for this, but its been a while. This is an increase to Xuen’s overall damage, with a bigger effect on his cleave/AOE damage profile. The biggest change is that it means that Xuen scales 100% with our Haste, which helps Haste’s scaling. Its likely not going to be enough that Haste is suddenly THE BEST STAT EVER, but its a positive change in the right direction to a long standing problem.

• Weapons of Order has been redesigned for Windwalker Monks. Now, for the next 30 seconds, your Mastery is increased by 13%. Additionally, Rising Sun Kick reduces Chi costs by 1 for 5 seconds, and Blackout Kick reduces the cooldown of affected abilities by an additional 1 second.

Similar to the change to Faeline Stomp that I’ll mention shortly, this is one that we won’t know exactly how strong it is until we get our hands on it. It likely doesn’t completely remove the possibility that we spam Blackout Kick, but it certainly lessens the spamming potential of it since it further benefits Fists of Fury as well. Once we’re able to play with it and see how it works, we’ll have a better idea of the strength and mechanics of it.

We’re still not at the point of being able to decide which covenant is best for Windwalker, but we still have a few weeks yet.

• Faeline Stomp now deals Nature damage (or heals if Mistweaver) to targets in front of the Monk when cast and continues to deal additional damage to targets caught in the Faelines.

This was a covenant ability that we complained from very early on due to how difficult it was to use. We currently have no idea if what was said in today’s Blue post is the extent of it or if it replaces everything that we had previously, if its in addition to, or something in between. Once its implemented in Beta we’ll be able to test it and see more about how it works and compares to the previous iterations and the other covenants. Even if this is all it does, I’d rather something be boring (look gorgeous) and work correctly than have unnecessary flavor that just makes it harder to use.

We’re still not at the point of being able to decide which covenant is best for Windwalker, but we still have a few weeks yet.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where Rising Sun Kick and Whirling Dragon Punch were not contributing to Xuen’s Empowered Lightning.
• Rising Sun Kick Rank 2 has been restored and increases the damage of Rising Sun Kick by 70%.

Bug fixes is the #1 thing that Windwalkers need to see moving forward, so these getting fixed is a great thing. The hope is that this is just one part of a long list of bug fixes that we’ll see.

Hopefully our band of intrepid bug hunters, led by my personal nominee for Person of the Year; Mik, will be able to find a few more fixes that weren’t listed.

“Works in Progress”

We’re aware of balance concerns Windwalker Monks have about dual wield and 2 handed weapons. We’re considering different options to address the problem, and we’ll have more to share in the future.

This is something that we thought may be an issue, and its something that is important as we move into Shadowlands, but not essential for the Prepatch. Before the restriction was put in place in Legion, Windwalkers actually had very well implemented balance between DW and 2H. At the time, you’d generally look to grab a 2H weapon right away for the big item level boost, but using two 1H weapons was slightly better once you were able to get both at the same higher item level. This is, in my opinion, how things should work, but I know not all share my thoughts on that. Its very likely that in the past years since that was a reality, enough things under the hood have changed that rebalancing them will be important, so its very good to see that they’re acknowledging that.

We’re also aware of many bugs related to Storm, Earth and Fire, particularly in relation to other spells. We’re making every effort to improve the reliability of this ability.

These are some statements that are going to get different reactions from different folks. Obviously, if you’re fervently in the “#DeleteSEF” squad then hearing that they’re going to keep working on it, will probably not make you happy. If you’re someone that likes Storm, Earth, and Fire then you’re probably happy. I’m personally somewhere in the middle. Whats most important to me, beyond fixing the bugs, is future-proofing it so that more don’t predictably pop up as they have in the past. If the spend enough time that Storm, Earth, and Fire works the way it should and we’re not constantly having to play around bugs or just accept less damage, then I’ll be happy, even if I do think its easier just to replace it.

Final Thoughts

I’m hoping that as I put this out, there will be more to add to it later, and I will update it if that is the case, but something is better than nothing, and the fact that a few of these changes were ones that people directly asked about, does put a warm feeling in my heart. Hopefully bug fixes will continue and damage tuning will be appropriate and regular, and Windwalkers will be able to enjoy some time feeling good about playing a spec they love.