Channeling the Power of Pandaria: A Review of Mistweaver Monk's Conduit of the Celestials Hero Talents

Conduit of the Celestials: Exploring Mistweaver Monk's Hero Talent Tree

In mid-March, Blizzard unveiled the new Hero Talent Trees in a sneak peek for The War Within expansion. As Mistweaver Monks, we were excited to see the Conduit of the Celestials Monk Hero Talents, which offer a flexible talent selection compatible with both caster and melee Mistweavers. It captures the essence of Pandaria and makes us feel like we're channeling the might of the August Celestials. Let's take a closer look at these talents and what they have to offer.

The War Within Hero Talents Overview

Blizzard has given us an early preview of the Hero Talents coming in The War Within expansion, and our Guide Writers have provided their initial first impressions. Check out all of our released Hero Talent reviews in our new Editorial Section.

• A Sneak Peek at Conduit of the Celestials Mistweaver Monk

In the past, Monks have often received previews of new systems later than other classes, creating anticipation and speculation among players. With the reveal of Conduit of the Celestials, Mistweavers finally have a chance to explore a new Hero Talent tree. As a Mistweaver Monk myself, I was particularly excited about this talent tree because of my love for the August Celestials and their impact on Pandaria's history. The way monks interact with their teachings offers exciting possibilities for our spellbook.

After diving into Conduit of the Celestials, it has exceeded my expectations. Let's take a closer look at the talents:

• Talent Walkthrough

Keystone: This talent, when used alone, may not be the most impressive. It allows us to channel a healing and damaging spell while moving, similar to Essence Font. The specifics of the spell, such as whether the damage and healing are split and if they scale with the number of enemies, are yet to be revealed. However, this talent becomes truly impactful as we progress further down the talent tree.

Choice: The first choice we encounter is between two options. The first option improves the healing of Enveloping Mist and Vivify by 10%, enhancing our single-target and group healing abilities. The second option directly impacts the damage of Tiger Palm and the stacks of Teachings of the Monastery. This can be significant for melee-centric builds, especially if each stack of Teachings of the Monastery has a chance to refund itself. The increased damage of Tiger Palm also translates into a buff for the healing provided by Ancient Teachings.

Choice: In this choice node, we have Refreshing Jade Wind, which is a spell we haven't taken since the talent rework introduced Mist Wrap. However, Mist Wrap has been a staple in our builds due to its impact on Enveloping Mist. Refreshing Jade Wind, on the other hand, provides free throughput while our celestial is active. This makes it unlikely for Refreshing Jade Wind to be chosen over Mist Wrap in most scenarios.

Choice: This choice node focuses on increasing the effectiveness of different abilities based on the stacks of Sheilun's Gift. It allows us to plan our spells and casts more strategically, empowering key spells and triggers. Lowering the cooldown of Thunder Focus Tea and Life Cocoon is a particularly useful aspect of this ability.

Choice: This ability activates after summoning Xuen and provides a cast time reduction for Enveloping Mist, as well as an absorb shield on random targets. The chance to summon Xuen is increased when either of our celestial assistants is invoked, resulting in potentially powerful absorbs during our celestial window.

Choice: This talent simply provides a movement speed increase during Celestial Conduit, making it a useful ability for mobility purposes. It triggers when our celestials are summoned through the talents in this tree.

Choice: The final set of talents gives us an option for a melee-focused build or a ranged healing build. The first option provides small secondary stats cycling between our celestials. The second option, Jadefire Stomp, is particularly interesting as it activates Ancient Teachings, which is no longer available through Essence Font. This talent can significantly impact our Rising Sun Kick's damage and Vivify's healing, making it a compelling choice for encounters that require additional healing.

Capstone: The final talent, Unity Within, allows us to call upon all of the August Celestials at 200% effectiveness. The exact details of what the celestials will do at 200% effectiveness are yet to be revealed, but the potential for multiple copies of our celestials assisting us is an exciting prospect.

Handling Multiple Playstyles

One concern with Hero Talent trees was that Mistweavers would have to choose between a damage-oriented build and a ranged-healing build. However, Conduit of the Celestials offers talents that cater to both playstyles. Mistweavers can switch between the two builds depending on the encounter, allowing for flexibility and rewarding players for their chosen playstyle.

Theming and Flavor of Abilities

The Conduit of the Celestials is designed to capture the essence and teachings of the August Celestials. The talents allow us to channel their power and call upon their assistance in combat regularly. The capstone talent, Unity Within, perfectly embodies this theme by empowering all abilities and summoning multiple copies of the celestials to assist us. If the celestials are visually represented in-game, it will enhance the fantasy of being their conduit.

Gameplay Impact

Many of the talents in Conduit of the Celestials seamlessly integrate into our existing gameplay. Some talents provide additional rewards for specific abilities or buff our stats, while others offer passive increases to our healing throughput. Overall, Mistweavers will enjoy the new cooldown and slight changes to gameplay as we summon the celestials to aid us in combat.

About the Author

This article was written by JuneMW, a dedicated Mistweaver Monk who has been healing since the Siege of Orgrimmar. During Legion's beta development, she began theorycrafting for the specialization and enjoys creating spreadsheets. She is currently a moderator in the Peak of Serenity server, where she helps players understand the Mistweaver specialization.

Celestial Conduit Overview

Here is an overview of the active ability and talent details:

That wraps up our overview of the Conduit of the Celestials Mistweaver Monk Hero Talent Tree. We hope you're as excited as we are to explore and experiment with these new talents in The War Within expansion!

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