Guide Navigation
- The War Within Hero Talents Overview
- Shado-Pan Brewmaster Monk Review
- Hero Talent Breakdown
- Final Thoughts
- About the Author
Reviewing Shado-Pan Hero Talents - Brewmaster Monk Perspective and Scaling Analyzed
MID-MARCH, Blizzard revealed 12 new Hero Talent Trees in a sneak peek at the new system coming with The War Within expansion. Our Brewmaster Monk guide writer, Sinzhu, offers an early review of the Shado-Pan Monk Hero Talents that focus on the martial prowess of monks but come with some spec inequality and number of target scaling issues that could derail the spec before it even launches.
The War Within Hero Talents Overview
Hero Talents are an extension of the Talent system designed to explore class fantasy with a third talent tree, separate from your class and specialization. Blizzard has revealed an early preview of Hero Talents coming in the next expansion, The War Within. Our Guide Writers have provided initial first impressions on the Hero Talent Trees revealed so far. Check out all of our released Hero Talent reviews in our new Editorial Section.
Shado-Pan Brewmaster Monk Review
Hero Talents represent Blizzard's attempt to refine a specialization's fantasy during The War Within, offering additional talents spread along a key effect, three rows related to it, and finally a capstone. Importantly, you will have access to every option within a given set of Hero Talents upon reaching max level. While there may still be choice nodes to decide between, this means that every new node unlocked needs to be uniquely strong to justify their mandatory nature. For Brewmaster Monks, there are two available sets of Hero Talents: Shado-Pan and Master of Harmony. Available to Brewmasters and Windwalkers, the Shado-Pan Monk talents are described by Blizzard in this way:
"As a Shado-Pan, learn from your forebears and stand proud against your foes in defense of your friends and family. Bide your time and charge up your power before unleashing an overwhelming flurry of blows to overwhelm your opponents."
With this description in mind, here are the revealed Hero Talents for this tree:
| Hero Talent Name | Description |
| Shado-Pan Keystone - Overwhelming Flurry | Dealing damage equal to your maximum health generates a Flurry Charge. For each 400 Energy you spend, unleash all Flurry Charges as Flurry Strikes, dealing Physical damage per charge. |
| Shado-Pan Row 1 Choice Node - Pride of Pandaria | Flurry Strikes have 15% additional chance to critically strike. |
| Shado-Pan Row 1 Choice Node - High Impact | Enemies who die within 5 seconds of being damaged by a Flurry Strike explode, dealing damage to uncontrolled enemies within 8 yards. |
| Shado-Pan Row 1 Choice Node - Veteran's Eye | Striking the same target 5 times within 2 seconds grants 2% Haste. Multiple instances of this effect may overlap, stacking up to 10 times. |
| Shado-Pan Row 1 Choice Node - Martial Precision | Attacks penetrate 10% of the target's armor. |
| Shado-Pan Row 2 Choice Node - Protect and Serve | Your Vivify always heals you for an additional 30% of its total value. Lead from the Front - Chi Burst, Chi Wave, and Expel Harm now leech 20% of damage dealt. |
| Shado-Pan Row 2 Choice Node - One versus Many | Damage dealt by Fists of Fury and Keg Smash counts as double towards Flurry Charge generation. Fists of Fury damage increased by 10%. Keg Smash damage increased by 30%. |
| Shado-Pan Row 2 Choice Node - Whirling Steel | When you become injured, summon Whirling Steel, increasing your Parry chance and Avoidance by 15% for 6 seconds. |
| Shado-Pan Row 2 Choice Node - Predictive Training | When you dodge or parry an attack, reduce damage taken by 10% for the next 6 seconds. |
| Shado-Pan Row 3 Choice Node - Against All Odds | Flurry Strikes increase your Agility by 1% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 20 times. |
| Shado-Pan Row 3 Choice Node - Efficient Training | Energy spenders deal an additional 15% damage. Every 50 Energy spent reduces the cooldown of Storm, Earth, and Fire, Serenity, and Weapons of Order by 1 second. |
| Shado-Pan Row 3 Choice Node - Vigilant Watch | Blackout Kick deals an additional 20% critical damage and increases the damage of your next set of Flurry Strikes by 10%. |
| Shado-Pan Capstone - Wisdom of the Wall | Every 10 Flurry Strikes, become infused with a Wisdom of the Wall for 20 seconds. Wisdom of the Wall: Your Critical strikes deal an additional 30% damage. Your Mastery's effect is increased by 25%. Versatility now also increases your Dodge and Critical Strike chance by 25% of its effect. Flurry Strikes now deal additional Shadow damage to all uncontrolled enemies within 6 yards. |
Hero Talent Breakdown
The Shado-Pan Keystone - Overwhelming Flurry represents the core passive that the remaining Shado-Pan hero talents will be playing around. On paper, it seems simple enough: deal damage to build stacks of a buff that deals bonus damage after you have spent enough Energy. However, there are two main issues with how it operates, and both apply to how Flurry Charges are apparently generated. Due to Brewmaster Monk being a tank specialization, it has both increased maximum health and reduced damage compared to its Windwalker counterparts who can also select this branch of Hero Talents. This means that there are two additional hurdles to cross just for generating stacks of this buff, which will become even more detrimental as we continue moving through the rest of the talents below. Fortunately, these are issues that can be solved purely through tuning. If these problems are not resolved, though, you can at least expect some players to maybe consider reducing their maximum health for the sake of more Charges.
In terms of the choice nodes, the Shado-Pan Row 1 Choice Node - Pride of Pandaria, High Impact acts as a very basic amplifier to your Flurry Strikes generated by Overwhelming Flurry, increasing their Critical Strike chance. The Shado-Pan Row 1 Choice Node - Veteran's Eye has an effect that is only loosely tied to Overwhelming Flurry. Assuming that each Flurry Charge counts as a separate hit, consuming multiple at once may be enough on their own to trigger the bonus Haste of this talent. The Shado-Pan Row 1 Choice Node - Martial Precision allows your attacks to penetrate a portion of your target's Armor. The Shado-Pan Row 2 Choice Node - Protect and Serve, Lead from the Front leeches 20% of damage dealt by specific abilities. The Shado-Pan Row 2 Choice Node - One versus Many increases the damage dealt by specific abilities and counts them as double for Flurry Charge generation. The Shado-Pan Row 2 Choice Node - Whirling Steel increases your Parry chance and Avoidance when you become injured. The Shado-Pan Row 2 Choice Node - Predictive Training reduces damage taken when you dodge or parry an attack. The Shado-Pan Row 3 Choice Node - Against All Odds increases your Agility for each Flurry Strike. The Shado-Pan Row 3 Choice Node - Efficient Training increases damage dealt by Energy spenders and reduces the cooldown of specific abilities. The Shado-Pan Row 3 Choice Node - Vigilant Watch increases the critical damage of Blackout Kick and increases the damage of the next set of Flurry Strikes.
The Shado-Pan Capstone - Wisdom of the Wall represents the culmination of a Shado-Pan Brewmaster's training and has several bonuses tied to Flurry Strikes. However, requiring 10 Flurry Strikes to activate is a serious concern, as this currently means doing significant damage as a Brewmaster. The effects of Wisdom of the Wall can be random, providing additional critical strike damage, increased Mastery effect, increased Dodge and Critical Strike chance, or additional Shadow damage to enemies within 6 yards. The overall analysis of the Shado-Pan Brewmaster Monk talents reveals that they focus on rewarding damage-focused playstyle and have some balancing issues that need to be resolved. Feedback has been provided on the frustrating randomness of some effects, broken target scaling, and the perception that the talents are more suited to Windwalkers. Tuning and adjustments can help address these issues, and the potential of the talents in Mythic+ content is promising.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, the Shado-Pan Monk Hero Talents offer a unique playstyle that rewards a damage-focused approach. However, there are some concerns regarding the randomness of certain effects, target scaling, and the perception that the talents are more suited for Windwalkers. With proper tuning and adjustments, these issues can be addressed, making the talents more balanced and enjoyable for Brewmaster Monks. The Shado-Pan talents have the potential to shine in Mythic+ content, offering new strategies and playstyles for players. Overall, the Hero Talent system introduced in The War Within expansion is an exciting addition that brings additional depth and customization to the game.
About the Author
Hey there, I'm Sinzhu (Sin, not Shin). I've been a Brewmaster Monk player for the past nine years and have experience moderating the Monk class Discord. I'm currently raiding with