Latest on this boardAll ability damage +4% outside PvP · 1 Sept 2026Auto-attacks +25%, Dual Threat +20%, Rising Sun Kick +8% outside PvP · 22 Sept 2026Fixed: PvP tuning of Celestial Conduit and Flurry Strikes no longer applies in PvE · 23 Sept 2026

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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 9 Oct 2026

World of Warcraft · damage specialisation

Windwalker Monk talents for Midnight S2 — Conduit of the Celestials or Shado-Pan, stat priority & rotation

Monk · Patch 12.1 · Midnight Season 2 · Checked 2026-10-09

Boss

What changes for Raid?

Stats:: Item level › Agility › Haste › Mastery = Critical Strike › Versatility
Press first:: Spinning Crane Kick after Fists of Fury on 2+ targets, to spend the 4-piece buff
First cooldown:: add a damage event below
Build:: Conduit of the Celestials · guide linked below

Hero talent

Conduit of the Celestials

recommended by the guide

Key talents

Drinking Horn Cover

+ Knowledge of the Broken Temple, Touch of the Tiger, Restore Balance

Stat emphasis

Haste

then Mastery = Critical Strike › Versatility

Single target

Drinking Horn Cover, Knowledge of the Broken Temple, Touch of the Tiger

what the boss damage leans on

Area damage

Jadefire Stomp and Singularly Focused Jade

what the pack damage leans on

Which talents change?

Raid vs Mythic+ · Conduit of the Celestials

The guide’s Conduit single-target build — the tree its 12.1 notes call more widely played now

Drinking Horn Covertake for Raid
Knowledge of the Broken Templetake for Raid
Touch of the Tigertake for Raid
Restore Balancetake for Raid
Spiritual Focusthe Mythic+ build’s — drop here
Skyfire Heelthe Mythic+ build’s — drop here
Harmonic Combothe Mythic+ build’s — drop here
Xuen's Bondthe Mythic+ build’s — drop here

Import string

The string is not copied here — import the Conduit of the Celestials build from Method ›

Which stats? — item level, then Agility

Item levelalways first
Agilityprimary
Haste#1
Mastery#2 · tie
Critical Strike#2 · tie
Versatility#3

Agility first; Versatility far behind the rest.

What do I press now?

Conduit of the Celestials

TIER SET

1Spinning Crane Kick after Fists of Fury on 2+ targets, to spend the 4-piece buff
2Spinning Crane Kick much more often on packs when Chi is spare
3Never repeat an ability back to back — it breaks Mastery

ZENITH

1Potion, racials and trinkets before Zenith so Zenith Stomp gets them
2Zenith Stomp when low on Chi or as Zenith ends
3Plan its timings: Spiritual Focus or Efficient Training shorten it

PROCS

1Do not let Combo Breaker or Dance of Chi-Ji run out
2Tiger Palm only to avoid capping Energy, or to reach Fists of Fury’s Chi
3Rushing Wind Kick and Rising Sun Kick can follow each other

CONDUIT OPENER

1Tiger Palm, then Invoke Xuen
2Zenith with potion, racials and trinkets
3Strike of the Windlord, Fists of Fury, Rising Sun Kick
4Fists of Fury again if it reset, else Whirling Dragon Punch

CONDUIT SINGLE TARGET

1Whirling Dragon Punch unless Xuen is due within 10 s
2Celestial Conduit when no Heart of the Jade Serpent is up
3Fists of Fury before Heart of the Jade Serpent ends
4Fists of Fury, Rushing Wind Kick, Rising Sun Kick
5Blackout Kick with Combo Breaker

CONDUIT AREA

1Fists of Fury as Heart of the Jade Serpent ends
2Whirling Dragon Punch or Strike of the Windlord if Xuen is 10+ s away
3Spinning Crane Kick with Unbroken Rhythm
4Spinning Crane Kick in Zenith on 5+ targets

Order and spell names from Method’s playstyle page for 12.1.

Hero talent for Raid

Conduit of the Celestials

Guide: Conduit, Shado-Pan for packs · Conduit of the Celestials recommended

Heart of the Jade Serpent windows speed up the whole rotation and Fists of Fury; bank Chi before each one so none of it is wasted.

Xuen's Bond or Restore BalanceRestore Balance in the single-target string, Xuen’s Bond in the Mythic+ one
Temple Training over Xuen's Guidanceboth Conduit strings
Jade Sanctuary over Niuzao's Protectionboth Conduit strings

Ready to pull?

Talents importedConduit of the Celestials build — the guide is linked in “Which talents change?”
Stat targetHaste › Mastery = Critical Strike after item level and Agility
ConsumablesFlask of the Blood Knights, Shattered Sun or Magisters — by your secondaries · Potion of Recklessness
Cooldowns assigned0 events on your timeline
InterruptSpear Hand Strike — 15 s cooldown, 5 s school lockout
First cooldownnone planned yet

Raid, M+ or Delves — what matters?

Job	Raid	Mythic+
Hero tree	Conduit of the Celestials (recommended)	Conduit of the Celestials (recommended)
Single target	Drinking Horn Cover, Knowledge of the Broken Temple, Touch of the Tiger	Spiritual Focus for more Zeniths
Area damage	Jadefire Stomp and Singularly Focused Jade	Skyfire Heel, Harmonic Combo and Crane Vortex
Conduit choice	Restore Balance	Xuen’s Bond

Delves, Prey and outdoor: no source gives Windwalker Monk guidance for them yet — no column is guessed.

What goes wrong for me?

Buffs before Zenith so Zenith Stomp gets them.
Spinning Crane Kick after Fists of Fury on 2+ targets for the 4-piece.

I run out of Chi: Tiger Palm only when short of Chi for Fists of Fury or capping Energy.
Zenith Stomp makes 2 Chi — spend the charges before Zenith ends.
Packs die slowly: Shado-Pan far outdoes Conduit on packs.
Spend spare Chi on Spinning Crane Kick.
I die: Touch of Karma before a big hit, or when low to pause your health bar.
Only Fortifying Brew and Touch of Karma — plan both per fight.
I lose damage when moving: Fists of Fury can be channeled on the move.
Lighter Than Air’s dash cancels knockbacks, even mid-channel.

When do I spend cooldowns? · Nek’zali the Soulcoiler

Boss timers are not on this page — the events are yours (✎). Enter times from your boss mod; the warnings come from each cooldown’s length.

Zenith1 min 30 s · lasts 15 s
Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger2 min · lasts 20 s
Celestial Conduit1 min 30 s · lasts 4 s
Touch of Karma1 min 30 s · lasts 10 s
Fortifying Brew6 min · lasts 15 s
Touch of Death3 min

No events yet — add the first big damage moment from your boss mod.

When do I swap a talent?

Talent	Type	Rule
Spiritual Focus	Damage	Take when more Zeniths — both Mythic+ strings, in place of Drinking Horn Cover
Whirling Dragon Punch / Shadowboxing Treads / Skyfire Heel	Damage	Take when 4 or more enemies for a long stretch — Maxroll’s area raid build
Restore Balance	Damage	Take when fight length and trinkets favour it over Xuen’s Bond
Echo Technique	Damage	Drop everywhere — Revolving Whirl replaced it after 12.0.5
Fatal Touch	Damage	Keep Touch of Death every 90 s instead of 3 min
Ring of Peace	Utility	Keep keys — with Paralysis it skips packs; in raid it keeps adds off a boss
Lighter Than Air	Movement	Keep its dash cancels knockbacks, works mid–Fists of Fury and carries momentum
Swift Art	Movement	Take when Altar of Fangs — high keys run it there far more than anywhere else

What does this fight ask of me?

Nek’zali the Soulcoiler

Break Gravebound Advance with magic damage, then kill each Amani before the well.
The intermission rewards strong AoE, as adds and corpses pile up there.
Melee soak each Hungering Pyre; killing both Echoes of Jawae closes the intermission.
In Phase 2, use Hero/Lust and cooldowns and burn the boss.

Boss guide ›

Share my plan

Windwalker Monk · Raid · Nek’zali the Soulcoiler
Hero: Conduit of the Celestials · Stats: Item level › Agility › Haste › Mastery = Critical Strike › Versatility
Talents: Drinking Horn Cover, Knowledge of the Broken Temple, Touch of the Tiger, Restore Balance
Code: (the guide’s, linked on the page)
Patch 12.1 · checked 2026-10-09

Good at · weak at

● A tool for nearly every situation, flexible cooldowns and decent utility.
● Excellent mobility — Roll, Flying Serpent Kick and Lighter Than Air.
● Zenith’s cooldown flexes from one to two minutes to fit a fight.
● Maxroll rates its utility and mobility excellent.
● Sims put it 1st of 26 specs at 3 and 5 targets and 4th on one target.

● Only two defensives: Fortifying Brew and Touch of Karma.
● Survivability rated weak, single-target damage average.
● No cleave on spread targets since Power of the Thunder King was removed.
● Two Zeniths back to back: the second finds few Tigereye Brew stacks.

Tier set · Guile of the Monkey King

● 2-piece: Fists of Fury strikes once more at the start of its channel, at half effect.
● 4-piece: Each Fists of Fury hit makes your next Rising Sun Kick 10% or Spinning Crane Kick 20% stronger, up to 6 stacks.

Gone in Midnight: Storm, Earth, and Fire, The Emperor's Capacitor, Power of the Thunder King, Summon White Tiger Statue.

Gear:Items for Windwalker Monk ›· Full BiS lists:MethodWowhead

Apex talent · Tigereye Brew

● Every 3 Chi spent adds a stack — discounted and free casts count their full Chi.
● Zenith turns each stack into 1% critical strike chance.
● Out of combat it refills quickly to 10 stacks.
● Rank 3 swaps the Zenith button for Zenith Stomp charges: big area damage and 2 Chi each — spend them before Zenith ends.

What top keys wear

Most worn by 339 Windwalker Monk in +18–22 keys, US+EU, week of Oct 6–14 (Blizzard API)

Median item level 328 · 339 characters’ gear and 349 characters’ talents · +18–22 keys · hero trees Conduit of the Celestials 91% · Shado-Pan 9%

Trinkets

Voracious Heart of Ula'tek91%
Zul'jin's Guillotine Techniquetier set52%
Keeper's Seething Core17%
Gebbo's Bottomless Bag14%
Freightrunner's Flask6%
Resonant Bellowstone6%

Rings

Neck

Back

Adherent's Silken Shroudcrafted · embellished28%
Silken Voodoo Drape20%
Speakeasy Shroud16%

Main hand

Abyssal Broodfiend's Bardiche91%
Blood Knight's Impetuscrafted · embellished2%

Head

Monkey King's Unyielding Visagetier set89%
Gaze of the Coiled Watcher11%

Shoulders

Tassels of the Monkey Kingtier set93%
Silvermoon Agent's Mantlecrafted · embellished3%
Frothing Venom Spaulders3%

Chest

Battle Gi of the Monkey Kingtier set96%
Vestment of the Awakening2%

Wrists

Silvermoon Agent's Deflectorscrafted · embellished89%
Fury-fletched Armlets4%
Restless Spirit Shackles3%

Hands

Monkey King's Fighting Fiststier set74%
Silvermoon Agent's Handwrapscrafted10%
Gauntlets of Fevered Defense6%

Waist

Sash of the Forlorn Vessel31%
Agile Cord of the Monkey King17%
Unpossessed Skullsash15%

Legs

Pantaloons of the Monkey Kingtier set82%
Silvermoon Agent's Leggingscrafted8%
Coiled Hex Legguards6%

Feet

Silvermoon Agent's Sneakerscrafted · embellished79%
Sand-Shined Snakeskin Sandals6%
Shinguards of the Monkey King4%

Embellishments

Arcanoweave Lining97%
Loa Worshiper's Band10%

Talents — top keys against this guide’s Mythic+ build

This guide’s Mythic+ build plays Conduit of the Celestials; 91% of top keys do. Checked on its 4 named key talents and every choice node.

Drinking Horn Cover — 69% of top keys take it, over Spiritual Focus (this guide’s pick)

Open the most common top-key build in the talent planner ›

How we counted: the best timed run of each character on Blizzard’s Mythic+ leaderboards this week, then its profile — gear only if it is still in this spec, talents from its active loadout. A share is of this spec’s sample, per slot (both rings and both trinkets merged); a row needs 2% and 2 characters. Read 2026-10-09 from Blizzard’s Game Data and Profile APIs, no names kept. Top keys, not all players — what they wear, not a best-in-slot list.

Ask the guide

Where sources disagree

Conduit or Shado-Pan?: ◆ Maxroll: even on one target with Conduit’s burst ahead; Shado-Pan far ahead on packs; ◆ Top 50 M+ Windwalker: 49 Conduit, 1 Shado-Pan; ◆ High keys: Conduit 68%
Haste or Mastery first?: ◆ Guide: Haste › Mastery = Crit › Versatility; ◆ Top 50 M+ gear: Mastery +1161, ahead of Haste +871
Drinking Horn Cover or Spiritual Focus in keys?: ◆ Guide’s Mythic+ strings: Spiritual Focus; ◆ High-key Conduits: Drinking Horn Cover 75%; ◆ Top 50 M+ Windwalker: 35 of 50 take Drinking Horn Cover

What changed this season

Show PvP-only changes

2026-08-11 · 12.1 — Tiger Palm +200%, Blackout Kick +50%, auto-attacks +30%, Dual Threat +30%
2026-08-11 · 12.1 — Spinning Crane Kick −12%, Zenith Stomp −30%; Whirling Dragon Punch area +30%, Jade Ignition +50%
2026-08-11 · 12.1 — Weapon of Wind 5% in Zenith (was 10%); Tigereye Brew rank 2 crit damage 5%/10% (was 10%/20%)
2026-08-11 · 12.1 — Vivify and Expel Harm +25%; Combat Wisdom adds 5% Stamina; Calming Presence 10% (was 6%)
2026-08-11 · 12.1 — Conduit: Celestial Conduit −25%; Temple Training 30% (was 10%)
2026-09-01 · 12.1 — All ability damage +4% outside PvP
2026-09-22 · 12.1 — Auto-attacks +25%, Dual Threat +20%, Rising Sun Kick +8% outside PvP
2026-09-23 · 12.1 — Fixed: PvP tuning of Celestial Conduit and Flurry Strikes no longer applies in PvE
Coming 2026-10-13 · 12.1.5 — Fixed: Transcendence: Transfer no longer works while silenced with Linked Spirits

Where this comes from

How we checked: every talent named here is matched against Blizzard’s own tree (Game Data API, build 12.1.0.68914) by a test; builds, stats and cooldowns come from at least two dated sources, and where they disagree both sides are shown; loadout strings and BiS lists are linked, never copied.

Blizzard — 12.1 patch notesMonk changes in 12.1 (notes Aug 6, live Aug 11) · read 2026-10-09
Blizzard — 12.1.5 notesChanges landing Oct 13 — one Monk fix · read 2026-10-09
Blizzard — Midnight hotfixesHotfixes and tuning, Aug 13 – Oct 6 (Season 2 tuning on Aug 18) · read 2026-10-09
Warcraft Wiki — Guile of the Monkey KingSet bonuses per spec (tooltips), pieces, the Aug 18 and Sep 1 Mistweaver changes · read 2026-10-09
Method — Midnight Season 2 tier set bonusesThe set’s name and each spec’s 2- and 4-piece · read 2026-10-09
GamGem — Windwalker in Mythic+ (Blizzard leaderboards)Seats in timed keys, US and EU, Sep 29 – Oct 6 — 352,237 runs counted · read 2026-10-09
Method — Windwalker Monk guideOverview, 12.1 and 12.0.5 changes (updated Aug 18) · read 2026-10-09
Method — Windwalker Monk talentsFour builds (both trees, raid and keys), apex, hero trees · read 2026-10-09
Method — Windwalker Monk stats and consumablesStat order, gems, consumables · read 2026-10-09
Method — Windwalker Monk playstylePriorities per tree and target count, openers, cooldowns, defensives · read 2026-10-09
Maxroll — Windwalker Monk raid guideRatings, hero tree comparison, area builds, removals · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Zenith tooltip1.5 min recharge, 2 charges, 15 s · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger tooltip2 min, 20 s · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Celestial Conduit tooltip1.5 min, 4 s channel · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Touch of Karma tooltip1.5 min, 10 s, absorbs up to 50% of health · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Touch of Death tooltip3 min base · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Fists of Fury tooltip24 s, channeled while moving · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Spear Hand Strike tooltip15 s, 5 s school lockout · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Fortifying Brew tooltip6 min base, 15 s · read 2026-10-09
Murlok.io — top 50 Windwalker Monks in M+Hero tree, stats and talents on top players · read 2026-10-09
Mythistone — Windwalker Monk in high keysHero tree, choice nodes, dungeon swaps · read 2026-10-09
Mythistone — sim tier listSimulationCraft ranks at 1, 3, 5 and 8 targets, simmed Oct 8 · read 2026-10-09
GamGem — leather Agility itemsThe Season 2 items a Windwalker Monk can wear · read 2026-10-09

Windwalker Monk this season — quick answers

Conduit of the Celestials or Shado-Pan for Windwalker Monk in Midnight Season 2?

Method builds both trees and calls Conduit of the Celestials the more played one since 12.1; Maxroll gives Conduit the edge on one target and Shado-Pan on packs; the guide recommends Conduit of the Celestials for raid and Mythic+. Top 50 M+ Windwalker (rating 3875–4139): 49 Conduit of the Celestials, 1 Shado-Pan. High keys (top 1% of runs): Conduit 68%; the top 50 ranked: 97%. Blizzard’s leaderboards, Sep 29 – Oct 6: 6,984 seats in +16 keys, 0.79× an even damage share — 11th of 27 damage specs. Top Mythic+ keys this week run Conduit of the Celestials 91% · Shado-Pan 9%.

What is the Windwalker Monk stat priority for raid and Mythic+?

Item level first, then Agility. Raid: Haste › Mastery = Critical Strike › Versatility. Mythic+: Haste › Mastery = Critical Strike › Versatility.

What does the Windwalker Monk Season 2 tier set do?

Guile of the Monkey King: 2-piece — Fists of Fury strikes once more at the start of its channel, at half effect; 4-piece — Each Fists of Fury hit makes your next Rising Sun Kick 10% or Spinning Crane Kick 20% stronger, up to 6 stacks.

What changes for Windwalker Monk in the next patch?

12.1.5 (2026-10-13): Fixed: Transcendence: Transfer no longer works while silenced with Linked Spirits.

How long are the Zenith and Touch of Karma cooldowns?

Zenith: 1 min 30 s, lasts 15 s. Touch of Karma: 1 min 30 s, lasts 10 s.

What gear do top Mythic+ Windwalker Monk players wear (BiS)?

Most worn by 339 Windwalker Monk in +18–22 keys, US+EU, week of Oct 6–14 (Blizzard API). Trinkets: Voracious Heart of Ula'tek 91%, Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique 52%, Keeper's Seething Core 17%. Rings: Sickening Signet of Atroxus 43%, Charged Sandstone Band 34%. Embellishments: Arcanoweave Lining 97%, Loa Worshiper's Band 10%. Hero trees: Conduit of the Celestials 91% · Shado-Pan 9%. Median item level 328. What most top keys wear — measured, not a best-in-slot list.