IN World of Warcrafttanking classes have undergone significant changes over the years, but one of the most striking changes occurs in the Midnight expansion, thanks to the massive class changes and button cropping. Often considered a mid-tank pick i Wow's War Within expansion (with better choices being Vengeance Demon Hunter and Protection Paladin), Brewmaster Monk now stands as one of the top classes for solo and endgame content, if not the best overall.
Recent changes to the monk's toolbox have elevated it to the point where it is arguably the best tank in World of Warcraft for players looking to tackle tough solo challenges or push through difficult endgame content outside of random groups. Several factors helped Brewmaster Monk improve in Midnight, making it very resilient even in the face of defensive and utility skill removal, as well as a great option for AoE damage and easier squad routing/pulling in dungeons and raids.
World of Warcraft: Midnight Raids has some surprising boss encounters
World of Warcraft players will be in for a shock when they enter some of the raids and dungeons coming in the Midnight expansion.
How Brewmaster Monk went from midnight to good at midnight
In The War Within, Brewmaster Monks are often overlooked in favor of tanks with easier damage reduction or better utility for raiding groups. While their mobility and unique mechanics, like Stagger, were fun and useful, they didn't quite measure up when it came to mitigating long-term damage or dealing with advanced raid mechanics. However, the Midnight expansion introduced a series of changes that dramatically improved Brewmaster Monk's survivability, mobility, and versatility, allowing it to outperform other tanking classes, especially when using the Shado-Pan Hero Talent Tree.
- Revamped Stagger Mechanic: The Stagger mechanic has always been core to Brewmaster Monk's tanking style, but at midnight it was reworked to scale more effectively with the Monk's other defensive tools. The ability to shift a larger portion of incoming damage over time, along with better scaling as the fight progresses, has made Brewmasters incredibly resilient, especially in Wow's Delves or multi-phase encounters in M+ Dungeons and Raids. The change ensures that Brewmasters can take significant sustained damage without being overwhelmed, a crucial improvement for endgame content.
- Mobility: Abilities like Roll, Transcendence, and the Chi Torpedo talent give Brewmasters the ability to quickly reposition, dodge mechanics, and dodge incoming damage with unprecedented agility. This mobility is a huge advantage in both solo play and high-end content, where positioning and avoiding damage is critical to survival.
- Stronger self-sufficiency: In The War Within, Brewmasters had decent self-healing, but it wasn't enough to make them stand out in endgame scenarios. Midnight addressed this by improving Expel Harm and Fortifying Brew, which now provide much stronger self-healing and damage. This allows Brewmasters to regenerate their health during prolonged encounters, making them less dependent on external healing in solo or group settings. With a more reliable loop that uses Keg Smash for damage and Fortifying Brew, Brewmasters can easily take care of long boss fights and high damage situations.
- Increased AoE threat generation: Brewmaster Monks have always been good at dealing with multiple enemies and drawing many groups at once, thanks to their various AoE abilities and high mobility. At midnight, this ability was further fine-tuned, allowing Brewmasters to maintain threat against large enemies while dealing solid AoE damage. This makes them the perfect choice for Wow midnight dungeons or multi-target raid encounters, where keeping aggro on multiple enemies is a priority.
- Fewer key bindings: With the button cropping in Midnight, Brewmaster Monk feels much easier and smoother to play than ever before. It may have lost iconic abilities like Purifying Chi, but the overall gameplay loop has improved.
While Brewmaster Monk lost Purifying Chi with Wows button cropping in midnight hardly feels like a loss as you would end up using it in milder encounters where the shield was small, or take too much damage and possibly die when the shield could have been bigger and more useful.
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Why Brewmaster Monk is the best tank in World of Warcraft: Midnight
Whether it's tackling solo challenges, powering through high-level raids, or running dungeons with a trusted group of friends, Brewmasters now offer unmatched versatility and survivability. Here's why Brewmaster Monks has become the go-to option for solo and endgame content:
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While Protection Warriors are the top tier for surviving burst damage, Brewmasters have better overall durability thanks to Stagger, especially in solo content and longer fights where Protection Warriors can sometimes struggle with sustained damage. Brewmasters also excel in mobility, something Protection Warriors lack.
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Protection Paladins can be less mobile than Brewmasters, which is a major disadvantage in mech-heavy fights, especially in solo content. Even with multiple abilities for extra team utility and survivability, Protection Paladins can feel like a pretty squishy tank in high-key World of Warcrafts M+ Dungeons.
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Blood Death Knights have excellent sustain, but they are currently the lowest ranked tank in terms of damage, and they have no raid buff. Instead, the Brewmaster Monk has access to Mystic Touch, which removes enemies to take 5% more physical damage.
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Demon Spikes provide good short-term damage reduction, but the Vengeance Demon Hunter can struggle with sustained damage that isn't mitigated by burst cooldowns. Maintaining Demon Spike's uptime and knowing when to activate Metamorphosis and Fel Devastation requires precision, and failing to manage these cooldowns properly can leave Wows Demon Hunter's vulnerable, as opposed to Brewmaster Monk's always up Stagger mechanic.
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Guardian Druids are less mobile than Brewmasters or Demon Hunters. Great for sustained tanking and AoE control, but doesn't provide a significant buff to group DPS or healing, especially considering Mark of the Wild will most likely be applied by other druids in the group. This is because Feral works well as a DPS spec, and Restoration Druid is pretty much the best healer in Wowis midnight.
What makes Brewmaster Monk's rise in Midnight particularly impressive is how it has addressed many of the issues that held it back in The War Within. Even if WowThe FOMO approach to live service makes it difficult to reroll as a Brewmaster monk, the game currently has many active experience bonuses if you want to try the Brewmaster. The spec has always been a fun and mobile tank, but it was often outclassed by tanks with better raw survivability and less reliance on precise mechanics. Now Brewmasters can stand toe to toe with the best of them, and even surpass them.
- Released
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November 23, 2004
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence (online interactions not rated)
- Engine
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Unreal engine
