The Windwalker Monk is a very powerful melee damage dealer, capable of being at the top of DPS Tier Lists in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. While the rotation and skill ceiling is fairly high for Windwalker Monks, it helps to have better gear too! This guide will show the best items for every equipment slot available in Season 1 of Dragonflight.

Item Slot Navigation Menu

There are a few caveats that need to be addressed before we tunnel vision to the BiS List below. So if you're new, have a read-through and it will help determine what is the best gear for your character.

Windwalker Monk Best in Slot Stat Priorities

In general, items that have a higher Item level are the most important thing to remember. Higher Item levels provide more of the Primary Stat as well as higher weapon damage for specializations that need it. These are the two most important stats. When considering the Secondary Stats of an upgrade follow the priority listed below:

1. Weapon Damage
2. Agility
3. Versatility
4. Critical Strike
5. Mastery
6. Haste

Versatility increases all your damage and healing done, and reduces the amount of damage you receive. Critical Strike increases the chance of your abilities to deal double damage. Mastery increases Mastery: Combo Strikes, a flat damage boost based on not repeating abilities back to back. Haste makes attacks hit more frequently, improves energy regeneration and reduces the cooldowns of some skills.

The amount that is optimal always depends on the situation. You can also use a simulator, such as RaidBots, to see what you specifically should focus on. We have a section at the end of this guide to learn how to sim your gear.

Important Notes For BiS Lists

It is important to note that any jump in ilvl by more than 10 points almost always results in the higher ilvl item being better. If you have an upgrade of 5 ilvl or less, compare the stats based on the stat priorities to decide the better item.

Keep in mind that secondary stats eventually have diminishing returns. The calculations for diminishing returns are as follows:

• 0 to 30% in a stat - no penalty.
• 30% to 39% in a stat - 10% penalty.
• 39% to 47% in a stat - 20% penalty.
• 47% to 54% in a stat - 30% penalty.
• 54% to 66% in a stat - 40% penalty.
• 66% to 126% in a stat - 50% penalty.

In the case where you have reached 30% in a secondary stat, an item that has a secondary stat that is lower on priority may be a better upgrade. This is why it is always important to sim your gear. For simplicity, we offer the best per slot assuming you have not capped out these stats.

Windwalker Monk BIS Gear

The items appearing in this list may come from Mythic+, Raids, or The Vault. Their item level will depend on the instance's level of difficulty (Normal, Heroic, Mythic, Mythic+ 1-20). This list does not include Renown or Crafting items as it is meant as a guide on what dungeons or raids to attend to get your best gear from these sources.

For easy comparison, the item tooltips show Mythic level 9 or Normal Difficulty for Raid item level version of the item.

Best Head

The only item that has our preferred stats is Crown of Roaring Storms, and there aren't a lot of other second-best options out there.

Back to Item Menu

Best Neck

There are a number of items that have Versatility but none of them have Crit, unfortunately.

Back to Item Menu

Best Shoulders

The first option here provides the best stat boost. The Amice of the Enlightened is the only other option with Versatility so we've shown other options with Crit/Mastery. The Tier Shoulders aren't a bad option either.

Back to Item Menu

Best Back

The highest Vers option has Haste, so the best option would be the one with Mastery. It might also be better to look for Crit/Mastery as well, the best option for that is listed here too.

Back to Item Menu

Best Chest

The clear winner here is the Tier piece with a very high versatility stat and fortunately, it's paired with Crit too!

Back to Item Menu

Best Wrist

There are no options with Versatility on it, so look for these options with Crit/Mastery.

Back to Item Menu

Best Hands

A few good Vers options here, to choose between crit or mastery as your second stat. The tier-set Gloves are not a terrible choice if you're good with the amount of Vers you have.

Back to Item Menu

Best Waist

Also only one option with Versatility/Mastery here, the second option could be good if your Vers stat is having diminishing returns.

Back to Item Menu

Best Legs

The Tier Legs have a sizable amount of Versatility on them, the other option is to have Crit/Mastery from the other choices below it.

Back to Item Menu

Best Feet

There aren't any Versatility boots available in Raids and Mythic+. The only option then is to have Crit/Mastery, which there are a lot of options, but here are the two best options.

Back to Item Menu

Best Rings

The best option is the first one with Vers/Crit. However, due to the other Vers option having haste, the Crit Mastery options could be better.

Back to Item Menu

Best Trinkets

There are a lot of really unique Trinkets available, and depending on the content it could change as well. You may want multiple trinkets to swap just in case. The Vault of the Incarnates Raid drops a really powerful trinket if you have a tank with one as well, as they will provide Versatility in return. The first option remains a great pick due to the primary stat boost.

Back to Item Menu

Best Weapons

The best weapon on this list is the Polearm from Vault of the Incarnates due to the higher Item level. However, because it doesn't have the best secondary stats, it would be wise to look at some of the other options as well.

Back to Item Menu

How To Simulate To Determine Your Best Gear

Raidbots is a tool that World of Warcraft players can use to figure out if the gear they just looted is an upgrade. As mentioned earlier, there are so many nuances and diminishing returns at certain points in the game that determining an exact set of bis gear is impossible. With the ilvl scaling of Mythic+ loot on higher keys and the utility that a different gearset may have for different fights, there just isn't a pure "this is the absolute best for the entire Season" list. It's even something that certain classes have come across in Classic Wrath!

Don't worry, because we're still here to help. We highly recommend using the website Raidbots.com to determine if an item you just acquired is an upgrade. Here's a quick guide to help you run simulations to see if your new item is an upgrade:

• Make sure you have the Simulationcraft add-on installed.
• With your new loot in your inventory, open your chatbox and type /simc.
• A window will open up. Copy the entire text and paste it on the Raidbots Top Gear page. An example of that screen is seen below.

• This step is important. On the Top Gear page, scroll down and make sure you're selecting the gear you want simmed. If you do not select the gear you're wearing, as well as the gear in your inventory you just acquired, you won't know if you picked up an upgrade.
• Raidbots will then let you know which items allow you to maximize your DPS!

Back to Item Menu