Three Effective Monk Talent Builds for Leveling in Mists of Pandaria

Mists of Pandaria is coming soon, and you will want to level a monk, fast. Heirloom gear, plenty of stocked up food, and a friend to recruit can all help you get to 90. But in the end, what you really need is a good talent build.

As you no doubt know, Monks can tank, dps, or heal. If your goal is speedy leveling, you have three basic options. You could level with a friend (recruit a friend if you can, the exp bonus and teleports are great) and heal for him or her. Alternatively, you could dps and have your leveling friend heal you. If there's no one in your life willing to play along with you, your best choice is a sturdy, hard-hitting tank build.

Warning

Leveling a monk can be… boring, for lack of a better word. At later levels, variation and damage potential increase, but the early levels tend to drag on. A friend is a good choice for more reasons than just faster leveling and strength in numbers.

Talent Trees and Specializations

With the new talent system, every level interval offers three different talents that could be a good choice for every spec. Still, some talents could get you to 90 faster, depending on your spec.

Specializations, only available with certain prerequisite talents, offer a more focused character build. If you're playing with friends, you want to lean more toward your role. If you're leveling alone, choose more balanced specializations.

Brewmaster

Brewmaster is the name for the monk tank spec. If you're leveling on your own, being able to take a hit is going to save you a lot of trips to the graveyard. Remember that the best talents for high level play may be different from the ones you need for leveling. You need to be able to kill things fast. This spec is a good balance between defense and damage output.

Recommended Brewmaster Leveling Talents

15- Celerity

30- Chi Burst

45- Ascension

60- Charging Ox Wave

75- Dampen Harm

90- Chi Torpedo

Mistweaver

The monk healer spec. Focus on basic healing spells, and let your level buddy go down with damage. Quick healing and restorations spells take precedence, but some talents have damage potential as well.

Recommended Mistweaver Leveling Talents

15- Tiger's Lust

30- Chi Wave

45- Chi Brew

60- Deadly Reach

75- Healing Elixers

90- Chi Torpedo

Wind Walker

The monk dps spec. With a leveling partner keeping you at full health, all you need to worry about is bringing the hurt. Churning through mobs is essential to quick leveling.

Recommended Wind Walker Talents

15- Momentum

30- Chi Burst

45- Power Strikes

60- Leg Sweep

75- Diffuse Magic

90- Rushing Jade Wind

Must Have Specializations - Brewmaster

Your three most important Brewmaster specializations are:

Keg Smash - Chi generating, effects up to three targets, and makes mobs easier to kill? Yes, please.

Breath of Fire - Provides much-needed dps with fire effect to take out those pesky fleeing mobs with less running.

Guard - Take more damage and a plus to healing yourself. Essential when leveling alone.

Must Have Specializations - Mistweaver

Soothing Mist - Your basic healing ability. If you level with a dps, you'll get to know this ability pretty well. Also, has a chance to regenerate chi.

Enveloping Mist - The best second "mist" option for levelers, the others are more for raid situations. Increases the efficacy of soothing mist.

Mana Tea - Greatly increases mana production if you stack it fully. You don't want to end up oom in the middle of nowhere.

Must Have Specializations - Windwalker

Fist of Fury - Will help you handle large groups of mobs with evenly distributed damage and stuns.

Flying Serpent Kick - A movement buff, good for shooting from one pocket of mobs to the next. Has damage potential as well.

Spinning Fire Blossom - Use on far away mobs to draw them in, the damage is greater that way.

Good luck using these builds to get to the rich end game content WOW provides. Trust me, it's worth the grind to get to 90, and the faster you level up, the faster you're there.

How To Instantly Get The Best Talent Builds and Rotations

All About Pandaren

The Pandaren are a race of panda-like people added to the game in Mists of Pandaria.  They are native to Pandaria, and until very recently, they have been isolated from the rest of the world by a shroud of mists surrounding their homeland.  Once slaves to a fierce race of warlords known as the mogu, the Pandaren have overcome, and are now honorable warriors and farmers, artists and cooks.  However, when Azeroth's future looked bleakest, the Pandaren Emperor obscured the continent with mists, hiding it away from the world for ten-thousand years.  Pandaria remained undiscovered until a naval battle between Horde and Alliance ventured into uncharted waters and crashed upon the shore.   

Pandaria Gold Guide

Not every Pandaren was hidden away with the shrouding of Pandaria, however.  Now and then, tenacious explorers made their way beyond the mist. Hundreds of years ago, a group of these explorers set out on the back of a giant turtle, determined to discover new lands.  As the turtle wandered the seas of Azeroth, generations of Pandaren lived their lives out on its back.  Life was peaceful for these Pandaren until the turtle wandered too close to the Maelstrom, a great rift in Azeroth caused by immensely powerful magic. 

 

Players who create a Pandaren character start out on the back of the turtle, completing their training to become powerful fighters.  As life on the turtle becomes less stable, the young Pandaren must uncover the threat and decide how best to deal with it.  In the process, they will come into contact with outsiders for the first time, and must choose their allies and enemies carefully.  

The Pandaren are a neutral race, meaning they belong to neither the Alliance nor the Horde.  At the end of the Pandaren starting zone, players must choose a side, and decide if they wish to become one of the Alliance, or a member of the Horde.  Players do not choose a faction until around level 20, and they cannot join guilds or receive mail until they do.  

Pandaren characters have several classes to choose from.  They can be monks, the new melee class added with the expansion, as well as rogues, shamans, hunters, priests, mages, and warriors.  The Pandaren were hidden behind mists when the Lich King created death knights, however, and so Pandaren characters cannot be death knights.  They are also unable to be warlocks or druids.

There are a few innate talents unique to Pandaren characters.  Because the Pandaren are known for their love of good food and drink, they get a bonus to the "Well Fed" effect, a stat increase that comes from eating certain types of food.  The amount of stat points temporarily gained by eating food is doubled for Pandaren characters.  In addition, their cooking skill starts out at 15 points, rather than 1.   

Pandaren are also known for their inner tranquility and enlightened approach to the world.  The "Inner Peace" racial ability causes their rested experience bonus to last twice as long.  The rested experience bonus is gained by logging out in an inn or major city.  The rested effect doubles the amount of experience received from killing monsters, however it only lasts for a certain amount of time based on how long a character was logged out and not gaining experience.  For Pandaren characters, it will take twice as long for the effect to wear off.  

The Pandaren body type is also naturally bouncy, so all Pandaren take 50% less damage from a fall.  And most Pandaren are somewhat familiar with the combat arts of the monk, and able to use the "Quaking Palm" ability.  This move is an instant ability that suddenly strikes a target, incapacitating them for 4 seconds.  This ability will be especially useful in player versus player combat, where it can be used to keep other players from casting powerful spells or attacking. 

The Pandaren are a noble race, with much to teach and learn from the races of Azeroth.  Their special abilities make them a good choice for any of the classes, as well as allowing them to level a bit faster than other characters.  In addition, Pandaren can choose to be either Horde or Alliance, so any player can create a Pandaren on the same faction as their friends.   

How To Make Gold in Pandaria