PvE Brewmaster Monk Tank Stat Priority & Reforging

Brewmaster Monks in Mists of Pandaria can choose different stat priorities for their build, depending on the playstyle they prefer. They have two optimal stat priorities that they can follow, but a third one can also be chosen, involving Stamina, for Brewmasters who have a hard time mastering the specialization.

Stat Priority

Critical Strike Chance Build Stat Priority

1. Agility
2. Hit Chance (7.5%)
3. Expertise (15%)
4. Critical Strike Chance
5. Haste
6. Mastery
7. Parry
8. Dodge 
9. Stamina

Mastery Build Stat Priority

1. Agility
2. Hit Chance (7.5%)
3. Expertise (15%)
4. Mastery
5. Haste
6. Critical Strike Chance
7. Parry
8. Dodge
9. Stamina

Agility is a primary stat that increases a Brewmaster Monk’s Attack Power and Critical Strike Chance! As all abilities get exponentially better the more Attack Power you acquire, including the self-healing, this stat will be the bread and butter of your build. It is innately found on all items you’ll use, but it can be further enhanced through enchants, gems, and professions.

Hit or Hit Chance is a secondary stat that ensures attacks and spells land against higher-level mobs. You will need 7.5% Hit to ensure that your Melee Attacks never miss against a level 93 target, with each 340 Hit resulting in 1% Hit Chance. In Mists of Pandaria Classic, the rest of the 7.5% Spell Hit Chance is gained from Expertise, meaning you don’t have to worry about reaching beyond the 7.5% cap.

Expertise is a secondary stat in Mists of Pandaria that increases Spell Hit Chance and reduces the chance of your attacks being dodged or parried. You need 7.5% Expertise to ensure your attacks can’t be dodged and 15% Expertise to avoid being parried. 340 Expertise results in 1% Expertise. You will always want to ensure you reach the 15% cap as a Brewmaster Monk.

Critical Strike Chance is a secondary stat that allows attacks to deal increased damage, up to 200% of their normal amount! Brewmaster Monks have a special interaction with Critical Strike, being both an offensive and a defensive stat for them. Firstly, it is directly tied to their active mitigation due to two effects, Brewing: Elusive Brew and Elusive Brew. To effectively use their Elusive Brew active mitigation tool, Brewmaster Monks must consistently trigger the Brewing: Elusive Brew, which can only be done by landing critical strikes with their Auto-Attack. Secondly, the more Critical Strike you acquire, the harder you will hit, especially while under the effects of Vengeance, which will directly synergize with the Summon Black Ox Statue. This results in especially frequent absorption effects!

Haste is a secondary stat that directly increases Attack Speed and Energy Regeneration for Brewmaster Monks! Due to the very spammy nature of the specialization and the fact that you will consistently have to pool Chi by using your abilities, Haste is considered one of the top stats for most builds. However, you should not stack too much Haste; instead, focus on simply reaching a comfortable amount where you don’t become Energy starved, especially while using the Ascension talent. 

Mastery is a secondary stat that increases the amount of damage you can Stagger through the Mastery: Elusive Brawler effect! By default, this stat is considered the best defensive stat in your kit. However, it does compete with Critical Strike Chance, with many Brewmasters claiming that Critical Strike Chance stacking is often superior, especially with the right raid composition and healers. Nonetheless, stacking Mastery can be extremely good, especially in dungeon & raid environments where you’ll receive high Physical Damage. You will want to heavily stack it if you’re playing the Mastery build, while only starting to stack it after acquiring a decently high amount of Haste while following the Critical Strike Chance build.

Parry is a secondary stat that increases your overall avoidance, effectively negating Physical Attacks! Brewmaster Monks have a default 5% increased Parry Chance due to the Swift Reflex passive. In addition, thanks to the same effect, whenever they perform a Parry, they also passively damage the target with a 1-second internal cooldown, meaning that Parry Chance also effectively adds to their total damage output. Parry is more valuable than Dodge as a raw stat since Brewmaster Monks already have Elusive Brew.

Dodge is a secondary stat that works similarly to Parry, increasing your overall avoidance. Since Brewmaster Monks already have access to Elusive Brew, stacking more Dodge often results in bad scaling due to Diminishing Returns!

Stamina is a primary stat, inherent to all tanking specializations, directly increasing your overall HP. Unlike other tanks, Brewmaster Monks don’t benefit as much from overly stacking Stamina. You will still have a considerable amount of Stamina, but you will only prioritize a few Stamina gems and enchants, unlike other tanks, who heavily prioritize them. Alternatively, if you are inexperienced as a tank, you may double down and stack Stamina until you acquire enough experience to tweak your gear.

Reforging

Reforging can only be done on secondary stats, meaning you can’t acquire more Agility or Stamina through it! Brewmaster Monks can reforge their items in multiple ways due to the different stat priorities they can follow. Critical Strike Chance or Mastery are most commonly prioritized, followed by Haste. Keep in mind that you will, instead, always prioritize Hit & Expertise caps if you haven’t already reached them from your Gear/Gems/Enchants.

1. Hit
2. Expertise
3. Critical Strike Chance/Mastery (Depending on the Build)
4. Haste