PvE Windwalker Monk Stat Priority & Reforging

Windwalker Monks have a very strict stat priority in Mists of Pandaria, favoring Haste as one of their most impactful stats, followed by Critical Strike Chance. Mastery has gone through some changes, especially on the MoP Beta Classic version, making it more useful, but it still falls short compared to both Haste and Critical Strike Chance.

Stat Priority

1. Hit Chance (7.5%)
2. Expertise (7.5%)
3. Agility
4. Haste (Until Energy Cap)
5. Critical Strike Chance
6. Mastery

Hit or Hit Chance is a secondary stat that ensures your attacks land against higher-level mobs. As a Windwalker Monk, you will need 7.5% Hit Chance to ensure that your attacks never miss, no matter whether you use a Two-Handed Weapon or Dual-Wield. Each 340 Hit grants you 1% Hit Chance.

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. Since Windwalker Monks will always want to position themselves behind their target, you only need to ensure you reach the 7.5% Expertise.

Agility is a primary stat for Windwalker Monks that enhances their Attack Power and Critical Strike Chance. Like all other classes, primary stats are extremely valuable and enhance their performance substantially. You will want to grab as much Agility as possible without dampening your other stats. There is no specific cap that you must worry about.

Haste is a secondary stat that increases the frequency of your attacks as a Windwalker Monk, alongside your Energy regeneration. The idea is that Windwalker Monk heavily prioritizes this stat until reaching the point where their Energy regeneration is overcapped. This means that Energy begins regenerating faster than the amount you can spend per global cooldown, resulting in wasted Energy.  The total Haste value that you should acquire heavily depends on what stage of the expansion you find yourself in, with the stat being heavily stacked at the beginning, and capped around 6-8k Haste toward the end. Once you reach a comfortable amount, without any raid buffs, you should always prioritize Critical Strike Chance and Mastery after!  Each 425 Haste grants 1% Haste.

Critical Strike Chance is a stat that heavily empowers Windwalker Monks in Mists of Pandaria, directly improving their Damage Output! The stat directly synergizes with Tigereye Brew, making the short burst sequences far more efficient. As you reach higher amounts of Critical Strike Chance, every special attack you use will be nigh-guaranteed to deal 100% increased damage. However, you should not completely forsake Mastery for the sake of Crit, as the changes that occurred during the Beta Classic make the stat quite favorable.  Every 600 Critical Strike results in a 1% Critical Strike Chance!

Mastery is a stat that increases the efficiency of Tigereye Brew for Windwalker Monks, directly improving their short burst sequences. The stat has undergone some changes in the Classic Beta, being reverted to a previous version, making it quite favorable. However, unlike Critical Strike Chance, which is overall strong, Mastery is largely dependent on how long encounters last and how many Tigereye Brew sequences you can fit back to back in an encounter. Nonetheless, even if the stat’s performance depends on the encounter, with short encounters being far better for stacking Mastery, the stat should be stacked as much as possible once you reach the caps for Haste and Critical Strike Chance. Each 240 Mastery results in 1% Mastery.

Reforging

Reforging in Mists of Pandaria can only be done on secondary stats, meaning you can’t enhance your Agility through the process! Like all other DPS specializations, Windwalker Monks use Reforging to reach their Hit & Expertise caps first. Afterward, they focus on acquiring as much Haste as possible until the breakpoint, followed by Critical Strike Chance and Mastery.

1. Hit
2. Expertise
3. Haste
4. Critical Strike Chance
5. Mastery