WoW: The War Within Shado-Pan Monk Hero Talents guide

The first Monk Hero Talent tree to be revealed back in March, Shado-Pan looked thematically very interesting at the time. Though the release of World of Warcraft: The War Within has put somewhat of a dampener on its potential, there is still plenty to like.

Hero Talents are Blizzard’s latest attempt to add further depth to the game’s existing systems. They slot in alongside existing talents to add additional customization options. In particular, this increases viability across a wide variety of activities and specializations.

In total, each class has three new Hero Talent trees associated with it, though players can only choose between two depending on their chosen specialization. The exceptions to this rule are the Demon Hunter and Druid, who have two and four, respectively.

With all that in mind, here’s our full breakdown of the Shado-Pan Monk.

Shado-Pan Monk full Hero Talent tree explained

Every Hero Talent tree follows the same format at the time of writing. A Keystone Talent sets the theme of the tree, while an individual Capstone Talent marks its culmination. In between, players have three rows of talents with additional choice nodes, and it is here that the true flexibility of the new system comes into play. Available to the Brewmaster and Windwalker Monk, the complete list of talents is as follows:

Shado-Pan Monk Keystone Hero Talent

Overwhelming Flurry: Dealing damage equal to your maximum health generates a Flurry Charge. For each 400 Energy you spend, unleash all Flurry Charges as Flurry Strikes, dealing physical damage per charge.

Shado-Pan Monk first-row Hero Talents

Choice Node: Pride of Pandaria and High Impact

• Pride of Pandaria: Flurry Strikes have 15% additional chance to Critically Strike.
• High Impact: Enemies who die within 5 seconds of being damaged by a Flurry Strike explode, dealing damage to uncontrolled enemies within 8 yards.

Veteran’s Eye: Striking the same target 5 times within 2 seconds grants 2% haste. Multiple instances of this effect may overlap, stacking up to 10 times.

Martial Precision: Attacks penetrate 10% of the target’s armor.

Shado-Pan Monk second-row Hero Talents

Choice Node: Protect and Serve and Lead from the Front

• Protect and Serve: Your Vivify always heals you for an additional 30% of its total value.
• Lead from the Front: Chi Burst, Chi Wave, and Expel Harm now leech 20% of damage dealt.

One versus Many: Damage dealt by Fists of Fury and Keg Smash counts as double towards Flurry Charge generation. Fists of Fury damage increased by 10%. Keg Smash damage increased by 30%.

Choice Node: Whirling Steel and Predictive Training

• Whirling Steel: When you become injured, summon Whirling Steel, increasing your Parry chance and Avoidance by 15% for 6 seconds.
• Predictive Training: When you dodge or parry an attack, reduce damage taken by 10% for the next 6 seconds.

Shado-Pan Monk third-row Hero Talents

Against All Odds: Flurry Strikes increase your Agility by 1% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 20 times.

Efficient Training: Abilities that spend Energy deal an additional 15% damage. Every 50 Energy spent reduces the cooldown of Storm, Earth, Fire, Serenity, and Weapons of Order by 1 second.

Vigilant Watch: Blackout Kick deals an additional 20% critical damage and increases the damage of your next set of Flurry Strikes by 10%.

Shado-Pan Monk Capstone Hero Talent

Wisdom of the Wall: Every 10 Flurry Strikes, become infused with a Wisdom of the Wall for 20 seconds. Wisdom of the Wall grants the following effects:

• Your critical strikes deal an additional 30% damage.
• Your Mastery’s effect is increased by 25%.
• Versatility now also increases your Dodge and critical strike chance by 25% of its effect.
• Flurry Strikes now deal additional Shadow damage to all uncontrolled enemies within 6 yards.

Make sure to check out our other Hero Talent guides below:

Colossus Warrior | Keeper of the Grove Druid | Dark Ranger Hunter | Frostfire Mage | Oracle Priest | Elune’s Chosen Druid | Wildstalker Druid | Herald of the Sun Paladin | Scalecommander Evoker | Trickster Rogue | Templar Paladin | Diabolist Warlock | Rider of the Apocalypse Death Knight | Deathbringer Death Knight | Aldrachi Reaver Demon Hunter | Druid of the Claw Druid | Pack Leader Hunter | Flameshaper Evoker | Spellslinger Mage | Shado-Pan Monk