Monk Leveling Guide

• Author: Luxrah
• Date: March 4, 2025
• Updated: March 4, 2025
• Expansion: Mists of Pandaria

The Monk is a new class for WoW Classic with the Mists of Pandaria expansion. They are the second new class to be added to the game and the first new class with a healing specialization, although they can also tank and deal damage as a melee DPS. While they don’t get a head start in the leveling process the way the Death Knight does, the monk has access to a unique buff, Enlightenment, that helps them level a lot faster. They acquire this buff at their own class hub at the Peak of Serenity, which offers several other useful conveniences for leveling.

This guide will cover all of the essentials for leveling your Monk from 1 to 90, including recommended builds, equipment, professions, rotation, and where to go. We’ll lay out the basics for you so you can punch and kick your way through Azeroth and beyond. Get out there and really ook ’em in the dooker.

Strengths

• Monks have access to daily quests that offer Enlightenment, a 50% experience buff. This buff alone makes them the fastest class to level.
• Zen Pilgrimage provides access to class trainers, profession trainers, basic vendors, and a target dummy, with the ability to return to your point of origin at any time. It also gives you access to portals to Orgrimmar and Stormwind at the Peak of Serenity, which means you can set your Hearthstone to your current questing zone and still have an easy way to get back to your faction capital.
• Mobility is king for leveling, and the Monk has plenty of it with Roll, Flying Serpent Kick, and Tiger’s Lust. Zen Flight allows you to fly without having to summon a mount first. Glyphs can also allow you to use Roll over water or while dead.
• Plenty of defensive and healing abilities and good crowd control along with their mobility give this class a lot of options for staying alive. You won’t be breaking a sweat too often.

Weaknesses

• They’re the newest class, but they start at level 1. You’ll have to do the full 1-85 stretch during the pre-patch if you want to start leveling through Pandaria right at launch.
• Although Monks were originally a little overtuned in Mists of Pandaria, WoW Classic will start the expansion with a later patch, when the Monk’s damage was on the weaker side.

Talent Builds

Monks are a hybrid class who can specialize in tanking, healing, or melee DPS. For leveling, there are two recommended routes: you can choose the Windwalker specialization for quickly dispatching enemies in the open world, or you can be a Brewmaster tank for fast dungeon queues. While you can level as a Mistweaver, healing builds severely limit your ability to deal damage and aren’t optimal for questing or other solo content.

Talents

Because of the changes to talent trees in this expansion, all of your class’s specializations share the same set of talent options. Our recommendations are the same regardless of spec:

• Level 15: Tiger’s Lust
  This option provides you with an additional movement cooldown and also allows you to escape many crowd control effects. Celerity and Momentum improve your Roll ability, which is nice, but don’t give you anything new.
• Level 30: Chi Wave
  All 3 options provide a way to heal and deal damage at the same time. Chi Burst can be stronger if you’re fighting a lot of enemies, but this option is the best otherwise. Zen Sphere isn’t as useful, especially when questing solo.
• Level 45: Chi Brew
  Starting fights with full Chi and 2 stacks of Tigereye Brew will let you quickly burst through mobs. Ascension is good for steady energy regeneration, especially if you’re doing a lot of AoE. Power Strikes isn’t as good as the other two for leveling.
• Level 60: Charging Ox Wave
  This ability is on the shortest cooldown of the 3 choices and will allow you to frequently stun a whole group of enemies. Leg Sweep does something similar on a longer cooldown. Ring of Peace has a longer duration and can keep CC’ing enemies who enter it, so it may be more useful in some situations.
• Level 75: Diffuse Magic
  Not only will you be able to reduce damage you take by 90% for 6 seconds, you’ll also dispel any debuffs and bounce them back to the enemy who cast them. Dampen Harm and Healing Elixirs just don’t compete.

Glyphs

Like talents, our choices for glyphs are mostly the same whether you’re leveling a Brewmaster or a Windwalker. Glyphs have a more subtle impact now than they did in previously expansions, and your own choices may be different according to your preferences or playstyle. That said, here are our recommendations.

Major

• Level 25: Glyph of Rapid Rolling
  You’re already going to be Rolling all over the place, so might as well make your main movement ability more effective (and thereby level even faster).
• Level 50: Glyph of Spinning Crane Kick
  If you’re going to AoE at all, you’ll feel really locked down without this glyph, which allows you to move freely while you spin to win.
• Level 75: Glyph of Fortuitous Spheres
  This glyph offers a nice, passive buff to your survivability for the higher levels.

Minor

• Level 25 (Windwalker): Glyph of Blackout Kick
  Since you’ll almost never be able to position yourself behind mobs when you’re solo questing, this glyph will allow you to maximize the damage of your Blackout Kicks, although it will cost you some survivability. If that tradeoff isn’t acceptable, you can take the Brewmaster option instead.
• Level 25 (Brewmaster): Glyph of Water Roll
  It’s not quite Water Walking, but it helps you cross water a little more quickly by allowing you to Roll across the surface.
• Level 50: Glyph of Spirit Roll
  Hopefully you won’t spend much time as a ghost, but when you do need to run back, you’ll be able to do so more quickly.
• Level 75: Glyph of Zen Flight
  On top of looking really cool and thematic, this form of flying is an instant cast, which makes it extra useful when questing or farming in the open world. You will even be able to cast Zen Pilgrimage without having to land.

Stat Priority

Always try to stack your main stat above all. Your main stat for either specialization will be Agility.

Equipment

Monks are able to equip Fist Weapons, Polearms, and Staves as well as One-Handed Axes, Maces, and Swords. Brewmasters and Windwalkers can both Dual Wield One-Handed weapons, which is usually more optimal than using a single Two-Handed weapon. Weapon upgrades will often be the biggest damage increase while leveling. If you’re using an Heirloom weapon, it will upgrade automatically each time you level.

Monks are able to equip Cloth as well as Leather armor, but you will always want to wear Leather Armor due to your Leather Specialization passive ability, which gives a 5% buff to your most important stat. Although they can tank, Monks cannot equip shields.

Heirlooms

Heirlooms can considerably speed up the leveling process by granting you increased experience gains and making your character a lot stronger. They’re also a lot more convenient than having to replace your gear every few levels. To get heirloom equipment for your Monk, you’ll have to buy it on another character who has enough of an appropriate currency.

Any heirloom gear is better than nothing. If you happen to have some lying around after leveling another character, feel free to use them rather than buying new ones (as long as the stats are good for you). But these are the best pieces if you’re looking to purchase some Heirlooms specifically for leveling your Monk:

Professions

While it can be more efficient in the long run to level professions at the same time that you level your character, it will significantly slow down the leveling process. With that said, the three gathering professions – Herbalism, Mining, and Skinning – each offer useful passive bonuses that can help you in your journey, even if you don’t bother to level them.

Crafting professions require a bit more work (or a lot of gold to buy the materials on the Auction House), but they can provide powerful items to make leveling smoother. Leatherworking and Engineering both offer some very useful gear and utility for Monks. You can also get a head start on whichever professions you wish to focus on in the endgame, or choose professions that will be useful to your other characters in the meantime.

There are trainers for several professions located in the Peak of Serenity, which makes them particularly convenient to level on a Monk:

• Master Bier: First Aid
• Master Lo: Fishing
• Master Chang: Cooking
• Master Marshall: Inscription
• Master Cannon: Skinning & Leatherworking
• Master Brandom: Mining & Blacksmithing

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that gathering with Archaeology, Herbalism, and Mining gives character experience as well as profession experience. (Skinning does not.) The amount of experience you gain doesn’t really make up for the extra time you need to spend leveling them, but at least it’s something.

Rotation

Now that you’re all set up, here’s what buttons you should push and in what order!

Brewmaster

The strength of leveling as a Brewmaster Monk is that you can make large pulls, and leaning into defense will allow you to do that more effectively. Even so, there will be times when you need to fight just one or two enemies.

• Be in Stance of the Steady Ox for defense if you’re making large pulls, otherwise Stance of the Fierce Tiger can be used for better damage and movement.
• Use Keg Smash on the pull or if you have less than 2 Chi (level 11+).
• Use Blackout Kick to maintain the Shuffle buff from Brewmaster Training (level 34+).
• Spam Spinning Crane Kick if you are fighting a large number of enemies, ignoring the rest of this rotation (level 46+).
• Use Dizzying Haze on any targets that don’t have it if you are fighting at least 3 enemies.
• Use Breath of Fire to apply and maintain its DoT if you are fighting at least 3 enemies (level 18+).
• Use Expel Harm if you are not at full health and need Chi (level 26+).
• Use Jab if you need Chi.
• Use Spinning Crane Kick as a filler if you are fighting at least 3 enemies (level 46+).
• Use Tiger Palm as a filler otherwise.

Windwalker

Windwalkers are better against one or two enemies at a time. Your focus will be on burning each enemy down so you can chain through one after another as quickly as possible.

• Always be in Stance of the Fierce Tiger. (This is the default so you shouldn’t need to do anything.)
• Use Expel Harm if you are not at full health and have less than 2 Chi (level 26+).
• Use Chi Brew if you have less than 2 Chi (level 45+).
• Use Jab if you have less than 2 Chi.
• Use Tiger Palm to apply and maintain your Tiger Power buff.
• Use Rising Sun Kick on cooldown (level 56+).
• Use Fists of Fury on cooldown, unless Tiger Palm or Rising Sun Kick will need to be cast before it finishes channeling.
• Use Chi Wave on cooldown (level 30+).
• Use Blackout Kick if you have spare Chi.
• Use Flying Serpent Kick if you don’t have the Chi or energy for your other abilities, or to charge ahead to the next mob.

Where To Level

Getting Started

Unlike Death Knights, Monks do not have a unique starting experience and will begin in the starting zone of their race, like any other character. Completing your starting zone should get you through the first dozen or so levels. After that, you can head to your faction’s capital city to train professions, use the Auction House, and decide where to go next. A good place to start is the Hero’s Call Board in the center of The Trade District in Stormwind City or the Warchief’s Command Board in front of Grommash Hold at The Valley of Strength in Orgrimmar. This board will always have a couple of quests directing you to a zone in your level range.

The Peak of Serenity

At level 20, you’ll unlock Zen Pilgrimage, which takes you to the Peak of Serenity in Pandaria. This area acts as a sort of class hub where Monks can train and pick up quests. Every 10 levels you’ll have a new class quest here, and once you complete it you will be able to repeat it as a daily quest.

The daily quests give the Enlightenment buff, which lasts for an hour and increases your experience gains by 50%. At level 90 it gives Mastery instead. It’s well worth acquiring this buff whenever possible, and you can complete each of the daily quests once per day as soon as it has been unlocked. (Note that there are two different NPCs named Master Cheng and thus two different quests with that name.)

• Level 20: The Peak of Serenity – Begin Your Training
  • Begin Your Training: Master Cheng
  • Practice Makes Perfect: Master Cheng (Daily)
• Level 30: The Peak of Serenity – Continue Your Training
  • Continue Your Training: Master Woo
  • Practice Makes Perfect: Master Woo (Daily)
• Level 40: The Peak of Serenity – Continue Your Training
  • Continue Your Training: Master Kistane
  • Practice Makes Perfect: Master Kistane (Daily)
• Level 50: The Peak of Serenity – Continue Your Training
  • Continue Your Training: Master Yoon
  • Practice Makes Perfect: Master Yoon (Daily)
• Level 60: The Peak of Serenity – Continue Your Training
  • Continue Your Training: Master Cheng
  • Practice Makes Perfect: Master Cheng (Daily)
• Level 70: The Peak of Serenity – Continue Your Training
  • Continue Your Training: Master Tasang
  • Practice Makes Perfect: Master Tsang (Daily)
• Level 80: The Peak of Serenity – Continue Your Training
  • Continue Your Training: Master Hsu
  • Practice Makes Perfect: Master Hsu (Daily)
• Level 90: The Peak of Serenity – Complete Your Training
  • Complete Your Training: The Final Test

Master Chang at the Peak of Serenity sells cheap foods that buff your main stat for an hour. This is an easy way to get a little extra power, especially for Pandaren Monks who gain extra stats from food. The food upgrades every 10 levels, so be sure to restock when you come back for your class quest.

Leveling Beyond Your Starting Zone

Level 20 is when you’ll be able to get your first mount. After that, you should train new riding skills as soon as they become available. Faster movement is crucial to faster leveling. Don’t forget to also train your professions, upgrade your gear, and pick up glyphs when you have new slots available.

At level 30, you can learn Dual Specialization from a Monk Trainer, which will allow you to have an alternate build that you can swap to when you feel the need. If you’re planning to heal at endgame or want to heal in dungeons, this is a good way to get started without sacrificing your leveling build.

For the first 58 levels, you’ll be questing or dungeon grinding in Classic zones and instances on the continents of Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. Picking one continent and sticking with it can be more efficient, but it isn’t required. When you get into the higher levels, you should head to the next expansion’s zones as soon as you’re able to: Outland at level 58, Northrend at 68, Cataclysm at 78, and Pandaria at 85. There’s a big jump in loot and experience for each expansion that makes it well worth abandoning whatever you were doing before and moving on.

If you’re not worried about taking the fastest, most direct path to level 90, feel free to break up your leveling process by trying out different activities. There are plenty of things to do in World of Warcraft that grant experience besides questing and killing mobs. You can get a little bit of experience from gathering with Archaeology, Herbalism, or Mining. You can run dungeons with other players, or compete against them in PvP battlegrounds. The new pet battle system also gives experience.