My argument against Spirit Regeneration gear is simple. There are only so many item slots, and on each of those slots there are only so many Affix's. Why would anyone swap out a Ring that give's them 30k DPS for a SoJ that minorly improves Spirit Regeneration and adds a few other not worth it bonus's.
Another argument I have is against 2-Handed weapons. Considering some of the On-Crit Spirit Generation Rune's work by actually hitting the target, why would anyone want to half that potential for some cheap extra Sheet DPS? I have viewed many of the 2-Hander build video's and guide's, even with all of their Spirit Regeneration gear they don't come close to dropping half as many Bell's as I do. And considering they have now sacrificed item slots and affix's on some piece's, I have room to add more damage on top of that.
My last argument is against the overly poor choice of Skills, Runes, and Passives. Let's take Breath of Heaven for instance, by using one rune you get a 15% Flat DPS boost that does not expire before the cooldown is finished. On the other side with the Nirvana build you get a boost to Spirit Genration for 5 seconds. So your telling me a 15% boost that never expire's is worth less than a 5 second Generation boost that doesn't reach it's full potential anyway because your using an extremely slow weapon?
If you read all of that and understand where I am coming from or are thinking "Maybe he's right?" I would say read on. I will go into full detail on everything, the why's, where's, how's and what's.
Fists of Thunder - Quickening
This is the primary of choice for the fastest Spirit Generation, although many people will tell you to use Thunderclap there is almost no point in having an attack the teleports versus one that generates enough spirit every 2-3 attacks to drop a Bell.
Reason #1: Massive Spirit Generation
Reason #2: Better than Way of the Hundred because it has less ticks to Crit on, and the animation is faster
Reason #3: Paired with Dashing Strike, you won't miss Thunderclap
The jack of all trades Skill every Monk should have, it gives precise mobility and allows you to escape many hairy situations. Use the dodge rune if you want it only for the escape feature but I find with WotFS it allows me to chase and escape faster. You could use others but many of the on hit effects do not work on certain mobs.
Reason #1: Compliments both FoT without Thunderclap and WoL for precise movement
Reason #2: Great escape and chase ability
Reason #3: Low Spirit cost and the root is great
Wave of Light - Wall of Light
The absolute best Monk skill in the game, period. Pair it with the best rune and you've got yourself steroid filled HotA that wipes trash mobs in one hit and totals elites in record time. Yes I know there are a lot of people saying "Empowered Wave" this or "Pillar of the Ancients" that but if they sat down and did the math, they would be surprised how much better Wall of Light is. Just to give a short example, when I calculated Wall of Light versus Empowered Wave with 50% CC and 450% CD, Wall of Light came out doing 60%+ more damage overall and if you calculate the number of bells you can output per minute the difference was staggering.
Reason #1: Best Monk skill, possibly the best skill in the game
Reason #2: Wall of Light has the highest damage potential
Reason #3: Covers a wide area and is easy to aim
Mantra of Conviction - Overawe
Overall the best and most useful Mantra in the game, you should always be using this unless your in group play. The rune Conviction is better if you have stacked a ton of Attack Speed% gear but even then the AoE damage from Conviction has a range and does not apply to attacking. Use it for the continued Mantra effect of +24% damage, your spirit is much better spent on more Bell's than popping this all the time to get the highest Crit.
Reason #1: Best Mantra overall for PvE
Reason #2: Overawe provides a great DPS boost
Reason #3: Only needs maintenance every 3 minutes
Another argument I have is against 2-Handed weapons. Considering some of the On-Crit Spirit Generation Rune's work by actually hitting the target, why would anyone want to half that potential for some cheap extra Sheet DPS? I have viewed many of the 2-Hander build video's and guide's, even with all of their Spirit Regeneration gear they don't come close to dropping half as many Bell's as I do. And considering they have now sacrificed item slots and affix's on some piece's, I have room to add more damage on top of that.
My last argument is against the overly poor choice of Skills, Runes, and Passives. Let's take Breath of Heaven for instance, by using one rune you get a 15% Flat DPS boost that does not expire before the cooldown is finished. On the other side with the Nirvana build you get a boost to Spirit Genration for 5 seconds. So your telling me a 15% boost that never expire's is worth less than a 5 second Generation boost that doesn't reach it's full potential anyway because your using an extremely slow weapon?
If you read all of that and understand where I am coming from or are thinking "Maybe he's right?" I would say read on. I will go into full detail on everything, the why's, where's, how's and what's.
This is the primary of choice for the fastest Spirit Generation, although many people will tell you to use Thunderclap there is almost no point in having an attack the teleports versus one that generates enough spirit every 2-3 attacks to drop a Bell.
Reason #1: Massive Spirit Generation
Reason #2: Better than Way of the Hundred because it has less ticks to Crit on, and the animation is faster
Reason #3: Paired with Dashing Strike, you won't miss Thunderclap
Dashing Strike - Way of the Falling Star
The jack of all trades Skill every Monk should have, it gives precise mobility and allows you to escape many hairy situations. Use the dodge rune if you want it only for the escape feature but I find with WotFS it allows me to chase and escape faster. You could use others but many of the on hit effects do not work on certain mobs.
Reason #1: Compliments both FoT without Thunderclap and WoL for precise movement
Reason #2: Great escape and chase ability
Reason #3: Low Spirit cost and the root is great
Breath of Heaven - Blazing Wrath
If you aren't using this skill and rune your doing something horribly wrong, or you've been designated support for group play. Standard Monk skill since well, forever and it's multi-use purpose is fantastic. You can heal yourself, others and provide a healthy DPS boost for a low cost.
Reason #1: Best damage boost per Spirit points spent
Reason #2: The 15% DPS boost is flat and works for all damage
Reason #3: The healing is great when taking burst damage or to help a friend in need
If you aren't using this skill and rune your doing something horribly wrong, or you've been designated support for group play. Standard Monk skill since well, forever and it's multi-use purpose is fantastic. You can heal yourself, others and provide a healthy DPS boost for a low cost.
Reason #1: Best damage boost per Spirit points spent
Reason #2: The 15% DPS boost is flat and works for all damage
Reason #3: The healing is great when taking burst damage or to help a friend in need
Sweeping Wind - Cyclone
Ah the Sweeping Wind debate. The main reason I am using this still is because of the 4 Piece Inna's Set, so if you are in the market for a 4 Piece or are already wearing it slap this on the skill bar and never regret it. The only reason I wouldn't use it is if I had a good CC% Mempo, a Witching Hour or Tal's Chest. Spending 5 Spirit to get an AoE that ticks for 60% damage and spawns Cyclone's that Crit is just simply hard to replace. If you already have a Mempo/TWH/Tal's, use Invis's Exploding Palm build.
Reason #1: Low Spirit cost for the damage
Reason #2: The only SW rune that has a Crit
Reason #3: Can be kept up permanently with 4 Piece
Ah the Sweeping Wind debate. The main reason I am using this still is because of the 4 Piece Inna's Set, so if you are in the market for a 4 Piece or are already wearing it slap this on the skill bar and never regret it. The only reason I wouldn't use it is if I had a good CC% Mempo, a Witching Hour or Tal's Chest. Spending 5 Spirit to get an AoE that ticks for 60% damage and spawns Cyclone's that Crit is just simply hard to replace. If you already have a Mempo/TWH/Tal's, use Invis's Exploding Palm build.
Reason #1: Low Spirit cost for the damage
Reason #2: The only SW rune that has a Crit
Reason #3: Can be kept up permanently with 4 Piece
Wave of Light - Wall of Light
The absolute best Monk skill in the game, period. Pair it with the best rune and you've got yourself steroid filled HotA that wipes trash mobs in one hit and totals elites in record time. Yes I know there are a lot of people saying "Empowered Wave" this or "Pillar of the Ancients" that but if they sat down and did the math, they would be surprised how much better Wall of Light is. Just to give a short example, when I calculated Wall of Light versus Empowered Wave with 50% CC and 450% CD, Wall of Light came out doing 60%+ more damage overall and if you calculate the number of bells you can output per minute the difference was staggering.
Reason #1: Best Monk skill, possibly the best skill in the game
Reason #2: Wall of Light has the highest damage potential
Reason #3: Covers a wide area and is easy to aim
Mantra of Conviction - Overawe
Overall the best and most useful Mantra in the game, you should always be using this unless your in group play. The rune Conviction is better if you have stacked a ton of Attack Speed% gear but even then the AoE damage from Conviction has a range and does not apply to attacking. Use it for the continued Mantra effect of +24% damage, your spirit is much better spent on more Bell's than popping this all the time to get the highest Crit.
Reason #1: Best Mantra overall for PvE
Reason #2: Overawe provides a great DPS boost
Reason #3: Only needs maintenance every 3 minutes
