#Monk Origins
queen frigate
clear mesa
i loved mists of pandaria for the same reasons i loved a certain kungfo panda and i fell in love with the way the class plays. my absolute favorite ability? all i will say is "Skadoosh"!
burnt bloom
MoP was my first expansion, I played it as a child on a pserver that was recommended to me by my cousin, I remembered to choose monk since all the other classes looked "generic" to me. Now that I can afford playing on retail, monk will always be my main and fav class.
pliant geode
I started playing WoW for the first time at the beginning of TWW in August 2024; I never played a MMO previously so it was quite an experience. I started on Fury because my bf knew how to play it, but I was trying a bit of everything. As soon as I touched Windwalker, I knew it was for me. I couldn’t get enough of it and wanted to play it all the time. I describe the playstyle like doing an intricate dance that you practice the steps to until it feels like it’s flowing out of your soul and fingertips like a waterfall. I can’t get enough of it and I feel like I truly have a spiritual connection with Windwalker. Even if it were the bottom DPS, I’d play it because I haven’t felt fun like this with anything else yet.
unique crypt
I have always loved the damage to conversion playstyle of healing, from disc priest to several other MMOs (Rift to name one) that have offered that niche.
However, I've never been a fan of pure casters and have preferred the melee playstyle since launch. When Mistweaver came out in Pandaria, I hopped to it as my first healer and never looked back. The combination of weaving melee skills and casting into a flow of healing has been completely immersive, and I have not been able to play any other healer in serious content since.
Also, WW is just fun tbh
pearl dragon
My friend introduced me to WoW, and recommended I try out brewmaster monk as my first tank spec. I started playing it through leveling content, and enjoyed it enough to use the BFA leveling boost that came with the expansion on the character. This was summer of 2020, so with all of the content from the expansion available, I was rushed through the campaign to be given all of the relevant gear and lessons in how to tank, from assigning my abilities to my bar, to interrupting, to pulling more than one pack at a time. I was incredibly bad at tanking in all content. I regularly finished keys over time, I had to get battle rezzed 4 times in LFR because I didn't use my defensives, it was awful. I stuck with not knowing how to play all the way into the start of Shadowlands, where I continued to not know how to tank. I was eventually convinced to try out DPSing as windwalker, which I was very resistant to at first. Eventually, after failing to time one too many Spires of Ascensions, I decided to try out windwalker, and it was a blast. I started to enjoy playing the game and dealing damage, summoning Xuen, popping Weapons of Order and watching my damage skyrocket every 2 minutes with Storm, Earth and Fire (RIP); it was only uphill from there, as I went on to push higher and higher keys, and start heroic raiding. I've since fallen in love completely with the playstyle-being able to deal all my damage with just punches and kicks while other classes have to use powerful spells or deadly swords and axes is just so cool, especially when I'm out-performing them. I've tried other specs, but nothing comes close to how much fun windwalker is-the class fantasy is exactly what I want, the gameplay feels engaging keeping up my mastery buff, and I've gotten so good that nothing feels as satisfying to play. I wouldn't have it any other way.
pallid stag
i reluctantly started playing WoW cuz i lost a bet, and all of the classes honestly looked kind of lame. I chose monk because it looked the least lame to me, and really was not having a good time leveling through Zuldazar. when i hit the level that i unlocked spinning crane kick, me and my friend that i lost the bet to (who was also playing monk) sat there and spammed spinning crane kick while i was losing it laughing for like 5 minutes. at that point i fell in love and now im playing brewmaster in MDI time trials and mythic raiding as a windwalker 🙂
half trellis
i started wow with pandaria because of that specific style. i always played healing classes in other games so it was clear to choose mistweaver 💚 i really enjoy the mix of kicking, hots and unique healing cds compaired to the other classes. and if i would start wow again i would always choose monk again. the community of monks is the most supportive in my opinion and i had never bad experiences.
spark marlin
I started playing WoW around 1 year after Vanilla's release (actually bought the game on release, but didn't know it was subscription based so resold it at that point)
Played all the way through to Cata, at which point my young self got hacked by a very silly phishing email (beta access, obviously)
So I lost my old account and decided to take a break because my degree was taking a huge amount of time
Came back halfway through MoP, where I had to start fresh all over again and monk caught my eyes instantly
I then basically stuck to it for the longest time, even though I had to drop off of it a few times (mythic raiding, WW not being always really viable), that's the class I always end up going back to because I feel the most at home with it 
grizzled dragon
I started playing windwalker for a month in BFA then put the game off. Came back in Shadowlands and picked up my guy again and there i started really enjoying the class (Kyrian Windwalker my beloved) so much and really enjoyed the mastery minigame of the spec and the animations of our abilities. Still learning the game and how to press the buttons to see many big numbers during WoO was the stepping stone of me only playing windwalker. I ended up enjoying the spin to spin bdb era and continued to only play ww to this day. Looking back and seeing how other classes play, ww felt the most action-combat-like-ish spec and combined with the infinite amount of mobility made the most fun ~~salad ~~ mix gameplay for me to pursue.
short void
Swapped to WW back in Tomb bc i thought it sounds fun and it was on the same powerlevel as my havoc, stayed a WW bc i fell into the rabbit hole of bugs and weird interactions of the community 
left fiber
I think it was MoP when I returned to WoW and switched over to retail, and I loved the setting. I was originally a mage main and I didn't want to level a mage again, so I looked around and monk seemed like a good fit. I liked the playstyle and years later, when I started doing raiding, I loved the class fantasy and versatility. I've been a WW/MW main ever since, and no other class managed to feel as good as playing monk.
loud pier
I swapped to retail during mop after hearing very mixed things but fell in love with pandaria and tank monk, I miss our keg spam throwing barrel but the current iteration is also a lot of fun and I'm so happy about the heritage armor we got
worthy coral
im kinda a new monky, Around the end of bfa, I never wanted to play it because "fistweaving" sounded really hard and scary to me, but It was love at first sight. Probably the most fun i have ever had healing. Now I am obsessed with tfab
misty kelp
A short time ago I didn't like the monks at all... It was one of those class fantasies that didn't catch my attention. I then decided to lvl up all classes, and leveling a mistweaver gnome was an eye opener. Damn that was funny.
From there, I was just learning the class and fantasy. When I discovered the brewmaster I've started to main a monk, and here I am.
I still hate windwalker tho lmao
languid wren
Prior to MoP, I had been playing a bear offtank 99% of the time. When I first saw the concepts in MoP, I was overjoyed. I loved the Pandaren Brewmasters in Warcraft 3 and though the timing with Kung-Fu Panda was annoying, I still fell in love immediately. The first thing I did was make a pandaren monk as soon as MoP went live. That became my main through today. Its such a fun class, even when it feels underpowered from time to time. Just don't make me heal please ❤️ I love the class so much that I have one of each race at lvl 80 and a few at 90 now. Super useful if you want current mogs from raids but you don't have the time to raid anymore. Go go catalyst use on alts 😄
jovial parrot
I mained priest when I created a monk and I truly never thought that a red panda would encapsulate my heart to the extent that it did. I loved the way my tail swished when channeling soothing mist. I loved Bouncy (albeit it only really mattered on blackhand?). I loved my food buff. Mw spells are the prettiest shade of green. I love how mobile my class is and how chill the vibes are. Truthfully I made a mw monk bc I was beefing with someone and thought “I can do that better”, and I did, but after that I fell in love with my panda and never stopped playing it. It’s no longer a panda, but I still call transcendence a panda port.
primal grotto
I decided to play monk because I like how the kit is so portable across roles. I also think its cool to use Life magic without all that shape shifting fuss. I spent a lot of time trying all the healer specs, and kept coming back to mistweaver 🐉
slender orbit
I decided to play monk because i like a lot the kunfu pandas movies and ofc made my first monk a pandaren, named "pandaren"
zealous folio
I ended up playing Monk kind of by accident, but it just stuck. I like being in melee, right in the middle of everything, punching and kicking instead of standing at range. It feels more active, like you’re actually doing something instead of just pressing buttons on cooldown.
What I didn’t expect is how nice it is to swap roles whenever. Some days I just want to deal damage and chill, other times I’ll help out as a tank or healer if needed. It keeps things from getting boring.
And honestly, Chi Torpedo, Super Windwalker tornado Kick and Transcendence are a big part of it. Just zooming around, flying past people, dodging stuff or getting back into the fight quickly—it never gets old. It’s a bit chaotic, but in a fun way.
abstract spear
I returned to WoW during Pandaria, as a furry who is also a panda, it seemed like they were targeting me specifically. Monk just seems like the proper class for pandas. Also I love Kung Fu. Just... don't ask me to heal. You will die...
untold wadi
in bfa a few months before shadowlamds my guild decided to let me tank in raid so i rerolled to my prot warri alt
than our ww monk left the game and i wasnt happy with prot changes to midnight
so i tryed leveling a monk to maybe fill the missing raidbuff and felt in love with it
playing brew and ww every saison since than i just love the fightstyle, movement and utility set of this class
lapis swan
To be honest needed a buff in raid, but Found out i wasnt actually bad at it, recently have swapped to brew this season because its a must in keys nearly.
In short there was no real moment i decided, it actually started as an alt that i ended up liking and it stayed on the roster 🙂
vivid scarab
Started playing monk in tww prepatch.
I played very little dragonflight and shadowlands because my main class at that time (Resto Druid) wasnt giving me the fun that gave me before, so I decided it was time to swap to another character, and I went for the ONLY class that I didnt played at higher levels, never even got one to max level.
Best decission of my life. Playing WW was an absolut blast, specially for someone like me who didnt played much dps, mostly healers.
It had many interactions and a lot of buttons, it took much reading and practicing, but WW monk was the very first class that got me a keystone master achievement, and it did so since tww s1 until today.
modern bone
I started playing monk because the movement was really fun, I have tried multiple classes and as a newer player to wow this one really stuck with me. It’s a great class to play, and aesthetically it’s very cool.
potent drift
I didn't so much decide to play monk, as much as all the stars aligned and I'm now a monk and have been for many years.
Back in Legion, I floated the idea of "Make a Monk Sunday" with my guild. It went pretty well and we spent most of our Sunday with our monks, there was two full dungeon groups of us. We picked up our MAMS monks a few times from then and got them to around 60 each. Not long after this, my raid team needed a reliable tank so I boosted my monk the rest of the way and since then she's been where it's at for me! Very few people remember the days I was a priest main now. 😉
worthy crag
I've always played all the tanks, including, of course, the Brewmaster.
Back then, it was just a matter of logging in once a week for a weekly key, and that was it for the Monk.
Then the Mage Tower reopened, and I really wanted to get Bear Form. I tried and tried, but it just didn't quite work.
My girlfriend at the time lived in another country, and I visited her. Naturally, I continued trying the Mage Tower while she was there, and I managed to clear it. However, Blizzard thought someone else had been playing (different country, suddenly cleared, no 2FA), and I was sent on a 30-day vacation.
I created a second account, and I still needed a Monk for the raid.
That's how my current Brewmaster came about.
During those 30 days, I played the Monk more than ever before, and I enjoyed it more and more. The more I spent time with the class, the more I liked it.
Since then, the Monk has definitely become one of my favorite tanks.
quiet hull
i started playing monk in MoP when it released because panda monk. who wouldnt want to do that. now im a filthy gnome
marble plume
In a world of demons, magic, dragons and all sort of powerful beings, nothing is more badass than getting close and punching them in the face while their infinite powers are being deflected by our spiritual mastery. As a blood elf monk, I ceded my dependency to magical font of powers like the Sunwell or the fel in favour of full control of body and spirit.
gentle delta
i saw keg. i threw keg. drank keg. happy life.
tall thistle
I rerolled from dh to ww monk on legion last season because i want to kick ass
small ibex
Wanted to try tanking a few months after starting playing WoW in Dragonflight, so I leveled my Monk and instantly fell in low with class-fantasy and design. Here I am now, 4 years later still maining monk but mistweaver as of now. 