Yes, this completes the trifecta, with 18 hours to go until launch. :) As always, full guide is here, excerpt below. (YES I KNOW I NEED NEW PICTURES:))
Introduction
Mistweaver monks are a healing specialization that was newly added to the game for the Mists of Pandaria expansion. Any race, except Worgen and Goblin, can be a monk. (All my pictures are pandaren because, well, that’s all the art at the moment.) Mistweaver monks have two primary resources that power their healing abilities: mana and chi.
Mana: Your Lifeblood
Unlike the other two specializations, Mistweavers use mana instead of energy, which powers the majority of their heals. Mistweavers can regain mana through the traditional ways (in-combat Spirit regeneration via Mana Meditation, mana potion, etc.). However, Mistweavers also generate Mana Tea stacks by using chi; one stack is generated for every 4 chi consumed (Brewing: Mana Tea). To regain mana, you channel the Mana Tea ability, which regenerates 4% mana/sec/stack. Mana Tea can be glyphed, which removes the channeling behavior and causes it to simply use two stacks (8% mana) instantly, with a 10s cooldown. This is a strategic choice that will need to be made on a fight-by-fight basis.
Chi: Finishing Touches
Chi is a static 4-point pool, similar to a paladin’s holy power, that decays when out of combat. Unlike the other specializations, where chi abilities are essential and energy abilities are used mainly to build chi, chi usage as a mistweaver is secondary to mana-using spells. That doesn’t mean you can ignore chi, however; chi heals, specifically, Uplift, are very critical.
Fistweaving or Mistweaving: You Choose
Mistweavers have the capability to do some limited DPS healing (similar to Smite/Atonement disc priests) due to their passive ability Eminence, which causes 50% of (most) of their damage to be converted to a smart heal on the lowest-health target. This is doubled if the mistweaver drops a Jade Serpent Statue, which should be up for every fight due to its short cooldown. While DPS healing is not required, it provides a fun and effective way to heal at times where incoming damage is relatively low.
Healing Spheres: Lightwell 2.0
Healing Spheres are little green globes that float near the ground, and heal anyone who touches them for a significant amount. (Just like Diablo 3!) The mistweaver can place one directly, or cause them to pop up randomly on the battlefield via their mastery ability, Gift of the Serpent. Yes, this requires your raiders to have situational awareness in order to move and pick them up; don’t know about your raid, but I’m staying as far away from mastery as possible.
Primary Healing Abilities
These are the abilities you’re going to use most often, so know them, love them, hotkey them.
| Ability | Icon | Discussion |
|---|---|---|
| Soothing Mist |  |
8 sec channel, 1% mana per tick. Your core heal. It’s channeled and fairly weak. but cheap. During the channel, you can cast Surging Mist or Enveloping Mist as an instant to heal thechannel target. Has a 25% chance to generate 1 Chi with each tick. Jade Serpent Statue will cast this on a random ally when you do. |
| Surging Mist |  |
1.5 sec cast, 8% mana. A fast, strong, expensive heal, similar to Flash Heal for priests. Generates 1 Chi. Becomes an instant when channeling Soothing Mist. |
| Enveloping Mist |  |
2 sec cast, 3 chi. Your primary use for chi, this is a very strong short heal-over-time. |
| Renewing Mist |  |
Instant, 4.5% mana, 8 sec cooldown. Getting tired of “mist” spells yet? This is a Rejuvenation/Prayer of Mending hybrid; cast it on one player, and on the first tick, it spreads to a second player, and continues until it’s spread three times (for 4 total players healed). For almost all fights, you will want to use this on cooldown. Uplift instantly heals all players with RM on, while a Thunder Focus Tea + Uplift combo instaheals and refreshes the RM duration (though not the spreading). |
| Uplift |  |
Instant, 2 chi. Heals all targets with Renewing Mist active for a good amount; about three ticks of Renewing Mist. This is your primary AoE heal if your raid isn’t clumped. When used with Thunder Focus Tea, it renews the duration of all Renewing Mist effects back to 18 sec. |
| Chi Burst |  |
1 sec cast, 2 chi. This is one of your level 30 talents, and the best talent choice for maximum healing throughput if your raid is stacked. I’ll discuss the others in the talent section. |
| Healing Sphere |  |
Instant, 2% mana, 0.5 sec cooldown. Can be used in two ways: either as a quick heal (drop it on someone’s feet) or during lulls as a way to make a “heal point,” probably for your tank. You can have up to 3 that are manually placed. |
DPS Healing
If you go the meleeweaver route, here’s what you’ll use.
| Ability | Icon | Discussion |
|---|---|---|
| Summon Jade Serpent Statue |  |
Instant, 9% mana, 30 sec cooldown. If you want to melee heal, you have to start with this. The statue will mirror your Eminence heals and Soothing Mist casts, so you want it up and nearby. Can be |
| Spinning Crane Kick |  |
2.25 sec channel, 5.5% mana. Does AoE damage to enemies and AoE healing to friends within 8 yards. Generates 1 chi if it heals 3 targets. |
| Jab |  |
Instant, 3% mana. Basic attack, increases chi by 1 and does a bit of Eminence healing. |
| Blackout Kick |  |
2 chi, no cooldown. This kick will do a significant amount of damage (which becomes healing via Eminence) but also buffs your autoattacks to convert 25% of their damage to healing. This Serpent’s Zeal buff stacks twice, and lasts 30 seconds. |
| Tiger Palm |  |
1 chi, no cooldown. Stacks up the Vital Mists buff, which reduces the cast time and cost of your next Surging Mist by 20%. Also stacks up Tiger Power, which slightly increases your overall damage. |
Reminder, full guide is here.