The Shado-Pan are one of the coolest factions in World of Warcraft. The members of the Shado-Pan were important quest givers throughout Pandaria. Their leader, Taran Zhu, even briefly had the upper hand against Warchief Garrosh himself. If Taran Zhu hadn’t decided to have a monologue at the end, the Battle of Orgrimmar might not have been necessary. In The War Within, monk players, specifically Windwalkers and Brewmasters, can claim the secret techniques of this ancient order for themselves.
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There is a lot of lore behind the Shado-Pan, and players know exactly what makes a Shado-Pan thanks to various NPCs. Therefore, Blizzard has to think carefully about how to make their players feel like they are part of the Shado-Pan. We look at what the Shado-Pan hero talent tree contains and whether you feel like Taran Zhu himself after you have distributed the ten talent points.
What Exactly is a Shado-Pan?
“As a Shado-Pan, you learn from your ancestors and stand proudly against your enemies to protect your loved ones. Be patient and charge your powers to unleash an overwhelming hail of blows upon your enemies.”
The Shado-Pan is a group of elite Pandaren fighters whose job is to protect the Pandaren Empire from threats. Interestingly, not all members of the Shado-Pan are monks; they use a mix of close and long-range combat techniques and are not afraid to attack from behind.
The order consists of three different “disciplines” and is based at the Shado-Pan Monastery on Kun-Lai Summit in Pandaria. The discipline most connected to monks is the “Black Watch.” The other disciplines are “Omnia,” which consists mainly of Shado-Pan healers and magic users, and “Wu Kao,” which includes hunters, scouts, spies, and assassins.
World of Warcraft: The War Within – Shado-Pan Monk Hero Talents
- Flurry Strikes: Dealing damage generates a bludgeon charge. After spending 400 energy, unleash all bludgeon charges, dealing Physical damage per charge.
- Pride of Pandaria & High Impact
- Pride of Pandaria: Brawl Charge has an additional 15% chance to critically strike.
- High Impact: Enemies that die within five seconds of taking damage from a Clash Charge explode, dealing damage to uncontrolled enemies within eight meters.
- Veteran’s Eye: Landing five hits on the same target within two seconds grants one percent speed. This effect stacks up to ten times.
- Martial Precision: Attacks penetrate ten percent of the target’s armor.
- Protect and Serve & Lead from the Front
- Protection and Serve: Your revive always heals you for an additional 30% of the total value.
- Lead from the Front: Chi Blast, Chi Wave, and Damage Redirection now heal you for 20% of the damage you deal.
- One Verusu Many: Damage dealt by Fists of Fury and Keg Smash counts double towards generating Pummel Charge. Fists of Fury’s damage is increased by ten percent, and Keg Smash’s damage is increased by 30 percent.
- Whirling Steel & Predictive Training
- Whirling Steel: When your health drops below 50%, summon Whirling Steel to increase your parry chance and avoidance by 15% for six seconds. This effect can occur once every 180 seconds.
- Predictive Training: When you dodge or parry an attack, reduce the damage you take by ten percent for the next six seconds.
- Against all Odds: Flurry increases your agility by one percent for six seconds, stacking up to 20 times.
- Efficient Training: Abilities that consume energy deal 15% additional damage. For every 50 energy consumed, reduce the cooldown of Storm, Earth, and Fire and Weapons of Order by one second.
- Vigilant Watch: Blackout Kick deals 20% additional critical damage and increases the damage of your next series of pummeling attacks by ten percent.
- Wisdom of the Wall: Every tenth beatdown grants Wisdom of the Wall for 20 seconds, providing:
- Critical hit damage increased by 30%.
- Dodge and critical hit chance increased by 25% of your versatility bonus.
- Increases the effect of your mastery by 25%.
- Flurry of Blows deals additional Shadow damage to all uncontrolled enemies within 6 meters.
Shado-Pan as Windrunner
The Windwalker Monk will undergo a significant overhaul in The War Within. One of the key changes is that secondary attributes will now be more useful for specialization, reducing the need to stack versatility excessively. The Shado-Pan talent tree is expected to complement the new Windwalker Monk effectively. Abilities like Flurry and Wisdom of the Wall may bring gameplay changes, but managing these buffs and coordinating cooldowns like Storm, Earth, and Fire alongside them could prove challenging.
For instance, in the midst of battle, you can’t simply halt energy expenditure to ensure the tenth blow charge aligns with Xuen’s activation. Depending on how impactful this synergy is, the Shado-Pan tree could either offer a beneficial passive effect or present complications. However, we’ll have to await The War Within’s release and final balancing to assess its true impact. The interaction of Hail of Beatings with Storm, Earth, and Fire remains uncertain, given past issues with its cooldown. Nevertheless, we remain optimistic until further details emerge.
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Shado-Pan as Brewmaster
While there are interactions with Brewmaster abilities, the Shado-Pan talent tree seems tailored more for Windwalkers, with Brewmaster features added on. Talents such as Protection and Service and Leading by Example don’t quite fit the current playstyle of Brewmasters. Although Keg Smash isn’t Brewmaster’s strongest ability, it benefits from the buff provided by One Against Many.
Blizzard likely aimed to enhance the unique abilities of both Windwalkers and Brewmasters, though Windwalkers seem to benefit more from these adjustments. Both classes face a similar issue with the Shado-Pan tree: its effects often feel unpredictable. Some talents gain significant potency when triggered alongside Flurry at specific times, but abstaining from energy expenditure for extended periods isn’t feasible.
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Conclusion on the Shado-Pan Monk
For both Brewmasters and Windwalkers, the Shado-Pan hero talent tree can be frustrating if mistimed, potentially leading to significant damage loss. The level of frustration largely hinges on how well-balanced each talent is. Nonetheless, the tree itself functions smoothly, with talents synergizing in intriguing ways. Questions may arise regarding the relevance of Storm Charges to the Shado-Pan theme, yet Taran Zhu hasn’t bestowed one upon us. Additional animations would have been appreciated, but aside from occasional theoretical frustrations, the Shado-Pan hero talent tree proves satisfactory.
However, lore enthusiasts may find it unsettling that the Shado-Pan aren’t exclusively a monk organization. For instance, the monk monastery from Pandaria, the Peak of Serenity, lacks direct ties to the Shado-Pan, although both are part of Pandaria’s cultural tapestry. Moreover, it’s been a decade since Mists of Pandaria concluded, potentially leaving newer players unfamiliar with the Shado-Pan’s significance.