Skills

Although this build requires a large amount of Spirit regen it is actually quite flexible on the runes you can choose for certain skills. If you have the right gear you can skip a couple Spirit regen runes and go for the more damage oriented ones. The following are four of the must have skills for this build to work. Spirit generators and your final skill choice will be covered later.

You want to aim for at least 12 Spirit per second when fully buffed. That is the minimum required and your skill rune and gear choices will depend on how much you currently have.

Tempest Rush - Tailwind

This is the main skill of the build providing the speed and mobility that makes this build so useful. Because of that Tailwind is the clear rune choice by increasing the movement speed of Tempest Rush by 25%.

Sweeping Wind

The second most important skill and the main damage dealer of this build. You have a few choices on the rune depending on your play style and current gear.

Rune Choices:

• Master of the Wind: This increases the regular 6 second duration of the skill to 20 seconds. I only suggest this rune if you have trouble keeping Sweeping Wind up and do not have the 4 piece bonus provided by the Inna's Set.

• Fire Storm: This is personally my favorite rune as it greatly increases the attack radius of the skill, allowing you to hit many more monsters at once. For those with a large amount of DPS and no problems killing monsters this is a highly recommended rune.

• Inner Storm: If you are lacking Spirit regen this is a nice choice as it provides 3 Spirit per second as long as you have the maximum stack of Sweeping Wind Active.

• Cyclone: After Fire Storm this is my favorite rune. If you have a large amount of Crit (40%+) it becomes the highest damage dealer of all the runes. However, due to the low proc coefficient of Tempest Rush you will not be spawning a large amount of Cyclones unless you are running through a big group of enemies.

Breath of Heaven - Blazing Wrath

This is the best skill for increasing the damage output of the build easily. Make sure to refresh the 15% damage buff every 45 seconds consistently, in addition to using it for the occasional heal as needed.

Mantra of Conviction - Overawe VS Mantra of Healing - Circular Breathing

You have two choices for Mantras and again the choice comes down to one very basic fact. Do you need more Spirit regen? If so, choose Mantra of Healing - Circular Breathing. Otherwise, Mantra of Conviction - Overawe is by far the best choice with its ability to massively increase your damage output.

What Spirit generator is right for me?

It's important to note that Spirit generators are not the main source of damage. They play second to Tempest Rush and Sweeping Wind. Because you will mainly be using these to kill Elite packs, you can quite literally use any Spirit generator that you wish, but I will go over the most popular ones.

Fists of Thunder

As a Tempest Rush Monk, you have two main choices on the rune. Fists of Thunder is by far the most popular Monk skill.

Rune Choices:

• Thunderclap: The most popular choice due to the AoE damage and the utility it provides with the short ranged teleport. This rune goes very well with Sweeping Wind - Cyclone due to its very high proc coefficient of Thunderclap allowing you to spawn many Cyclones while fighting an elite pack.

• Quickening: This is a good choice if you are using something like Wave of Light as your final skill choice. The high Spirit return this rune provides will enable you spam high cost skills while fighting Elites, especially on higher Monster Powers.

Deadly Reach

Before patch 1.0.7 this was the best Spirit generator choice by a wide margin as it permanently buffed the damage of your Sweeping Wind. Although this is no longer the case, it can still be a rather useful skill.

Rune Choices:

• Foresight: As stated above, this was the most popular choice for Tempest Rush monks before patch 1.0.7. Even though that has changed, it still has the benefit of increasing all damage output by 18%. This rune is recommended if you can't kill Elite packs very quickly.

• Strike from Beyond: Just like Thunderclap - Quickening, this skill provides the utility of giving a good amount of Spirit return if you plan on spamming skills such as Wave of Light on Elite packs, especially on higher Monster Powers.

The Final Skill Slot

This is where you have the most freedom. You can pick any skill you want depending on your play style. Below are the most popular choices for your final skill slot.

Serenity

This skill has a role in practically every Monk build. I mean, being invincible for a few seconds is a pretty big deal! However, as you will mostly be running Monster Power 0 or 1 as a Tempest Rush Monk, this skill is not a necessity. I only recommend grabbing it if you are dying to certain Elite packs. The choice of rune is entirely up to you.

Wave of Light - Empowered Wave

If you are not having problems with Spirit regen or survivability, then this is a great skill to have. Dropping a bell or two will make quick work of any pack. The reason for choosing the Empowered Wave rune is for the reduced Spirit cost, which is extremely useful.

Seven Sided Strike - Fulminating Onslaught

Just like Wave of Light, this skill is good for Monks who are not having Spirit regen issues. I recommend Fulminating Onslaught for the AoE damage aspect of it, but the every rune for this skill is quite viable.

These are just a few choices for your final skill slot, but honestly you should experiment and find the right skill for you. You can choose almost anything for this and still be very effective as a Tempest Rush Monk.

Passives

The main goal to achieve through your passive selection is optimizing your Spirit Regen which allows you to gear more for DPS. Below are the two must-have passives. Your third passive slot is entirely up to you.

Chant of Resonance

The number one passive choice due to the high amount of spirit per second it returns.

The Guardians Path

Tempest Rush Monks are built around two-handed weapons, and this is another easy way to increase your spirit regen.

Minimum Recommended Stats

The amount of Spirit regen you currently have will dictate your choice of skill runes and gear. Luckily this build is very flexible, and you can get the majority of your Spirit regen from skills. Note you can possibly get by with lesser stats, as long as you are not dying and killing reasonably fast this build will work. These stats are merely a general guideline.

Remember more is always better!

• Spirit Regen - 12 per second
• Damage - 85,000
• Critical Hit Chance - 35%
• Resistances – 300
• Armor – 3000

• Pick-up Radius – 7
• Movement Speed - 24%
• Life on Hit - 400 OR Life Steal - 2%
• Life on Kill - 700

Gear Selection

You need to get the 4 piece Inna's set as it reduces the cost of Sweeping Wind to only 5 Spirit. This is a gigantic bonus to the usability of this build. This makes keeping Sweeping Wind up a very trivial matter and allowing the build to require less Spirit regen. Otherwise your main goal is to kill and run fast without having survivability issues. Take these gear choices as guidelines; if your gear already works, then great!

Weapon:

Two-handed weapons are practically required for this build. The slower the weapon, the better. The best one for the job is Skorn. It's the most easily acquired Tempest Rush weapon, and will increase your damage tremendously. You are going to want one with at least 1250 DPS, 140 Crit Damage, and Dexterity. If you are having issues staying alive it would be smart to pick one up with Life Steal or Life on Hit.

Amulet:

If you are lacking in the Spirit regen you can pick up a Xephirian Amulet with Spirit regen on it. Otherwise you should look for an amulet with around 150+ Dexterity and a good amount of Crit Chance and Crit Damage.

Helmet:

Inna's Radiance is the helmet you want. You will be able to find a large amount of these on the auction house for very cheap. Try and find one up with at least 1.7+ Spirit regen.

Shoulders:

Vile Ward is a good choice, as it provides All Resistance, Life Regen and a decent amount of Dexterity. However, any comparable rare shoulders will do just fine.

Chest Armor:

Almost any Inna's Vast Expanse will do, mostly because you are getting this item for its set bonus. For its added survivability, try and find one with All Resistance or bonus armor.

Bracers:

I do not recommend Lacuni Prowlers, because they increase your Attack Speed, meaning you will need more Spirit regen. Try and find yourself a nice pair of Dexterity, Crit Chance, All Resistance and Vitality bracers. The new rare crafted bracers are the overall best choice due to the high Dexterity value.

Belt:

Inna's Favor with either All Resistance or Vitality is a good choice.

Gloves:

Crafted Dexterity Gauntlets are the best choice if you can get Crit Chance and Crit Damage on them. If you are having bad luck with crafting just pick up some gloves for cheap. Gloves are also a good place to get Pickup Radius to make getting gold easier as you are running around.

Rings:

Stone of Jordan with Spirit Regen and bonus damage to Sweeping Wind is the absolutely best ring for this build. For your second ring, you can use either a Hellfire ring for the added 35% experience, or a regular Dexterity, Crit Chance and Crit Damage ring is fine.

Pants:

Although Inna's Temperance has Attack Speed, which is rather undesirable to this build, it is extremely good and not just for the set bonus. If you can afford it, try and find a pair with All Resistance.

Boots:

Natalya's Bloody Footprints are my favorite for this build, as they are guaranteed to come with Movement Speed increase. If you don't need Movement Speed, then Ice Climbers are a fine choice too.

Tips and Tricks

• The Templar is the best follower for this build, due his skill Inspire, that increases all Spirit generated by 12%.
• Crit Chance and Crit Damage are favorable over Attack Speed, because the less Attack Speed you have the less Spirit regen you will need.
• Pickup Radius can be invaluable in speeding up collection of gold.
• If you have Inna's Set you can easily refresh Sweeping Wind for only 5 Spirit, by pressing the button without losing your stacks