PoJ Tempest Rush Monk Skills and Runes (2025)

Last updated on Oct 22, 2024 at 09:00by Deadset80 comments

On this page, we explain how to choose and use your skills when playingPoJ Tempest Rush Monk in Diablo 3. Updated for Patch 2.7.8 andSeason 33.

Active Skills
Blinding Flash Faith in the Light Tempest Rush Flurry 1 Sweeping Wind No rune chosen 2 Epiphany Desert Shroud 3 Mantra of Salvation Agility 4 Serenity Ascension
Passive Skills
Beacon of Ytar Harmony Seize the Initiative The Guardian's Path

The build begins runs with an activation of Sweeping Wind, in orderto gain the utility and damage bonuses from the Patterns of Justice set. As thevortex swells around you, you will be Tempest Rushing constantly intoenemies, watching the build up of the Flurry rune andtrying to release a fully stacked (or close to) strike during the Cold Convention of Elements cycle. When the time comes to unleash thebuilt-up Flurry, apply Blinding Flash on nearbyenemies (ideally elites), which both cancels the channeling and explodes yourbuilt-up damage, and also nets you the damage bonuses of the worn Cesar's Memento; you will also gain a considerable damage buff from the Faith in the Light rune. When it comes to survivability, you will beusing Epiphany on cooldown, with liberal pops of the Mantra of Salvation Agility active and strategic use of the Serenity Ascension invulnerability. Your Spirit management comes fromthe massive regeneration bonus of the Patterns of Justice 4-piece bonus while Tempest Rushing.

Your main damage dealer, naturally, comes from the focus of the set — Tempest Rush, a channeled attack that weaves and whirls the Monkthrough the enemy (ignoring collision) and allows you to dive in and out ofcombat as you please. The best rune for Greater Rift progression is Flurry due to its damage stacking mechanic, which builds upto a stacking maximum of 100 and is easily timed with Convention of Elements elemental rotations, resulting in massive,controlled bursts during the Cold cycle. Remember to be precise when releasingthe stacks (as simple as popping Blinding Flash or stopping tochannel), so as not to waste your burst with the relatively small detonationrange.

Sweeping Wind is a centerpiece and a mandatory part of a Patterns ofJustice build; rune selection is not necessary, since you will be gaining thebenefits of all five — and while the extra damage of Blade Stormand Cyclone and the extra range of Fire Storm are nice, theutility of the free Inner Storm (extra Spirit regen) and Master of Wind (freeze the enemy once every 3 seconds — easy procfor Cesar's Memento) is what truly shines in terms of benefits. Theactive Sweeping Wind is also a prerequisite to deal good damage with Tempest Rush due to the 6-piece PoJ bonus, so never neglect to keepthis skill active.

Since Master of Wind will only trigger once every 3 seconds, you willhave to introduce another hard CC to the build — not to mention thebenefits of hard CCs and immunities trading turns to prolong a potential Squirt's Necklace damage bonus, if you choose to run this build in agroup. Blinding Flash brings a 20-yard Blind for 3 seconds, along withan additional damage multiplier from the Faith in the Light rune.Playstyle-wise, make sure to pop Blinding Flash as a cancel for thechanneling of a stacked Flurry.

Serenity is one of the most potent defensive skills in the Monkarsenal, allowing you a brief window of invulnerability on a reasonable 16second base cooldown. Note that the downtime begins after the active effectexpires, preventing permanent uptime exploitation. Thus, take the longerlasting Ascension rune and use this skill in rotation with Blinding Flash and the Master of Wind freeze. If you do not likethe playstyle Serenity introduces, you have a viable alternative inthe face of Cyclone Strike Soothing Breeze, which will be triggeredpassively by Won Khim Lau and will assist with the life sustain of thebuild.

Mantra of Salvation offers a general increase to all resistances(yours, and allies' in your vicinity) by 20%, as well as an active componentthat increases resistances by another 20% for a short, 3-second burst. Coupledwith the Agility rune and its dodge chance boost, it makes for thebest defensive Mantra for the class. Due to the massive Spirit regenerationbonuses of this build, you are able to use the active bonuses of this mantraquite liberally.

Epiphany is an almost universal addition to Monk builds, since itsdefault crowd control immunity, Spirit regeneration bonus (20/second) andmobility enhancement (dashing you to nearby targets of your choice) are joinedby the massive 50% damage reduction bonus of the Desert Shroud rune foran irresistible package.

Near Death Experience is never a bad choice when pushing high endGreater Rifts — on the standard 60-second cooldown, it will prevent alethal situation and restore you to 35% Life and Spirit instead. The 2-secondimmunity to damage and crowd control impairing effects are a nice bonus ontop.

A mainstay in the Monk arsenal of passives, Harmony fuels your AllResistance with 40% of the single elemental resistance per piece of gear (e.g.100 Fire Resistance roll on the boots will add 100 to your sheet FireResistance and add 40 to your other resists). A well geared Monk will usuallysport secondary resistances in all the gear slots that are able to roll them,adding significantly to his overall Toughness. Complement the strong defensivefoundation of this passive with The Guardian's Path, which provides 35%extra dodge chance in this dual-wielding build.

Your final passive slot is a little more flexible, with multiple goodoptions vying for the spot. One option is to go for extra damage, eitherthrough Relentless Assault or Determination; they both providean equal damage buff, but are obtained through different factors. Relentless Assault gets an immediate trigger through the CC mechanicsof the build, but suffers from the diminishing returns of reapplied crowdcontrol. Determination, on the other hand, is density-dependent, butwill remains consistent in the right circumstances. Another strong option isto go purely for defense, and reduce all non-Physical damage via Sixth Sense.