Having seen the new talent trees in DF and the latest changes going from Alpha to Beta it’s clear there are still some issues with WW monks. With Hit Combo coming back and a big buff to RJW in the latest build there are lots of things to discuss.
For me though the biggest issue i currently have with the WW tree is that we are either forced to take one of the covenant abilities or Xuen. Looking at the power of the talents locked behind Xuen or connected to it and the central talent placement it seems to me we are “meant” to take it. My problem with that is a dislike for pets/totems/summons.
We already have a choice node to take Serenity over SEF to get away from the summons, my suggestion for Xuen is similar.
Make it a choice node, summon Xuen as it is or a choice to have Xuen empower your character with it’s effect. Same blue lightning effect can be used around your character model. This would give people that prefer to summon the pet the option to do so while also allowing people to opt out of it without losing all other talents and power that is connected to it. With a choice node this also mean we don’t lose out on any talent points by taking Xuen without the summon effect and it will just be a preference choice.
For some people it might not seem like a big deal but for someone like me that does not like pets/summons (or the play style of the covenant abilities) this would be huge.