Player Spotlight: Trellbrew
Hello everyone! Welcome to the sixth week of the RaiderIO Player Spotlight. My name is Samantha aka Vitaminpee and with this series, I am aiming to highlight the amazing players of World of Warcraft regardless of their chosen class, spec, language, and/or region. I hope to bring you valuable information and help you learn more about your favorite top players or discover new ones from around the world that you may not yet know.
VitaminP: Hi Trell! Thanks for joining us today. Can you please tell us a little more about yourself?
Trell: Hello! My name is either Trell or Jeremy; I forget which sometimes. I was born and raised in the Dallas, Texas area and will hopefully continue to work here for years to come. I am 26 years old and have a career that takes up most of my time during the week outside of WoW. I played WoW casually as a kid in Vanilla, but I didn’t really start playing WoW until the beginning of Legion. I started getting more serious around 1-2 years ago and now I play the game entirely for pushing Mythic+, so it is very exciting to hear of the 2019 MDI announcements and more frequent tournaments.
VitaminP: What do you love most about playing Brewmaster? Do you foresee any mainswaps in your future for tournament realm?
Trell: I’ve been maining Brewmaster for a couple years now, so it is my comfortable homebase in both raid and Mythic+. I’m very happy that I was able to perform well as a Brewmaster during season 1 so that I could continue to main it. There are a couple things that never get old about playing a Brewmaster. Firstly, both the mobility and the constant defensive uptime of Ironskin Brew allow for a very fast pace throughout an entire run. Secondly, you can survive a massive amount of physical damage with Stagger. Have you ever taken 20 wrenches at once in a high Motherlode key and survived? The sheer amount of damage that you can manage with Stagger can be astonishing at times. Here’s a clip of a really good recovery on a hard boss fight where I used Zen Meditation to survive Tantrum on a 21 Underrot when my health was already really low. Moments like this make Mythic+ thrilling for me.
Realistically, I will need to swap to other tanking classes in high Mythic+ if they ever perform better or more consistently than Brewmaster. I currently plan on having a Death Knight and Protection Warrior fully capable to play for tournaments as well, but I obviously prefer to showcase Monk whenever it’s viable.
VitaminP: How does it feel to see yourself holding the #1 Brewmaster spot in the world for the first season of BFA?
Trell: From a competitive standpoint, it feels great. I play the game to push as high as possible. Seeing new world records is exciting, whether they are by my team or my friends’ teams. There are several very good Brewmaster players out there, so I’m happy to represent our class in a positive light.
VitaminP: Do you see Brewmaster remaining viable in this upcoming season? How do you think the new seasonal affix, Reaping, will affect Brewmaster in comparison to the other tanking classes?
Trell: All in all, the dungeons are the same mobs and bosses. I think Brew will be good but it’s too early to tell which tanks will shine the most. Reaping seams very malleable in the way that you can trigger it at wildly different times throughout the run, so it is difficult to say how it will go for every class. If there are situations where Brewmaster can survive pulling the zombies efficiently into the next pull, that may be a huge advantage. We will see. I can’t wait for season 2!
VitaminP: Which dungeon do you feel Brewmaster shines in the most this expansion and why?
Trell: The places where Brewmaster performs well often have a very strong use for Ring of Peace. I would say Waycrest Manor is the best spotlight for this strength. There are many tight hallways and doors that allow the use of teleporting with Transcendence and then putting down a Ring of Peace is amazing for pulling off monster pulls. With the limitations from Infested going away, I have some absolutely massive pulls I want to do in Waycrest.
Brewmaster excels at big pulls in general. Like Protection Warrior, we have insanely good physical damage reduction but also have 100% uptime on our mitigation. Big pulls in Freehold and Motherlode are no problem, and the only real danger we face are mobs that deal heavy magic damage.
VitaminP: Recently, your Brewmaster guide was published on Wowhead and it was very thorough and comprehensive. Is there anything you may want to reiterate for us in terms of talent choices and azerite traits for Mythic+?
Trell: My Wowhead guide on Brewmaster Mythic+ is full of tips and tricks throughout the dungeon walkthroughs. If there is anything noteworthy in the guide, it is that Ring of Peace is mentioned over 100 times because it is so flexible and useful in dungeons.
My go-to talent build for Mythic+ is the following:
Talent changes for Skittish:
→
→
(only if necessary)
Talent changes for Grievous (depending on healer, so feel it out):
→
My recommended crucial Azerite traits (8.1):
1x
1x
2-3x
1-2x
After the above traits are acquired, try to go for a few
VitaminP: What is one of the funniest mistakes you've made in a Mythic+ key?
Trell: Since I am a monk player, I tend to roll around a lot. There have been a few times where I have flown off the edge to my death by rolling just a tiny bit too far. The funniest and most facepalm moment so far has been flying off the platform in Kings’ Rest during the Council boss fight. There have also been many instances where I’ve placed a Ring of Peace on the ceiling because targeting the ground is apparently too hard.
VitaminP: What’s the hardest pull you’ve had to do in a key so far this expansion? Do you have any cool clips to share for us?
Trell: There are lots of very difficult pulls I can think of, so it’s hard to remember any that stand out because they become much easier and seem routine after a while once you’ve practiced enough. Here’s a good example of a hard pull specifically for a Brewmaster, since it’s not easy to group up 3 widespread Refreshment Vendors in Motherlode without having Deathgrip or Mass Grip. Moments with heavy group coordination to execute pulls properly feel great.
VitaminP: Do you have any plans for team comps and teammates now that the MDI 2019 qualifiers and time trials have been officially announced?
Trell: My mythic+ team, also known as The Gamerdads, is named mostly as a joke to point out that several of us work full-time in addition to pushing keys. We will definitely be participating in the MDI cups and tournaments that have been announced for 2019! Unfortunately, if the strange “gambling” restriction policies do not change, then certain states and provinces will not be allowed to participate again, which would prevent Jaamaw (our healer) from competing. We will all play whatever classes are going to perform best, but I will always prefer playing Brewmaster whenever possible.
The team is not completely set in stone yet, but will likely be 5 of the familiar 5-8 players we normally run with on live: Morning, Shift, Gapezilla, and a healer to sub in for Jaamaw. The MDI seems to be gaining more and more momentum each year, with lots more tournament weekends in sight already. Please cheer us on in a couple months!
VitaminP: What advice do you have for Brewmasters trying to get into high-end Mythic+?
Trell: My best advice to aspiring tanks is to just get out there and play. Find and play in groups of all sorts, including those that may be below your skill level just for more experience in a wide variety of situations. Do your research about what to pull and what all is needed to get through a key in time. Have general plans on how to execute pulls and bosses as a Brewmaster while keeping in mind what groups with a Death Knight would most likely do. There is a ton of strategy and preparation to be done for each key.
Since it is a 5-man game, the most important thing for Mythic+ is to build a network. Join discords and communities to meet other players that want to push keys. Stick around with the players who you communicate with really well or who don’t bail after one key. Have an open mind about strategies and explain to your group why something may be more efficient. Communicate well, put in the time needed, and make friends. That’s the key.
Vitaminpee mains a Brewmaster and loves to do competitive Mythic+. She is the Social Media Manager for Big Dumb Gaming and a partnered Twitch streamer who plays all tanks at max level and is excited to have more time now to push for the next MDI with her team: Synecdoche, Oddy, Sham, and Comfykins.
“Seeing new world records is exciting, whether they are by my team or my friends’ teams. There are several very good Brewmaster players out there, so I’m happy to represent our class in a positive light.”
VitaminP: Hi Trell! Thanks for joining us today. Can you please tell us a little more about yourself?
Trell: Hello! My name is either Trell or Jeremy; I forget which sometimes. I was born and raised in the Dallas, Texas area and will hopefully continue to work here for years to come. I am 26 years old and have a career that takes up most of my time during the week outside of WoW. I played WoW casually as a kid in Vanilla, but I didn’t really start playing WoW until the beginning of Legion. I started getting more serious around 1-2 years ago and now I play the game entirely for pushing Mythic+, so it is very exciting to hear of the 2019 MDI announcements and more frequent tournaments.
VitaminP: What do you love most about playing Brewmaster? Do you foresee any mainswaps in your future for tournament realm?
Trell: I’ve been maining Brewmaster for a couple years now, so it is my comfortable homebase in both raid and Mythic+. I’m very happy that I was able to perform well as a Brewmaster during season 1 so that I could continue to main it. There are a couple things that never get old about playing a Brewmaster. Firstly, both the mobility and the constant defensive uptime of Ironskin Brew allow for a very fast pace throughout an entire run. Secondly, you can survive a massive amount of physical damage with Stagger. Have you ever taken 20 wrenches at once in a high Motherlode key and survived? The sheer amount of damage that you can manage with Stagger can be astonishing at times. Here’s a clip of a really good recovery on a hard boss fight where I used Zen Meditation to survive Tantrum on a 21 Underrot when my health was already really low. Moments like this make Mythic+ thrilling for me.
Realistically, I will need to swap to other tanking classes in high Mythic+ if they ever perform better or more consistently than Brewmaster. I currently plan on having a Death Knight and Protection Warrior fully capable to play for tournaments as well, but I obviously prefer to showcase Monk whenever it’s viable.
VitaminP: How does it feel to see yourself holding the #1 Brewmaster spot in the world for the first season of BFA?
Trell: From a competitive standpoint, it feels great. I play the game to push as high as possible. Seeing new world records is exciting, whether they are by my team or my friends’ teams. There are several very good Brewmaster players out there, so I’m happy to represent our class in a positive light.
VitaminP: Do you see Brewmaster remaining viable in this upcoming season? How do you think the new seasonal affix, Reaping, will affect Brewmaster in comparison to the other tanking classes?
Trell: All in all, the dungeons are the same mobs and bosses. I think Brew will be good but it’s too early to tell which tanks will shine the most. Reaping seams very malleable in the way that you can trigger it at wildly different times throughout the run, so it is difficult to say how it will go for every class. If there are situations where Brewmaster can survive pulling the zombies efficiently into the next pull, that may be a huge advantage. We will see. I can’t wait for season 2!
VitaminP: Which dungeon do you feel Brewmaster shines in the most this expansion and why?
Trell: The places where Brewmaster performs well often have a very strong use for Ring of Peace. I would say Waycrest Manor is the best spotlight for this strength. There are many tight hallways and doors that allow the use of teleporting with Transcendence and then putting down a Ring of Peace is amazing for pulling off monster pulls. With the limitations from Infested going away, I have some absolutely massive pulls I want to do in Waycrest.
Brewmaster excels at big pulls in general. Like Protection Warrior, we have insanely good physical damage reduction but also have 100% uptime on our mitigation. Big pulls in Freehold and Motherlode are no problem, and the only real danger we face are mobs that deal heavy magic damage.
VitaminP: Recently, your Brewmaster guide was published on Wowhead and it was very thorough and comprehensive. Is there anything you may want to reiterate for us in terms of talent choices and azerite traits for Mythic+?
Trell: My Wowhead guide on Brewmaster Mythic+ is full of tips and tricks throughout the dungeon walkthroughs. If there is anything noteworthy in the guide, it is that Ring of Peace is mentioned over 100 times because it is so flexible and useful in dungeons.
My go-to talent build for Mythic+ is the following:
Talent changes for Skittish:
→
→
(only if necessary)
Talent changes for Grievous (depending on healer, so feel it out):
→
My recommended crucial Azerite traits (8.1):
1x
1x
2-3x
1-2x
After the above traits are acquired, try to go for a few
VitaminP: What is one of the funniest mistakes you've made in a Mythic+ key?
Trell: Since I am a monk player, I tend to roll around a lot. There have been a few times where I have flown off the edge to my death by rolling just a tiny bit too far. The funniest and most facepalm moment so far has been flying off the platform in Kings’ Rest during the Council boss fight. There have also been many instances where I’ve placed a Ring of Peace on the ceiling because targeting the ground is apparently too hard.
VitaminP: What’s the hardest pull you’ve had to do in a key so far this expansion? Do you have any cool clips to share for us?
Trell: There are lots of very difficult pulls I can think of, so it’s hard to remember any that stand out because they become much easier and seem routine after a while once you’ve practiced enough. Here’s a good example of a hard pull specifically for a Brewmaster, since it’s not easy to group up 3 widespread Refreshment Vendors in Motherlode without having Deathgrip or Mass Grip. Moments with heavy group coordination to execute pulls properly feel great.
VitaminP: Do you have any plans for team comps and teammates now that the MDI 2019 qualifiers and time trials have been officially announced?
Trell: My mythic+ team, also known as The Gamerdads, is named mostly as a joke to point out that several of us work full-time in addition to pushing keys. We will definitely be participating in the MDI cups and tournaments that have been announced for 2019! Unfortunately, if the strange “gambling” restriction policies do not change, then certain states and provinces will not be allowed to participate again, which would prevent Jaamaw (our healer) from competing. We will all play whatever classes are going to perform best, but I will always prefer playing Brewmaster whenever possible.
The team is not completely set in stone yet, but will likely be 5 of the familiar 5-8 players we normally run with on live: Morning, Shift, Gapezilla, and a healer to sub in for Jaamaw. The MDI seems to be gaining more and more momentum each year, with lots more tournament weekends in sight already. Please cheer us on in a couple months!
“Since it is a 5-man game, the most important thing for Mythic+ is to build a network. Join discords and communities to meet other players who want to push keys.”
VitaminP: What advice do you have for Brewmasters trying to get into high-end Mythic+?
Trell: My best advice to aspiring tanks is to just get out there and play. Find and play in groups of all sorts, including those that may be below your skill level just for more experience in a wide variety of situations. Do your research about what to pull and what all is needed to get through a key in time. Have general plans on how to execute pulls and bosses as a Brewmaster while keeping in mind what groups with a Death Knight would most likely do. There is a ton of strategy and preparation to be done for each key.
Since it is a 5-man game, the most important thing for Mythic+ is to build a network. Join discords and communities to meet other players that want to push keys. Stick around with the players who you communicate with really well or who don’t bail after one key. Have an open mind about strategies and explain to your group why something may be more efficient. Communicate well, put in the time needed, and make friends. That’s the key.
Links
- Find Trell on RaiderIO
- Follow Trell on Twitch
- Follow Trell on Twitter
About the Author
Vitaminpee mains a Brewmaster and loves to do competitive Mythic+. She is the Social Media Manager for Big Dumb Gaming and a partnered Twitch streamer who plays all tanks at max level and is excited to have more time now to push for the next MDI with her team: Synecdoche, Oddy, Sham, and Comfykins.
