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The Weekly Route: Voidbound, Tyrannical



Welcome to The War Within Season 2, Week 3!

The following dungeon routes are based upon reviewing top runs with the Auto Route Creator and Mythic+ Heatmaps – a feature that aggregates millions of Mythic+ runs to help you see what others are doing at the same keystone level as you.

The weekly-alternating affixes are Xal’atath’s Bargain: Voidbound in keystone levels +4 to +11, and Tyrannical in keystone levels +7 to +9. Fortified is added at keystone level +10, and Xal’atath’s Guile replaces Xal’atath’s Bargain: Voidbound at keystone level +12. Here’s a refresher on The War Within’s affix system:


So, which dungeons may be easier to target for rewards? The graphs below will update throughout the week to show the relative difficulty of all of the dungeons, as well as spec popularity so far this Season:


Each dungeon has a different timer and requirements for +2 and +3 rewards:

DungeonTimer+2+3
Cinderbrew Meadery33:0026:2419:48
Darkflame Cleft31:0024:2818:48
Mechagon Workshop32:0025:3619:12
Operation: Floodgate33:0026:2419:48
Priory of the Sacred Flame32:3026:0019:30
The MOTHERLODE!!39:0031:1223:24
The Rookery29:0023:2417:48
Theater of Pain34:0027:1220:24


Find the dungeons at the following locations:



All set? Grab our dungeon routes + boss guides below and start grinding that IO!

Bookmark The Weekly Route for our updates to top routes every Tuesday!




Table of Contents




Cinderbrew Meadery




Bloodlust Timings

First pull, I’pa, and Benk Buzbee


Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You DO NOT wish to use Invisibility Potions or have a Rogue / Priest for skips
  • You are in a PUG without voice comms
  • You’re in a lower key and won’t be too impacted by going over on enemy forces count

Bloodlust Timings

First pull, I’pa, and Benk Buzbee


Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You would like to do one low-risk Invisibility/CC skip in the hallway towards I’pa

Bloodlust Timings

First pull, I’pa, and Benk Buzbee


Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You want to do a really cutting-edge high Mythic+ route to save as much time as possible
  • You are in voice comms with a coordinated group
  • You have a way to do the double Hopgoblin skip with a Night Elf tank (Vengeance Demon Hunter seemingly favorable) towards I’pa, as demonstrated by Kira in the video timestamp below:


Mythic+ Heatmaps – What We’re Seeing in Keys


In Cinderbrew Meadery, we’re starting to see top Mythic+ groups find clever ways to skip the double Careless Hopgoblins on the way to I’pa. The Hopgoblins are not only very high health and annoying with all their charging around, but they also spawn troublesome little Brew Drops when they die, so skipping all of them would be fantastic…which is probably why they were given Stealth Detection.



According to the data aggregated by Mythic+ Heatmaps, it seems that this hallway skip starts occurring at around keystone levels +15 and up. If you click the Heatmap above to view it on the mainpage, try toggling its different keystone level filters.

If you didn’t catch the video about this skip in the previous tab for the Expert Cinderbrew route, you can see Kira perform it in his +16 Cinderbrew Meadery video below:



Otherwise, if you’re looking for a simpler skip with less requirements and risk, the skip proposed in our Intermediate route is popular in keystone levels +10 to +13.


  Special Dispels to Bring:


BLEED
NPCAbilityRequirements
Venture Co. Patron Mean Mug Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →
Worker Bee (trash) Shredding Sting Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →
Ravenous Cinderbee (boss mob) Shredding Sting Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →






Darkflame Cleft




Bloodlust Timings


  Special Dispels to Bring:


BLEED
NPCAbilityRequirements
Menial Laborer Crude Weapons Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →

DISEASE
NPCAbilityRequirements
Pack Mole Nasty Nibble Evoker
Monk
Paladin
Priest
Dwarf →






Mechagon Workshop




Bloodlust Timings
Tussle Tonks, K.U.-J.0., and the Omega Buster phase of King Mechagon

Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You DO NOT wish to use Invisibility Potions or have a Rogue for skips
  • You are in a PUG without voice comms
  • You’re in a lower key and won’t be too impacted by going over on enemy forces count

Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, K.U.-J.0. and the Omega Buster phase of King Mechagon

Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You wish to use Invisibility Potions or have a Rogue for the two skips

Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, K.U.-J.0., and the Omega Buster phase of King Mechagon

Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You’re working on a really high key that’s pushing the top of the Leaderboard
  • You’re in a highly coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)
  • You have a Night Elf Vengeance Demon Hunter for the final skip towards the last boss (can be any tank class, but they will have to sacrifice themselves if not a Night Elf VDH)






Operation: Floodgate




Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, Demolition Duo, and either Bubbles (miniboss) or Geezle Gigazap


  Special Dispels to Bring:


BLEED
NPCAbilityRequirements
Venture Co. Diver Harpoon Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →
Venture Co. Architect Nailed Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →






Priory of the Sacred Flame




Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, on cooldown, and Prioress Murrpray in Phase 2

Mythic+ Heatmaps – What We’re Seeing in Keys


With 2 weeks of the new Season under our belt, we have data to review on whether people like to go up the left or right stairways towards the first boss, and the results are in…people prefer to go left!

In high keystones on the PTR for Season 2, we saw a lot of groups trend-setting up the right side due to a safe spot that trivialized the otherwise formidable miniboss Forge Master Damian. However, this unintended tank-and-spank was recently hotfixed, which has caused key pushers to start finding new avenues of success in this dungeon.

As such, we now see most groups go left to an overwhelming degree across all keystone levels:




  Special Dispels to Bring:


BLEED
NPCAbilityRequirements
Fervent Sharpshooter Caltrops Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →
War Lynx Grievous Rip Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →
Sergeant Shaynemail Lunging Strike Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →
Captain Dailcry Pierce Armor Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →






The MOTHERLODE!!




Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, Azerokk, and Mogul Razdunk

Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You DO NOT wish to use Invisibility Potions or have a Rogue / Priest for skips
  • You are in a PUG without voice comms
  • You’re in a lower key and won’t be too impacted by going over on enemy forces count

Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, Azerokk, and Mogul Razdunk

Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You want to use Invisibility Potions or have a Rogue / Priest for skips
  • You’re in a coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)
  • You want to do a pull and then skip to the first boss for efficiency, such as the skip demonstrated by Kesslive:


Mythic+ Heatmaps – What We’re Seeing in Keys


The MOTHERLODE!! is one of those dungeons with heavy trash density and it can feel a bit overwhelming to learn how and where to start performing skips as you climb in IO over the course of the Season. Let’s take a look at what’s happening in keystones +15 and up since that’s where a decent chunk of the IO-pushing player population will be moving towards.



Unlike many popular high MOTHERLODE routes in BFA which skipped a ton of trash towards the final boss (fully popularized by BFA Season 4 due to the accessibility of skips with the Seasonal Awakened affix), it is now very difficult to skip past many of those pesky little landmines.

We’re seeing the top groups heading to the first boss as quickly as possible via a big skip. However, rather than turning around after the Coin-Operated Crowd Pummeler and backtracking some of that early trash count, groups are heading straight to Azerokk since the popular BFA skip(s) towards Rixxa Fluxflame are no longer possible either in the MOTHERLODE remake for The War Within.

Here’s a video of Kesslive and his group that shows how to skip to the first boss and slam a +16 Motherlode:




  Special Dispels to Bring:


BLEED
NPCAbilityRequirements
Taskmaster Askari Heavy Slash Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →
Earthrager Jagged Cut Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →
Azerite Extractor Puncture Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →


POISON
NPCAbilityRequirements
Venture Co. Alchemist Caustic Compound Druid
Evoker
Monk
Paladin
Shaman
Dwarf →
Hired Assassin Toxic Blades Druid
Evoker
Monk
Paladin
Shaman
Dwarf →






The Rookery




Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, on cooldown, and Voidstone Monstrosity

Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You do not wish to do any skips
  • You are not in voice comms / prefer to do something simple and safe

Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, on cooldown, and Voidstone Monstrosity

Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You’re doing competitive higher keys and want to do skips
  • You’re in a coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)


  Special Dispels to Bring:


CURSE
NPCAbilityRequirements
Corrupted Oracle Seeping Corruption Druid
Evoker
Mage
Shaman
Dwarf →






Theater of Pain




Bloodlust Timings
1st pull / 1st boss, Kul’tharok, and Mordretha

Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You want a simple and straightforward route for a lower key or a PUG
  • You are not in voice comms

Bloodlust Timings
1st pull / 1st boss, Kul’tharok, and Mordretha

Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You want an efficient route that utilizes some skips
  • You’re in a coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)

Bloodlust Timings
1st pull / 1st boss, Kul’tharok, and Mordretha

Notes
Choose this route if:
  • You want to replicate what some of the highest key pushing groups did in Shadowlands
  • You’re in a highly coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)
  • You want to carefully optimize Bloodlust timings for high keys


  Special Dispels to Bring:


BLEED
NPCAbilityRequirements
Bone Magus Bone Spear Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →
Gorechop Jagged Gash Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →
Shambling Arbalest (boss mob) Jagged Quarrel Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →
Advent Nevermore / Harugia the Bloodthirsty Ricocheting Blade Evoker
Paladin
Dwarf →

CURSE
NPCAbilityRequirements
Nefarious Darkspeaker Curse of Desloation Druid
Evoker
Mage
Shaman
Dwarf →
Portal Guardian Shadow Vulnerability Druid
Evoker
Mage
Shaman
Dwarf →

DISEASE
NPCAbilityRequirements
Blighted Sludge-Spewer / Diseased Horror Decaying Blight Evoker
Monk
Paladin
Priest
Dwarf →
Rancid Gasbag Vile Eruption Evoker
Monk
Paladin
Priest
Dwarf →
Disgusting Refuse Withering Blight Evoker
Monk
Paladin
Priest
Dwarf →






Links


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About the Author


VitaminP (VP) is the Content Manager of Raider.IO. VP holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and has worked for Raider.IO since the formation of its News Section in November 2018. VP specializes in tanking classes and has loved doing competitive Mythic+ on and off since early Legion.


About the Editor


Gogogadgetkat has been playing WoW since late BC, and has been the GM of her guild Propaganda since its creation in 2014. As a career healer, Kat has a number of CEs and old-school heroic kills under her belt, all on a variety of healing classes and specs—she’s a serial altoholic! In addition to Mythic raiding and a little Mythic+, creating safe, inclusive spaces in gaming is her longtime passion; Kat has been an admin for the Perky Pugs community since late BfA, and is also a founding council member and the Executive Director for the DEIBAJ initiative VISAGE. She is excited to bring her wealth of experience and love of writing to the Raider.IO team.

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