The Weekly Route Series showcases Mythic+ strategies that are tailored towards the Beginner and Intermediate levels of Mythic+ with the following criteria in mind:

• Easy to execute - particularly in pick-up-groups (PUGs)
  
• Good tradeoffs between skipping the most difficult enemy forces while not requiring overly complicated strategies or “tech” to do so

This week, the affixes are Fortified, Entangling, and Bolstering.

This week's affix combination is interesting. Entangling doesn't adjust with the key level, making it more of a nuisance to be aware of than anything else. On a Fortified week, dealing with Bolstering can vary: it may occasionally be easier because mobs have more health, reducing the chance of unintentionally refreshing Bolstering stacks. However, you may also inadvertently stack Bolstering up to empower already-scary Fortified mobs, potentially prolonging your key's timer.

If you need a refresher on the affixes, be sure to check out our affixes guide!

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Do you have a tip or trick to add to our Weekly Route series? Did you discover the next big skip for a RIO Snapshot video? We want to hear about it! Find us on Twitter or join us in Discord to provide feedback.

Read on to import our Weekly Routes with pull-specific notes, tips, and recommended Bloodlust Timings!

Table of Contents

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ATAL’DAZAR

This week, you’ll want to use the standard “left first” route. When blasting bigger AOE pulls, be mindful of Bolstering stacks, especially given some of the particularly nasty Fortified mobs. Be especially wary of the Dazar'ai Colossus and Dazar'ai Juggernaut pulls on the way to Priestess Alun'za, as well as the Reanimated Honor Guard and Zanchuli Witch Doctor pulls on the way to Vol’kaal, which deal a lot of high group damage.

Keep Entangling in mind when positioning for the following boss abilities: Rezan’s Pursuit, Priestess Alun'za’s Transfusion, and Yazma’s Echoes of Shadra/Soulrend.

Want to keep your group safe from a Fortified and Bolstered Dazar’ai Juggernaut’s Merciless Assaults? Watch our RIO Snapshot to learn some clever tips for avoiding this particularly devastating charge mechanic:

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BLACK ROOK HOLD

Make sure you are frequently using your personals or defensives on trash pulls this week, as Black Rook Hold’s trash is notoriously painful!

This week with Bolstering, be sure to focus damage into the Ghostly Protectors due to Sacrifice Soul and Risen Arcanists due to Arcane Blitz, as both are extremely dangerous.

Keep Entangling in mind when positioning for the following boss abilities: Illysanna Ravencrest’s Eye Beams, Smashspite the Hateful’s Hateful Gaze, and Dantalionax’s Dreadlord's Guile.

Easily burn down the first boss, Amalgam of Souls with this cool trick from our RIO Snapshots:



Do you want to learn where to pop your defensives on the final boss, Lord Kur’talos Ravencrest? Study up with our RIO Snapshot on the subject:

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DARKHEART THICKET

Our Darkheart route will require an invisibility potion. The double Festerhide Grizzly pack before the first boss is super scary with Fortified, as there is a high chance that you will have a bad overlap with a Bolstered Maddening Roar, so we suggest using a shortcut around them. (REMEMBER to dismiss pets). Check out the clip below to see this early skip in action:



Keep Entangling in mind when positioning for the following boss abilities: Archdruid Glaidalis’s Nightmare Abomination fixate, Dresaron’s Falling Rocks, and Shade of Xavius’s Apocalyptic Fire.

Rotheart Keepers with their Vile Mushrooms are going to cause havoc between the first and second boss. Be sure to focus damage into the Keepers and give yourself plenty of space and time to plan for Entangling in addition to dodging Fortified Mushrooms.

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DAWN OF THE INFINITE: GALAKROND’S FALL

Make sure you are frequently using your personals or defensives on trash pulls this week, as the majority of this dungeon’s trash is extremely painful on Fortified.

Ask your group before the key if you are using an invisibility potion at the beginning or on the way to the last boss. This way you will be able to plan the use of your throughput potions properly.

Note that the trash in the Manifested Timeways room is extremely difficult for healers, with several demanding priority dispels; Fortified will make these mobs that much more dangerous this week. Have your interrupts, personal defensives, and any supportive party cooldowns (like Rallying Cry) ready for this particularly stressful room! When blasting massive AOE, be mindful of Bolstering, as a Bolstered hit can mean lights out if you are also targeted with a Coalesced Moment’s Tainted Sands or Timestream Anomaly’s Bloom. Bloom will always go on one DPS and the tank. Dispel the DPS affected by Bloom immediately!

To help your group get through this nasty Manifested Timeways trash cleanly, do your homework with our RIO Snapshot on the subject:



Keep Entangling in mind when positioning for the following boss abilities: Chronikar’s Eon Shatter, Manifested Timeways’ Fragments of Time, Blight of Galakrond’s Blight Seep, and Iridikron’s Rending Earthspikes.

In order to skip the single Infinite Infiltrator on the way to Blight of Galakrond, check out this RIO Snapshot:



If your group has a Rogue & Distract, a Hunter, or Shadowmeld, you’ll have a few extra tricks to help you get around this Infinite Infiltrator.

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DAWN OF THE INFINITE: MUROZOND’S RISE

Keep Entangling in mind when positioning for the following boss abilities: Tyr, the Infinite Keeper’s Infinite Annihilation, Time-Lost Battlefield’s Bladestorm/Shockwave, and Chrono-Lord Deios’s Temporal Breath/Infinity Orbs.

Murozond’s Rise has a deceptively-standard forward route, but during Fortified and Bolstering, any frontals or missed interrupts can be deadly! If you play slow and steadily, you’ll find this dungeon to have a generous timer.

Before Tyr, there are three mini bosses: Valow, Timesworn Keeper, Lerai, Timesworn Maiden, and Spurlok, Timesworn Sentinel. You must defeat all three mini bosses to trigger the boss’ 30 second RP event. If you are pushing keys, remember to focus-fire these named mobs, allowing the RP to begin as you work through the remainder of the trash.

Taking advantage of Lerai’s boomerang Orb of Contemplation can really help your healer out this week! Take a peek at our RIO Snapshot to learn how to make use of Lerai’s orb to handle the remaining trash in this room with a quickness:



The trash before the Time-Lost Battlefield boss, Alliance Destroyers, are scary on Fortified with their Volatile Mortar. If you find yourself targeted by Volatile Mortar, face the Destroyer and hold down the 'S' key to move backward slowly. Keep walking backwards in a straight line away from the Destroyer and make sure to move backwards into the center of the room to avoid hitting a wall. By following these steps, you can effectively handle the Volatile Mortar fixate without feeling overwhelmed by this stressful room!

To save time with some of Chromie’s excessive RP this week, check out our RIO Snapshot:

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THE EVERBLOOM

Everbloom has some of the nastiest trash out there, so trash-buffing affixes like Fortified and Bolstering can be terrifying! Bring your health potions and be on point with your defensives during the many massive, dangerous trash pulls.

Keep Entangling in mind when positioning for the following boss abilities: Ancient Protectors’s Noxious Charge and Archmage Sol’s nasty spell combo of Arcane Affinity with Cinderbolt Storm.

There are a lot of enemy forces in Everbloom, so we will need to take advantage of a wall hug to skip some trash near the second boss. No special tricks or abilities are required; all you need to do is walk your character into the wall and slowly inch your way towards the other side of the room. This skip is marked with a gold exclamation point (!) on our weekly route. Check out the clip below to see this skip in action:



Given that it is a Fortified week, you may want to plan ahead and skip some of the worst trash pulls on the way to Ancient Protectors. Check out our RIO Snapshot to see how:



If you’re looking to give yourself a little extra time in this key, take a peek at our RIO Snapshot to learn how to skip the final bit of RP before Yalnu:

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THRONE OF THE TIDES

Keep Entangling in mind when positioning for the following boss abilities: Lady Naz'jar’s High Tide, Erunak Stonespeaker’s Earthfury/Terrifying Vision, and Ink of Ozumat’s Bloating Darkness.

While this may be an unpopular opinion, plan to do smaller pulls through Throne of the Tides. There are loads of frontals and punishing mechanics from the trash mobs as well as the mini bosses, which makes this dungeon a dangerous one on Fortified. It's better to handle multiple smaller pulls successfully than to constantly run back one by one. Be diligent about Bolstering and don't rush your key with AOE.

Take a look at Roiben’s sketch below to help manage Lady Naz'jar’s Focused Tempest:



TL;DR: Make certain that the group organizes into a diamond shape surrounding the boss/tank. Every player needs to be spaced evenly, taking up positions at the square's corners, and keeping the tank as the closest player to anyone positioned along the square's perimeter.

For some quick tips on handling Ozumat, take a peek at our RIO Snapshot:

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WAYCREST MANOR

We all love Waycrest for the big pulls, but be careful to avoid pulling too many enemies with smaller health pools, such as Gorestained Piglets, that can refresh Bolstering stacks on larger mobs. Heartsbane Runeweaver’s Etch is especially terrifying as it cannot be interrupted, so remember to use a personal defensive or a health potion if you are the unlucky victim of a Bolstered Etch. Proceed with caution in your trash pulls this week!

Keep Entangling in mind when positioning for the following boss abilities: Heartsbane Triad’s Unstable Runic Mark, Soulbound Goliath’s Soul Thorns, and Lady Waycrest’s Discordant Cadenza.

In Waycrest Manor, there are many tight hallways where dealing with Entangling requires some careful forethought. Here are some enemies and their attacks that you should watch out for, as they can be especially dangerous:

• Banquet Steward’s Dinner Bell
  
• Bewitched Captain’s Shadow Cleave
  
• Pallid Gorger’s Retch
  
• Thornguard’s Shatter

Would you like to master the final boss, Gorak Tul? Check out our quick RIO Snapshot for the specifics:

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Links

• The Weekly Route Series
  
• The Play Like the Pros Series
  
• Learn about the Raider.IO Auto Route Creator
  
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• Download the Raider.IO Client
  
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