Welcome to WEEK 3 of The War Within Season 1!

The Weekly Route Series showcases Mythic+ strategies tailored towards Beginner and Intermediate levels of Mythic+. We aim to hit a sweet spot between speed and safety, ensuring you hit the right enemy force count while keeping up the pace – particularly in pick-up-groups (PUGs).

This week, you'll notice that the difficulty ramps up, especially as keystone levels increase and people gain familiarity with the new Season 1 dungeons. With new maps and affix combinations, it's important to refine your strategies and coordinate with your team.

Let’s dive into this week’s challenges and start pushing those keys!

Table of Contents

Routing Tips

We’ve designed each route to balance safety and speed. Larger pulls are great for hitting forced percentage milestones quickly, but don’t hesitate to break them into smaller packs if that’s better for your group. We’ve noted these options in MDT/Keystone.Guru to grant flexibility based on your group’s strength, composition, and cooldowns.

You’ll notice some exciting changes this season with the introduction of Xal’atath’s Bargains. These 4 affixes rotate weekly and show up from keystone levels +2 to +11. They can shake things up a bit, but don’t worry — they won’t drastically change your routing, especially at lower keystone levels. What’s more critical is how your group handles each dungeon’s challenges.





At keystone level +10 and above, both Tyrannical and Fortified will be in play, which will affect your Bloodlust timings and pull strategies. Stick with the route but adjust your Bloodlust timings according to the Tyrannical and Fortified challenges. If you’re short on major cooldowns during a big pull, breaking it down a bit might help, but aim to pull the same packs noted in the route to hit the percentage targets.

Bargain of the Week (+2 to +11): The Xal’atath’s Bargain of the week is Voidbound, every 75 seconds, Xal'atath summons a Void Emissary that channels Dark Prayer, increasing nearby mobs' damage by 10% every 3 seconds. The Emissary has a sturdy shield, about the same strength as a typical mob at your key level. Once the shield is broken, the Emissary dies, granting your group Blessing from Beyond, which boosts Crit Chance by 20% for 20 seconds.



Base Affix of the Week (+4 to +9): Tyrannical – bosses are empowered.

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ARA-KARA, CITY OF ECHOES

DISPELS TO BRING	ELIGIBLE CLASSES
Poison Dispel	Druids   Evoker   Monk   Paladin   Shaman

Expect a heavy focus on add control on Avanoxx, the first boss, who loves summoning her Starved Crawlers and creating Vile Webbing traps that will punish any flatfooted players. Prioritize drafting adds before they are close enough to the boss to eat. Every 45 seconds, Avanoxx will cast a powerful group wide AOE Alerting Shrill therefore space out your damage reduction abilities and health potions to help your healer.

On the way to Anub'Zekt, I prefer to go left after the bridge since you have more control in a PUG environment – this side requires fewer coordinated stuns or interrupts and comes with less worry of a patrol surprising the group once cooldowns are finished.

Anub'Zekt will occasionally debuff players with Ceaseless Swarms, indicated by the bees on random players’ heads. When this debuff expires, it spawns a tornado at the player’s location. If you are affected by the Swarm debuff, position yourself away from the group to safely drop the tornado without endangering your teammates. Be sure to interrupt the Bloodstained Webmage when they cast Silken Restraints, as this can immobilize and potentially disrupt the group's positioning. Tanks should manage Anub'Zekt's Impale frontal carefully. Direct it away from the group while considering the clockwise movement of the Eye of the Swarm, which rotates around the room. Proper tank positioning is crucial to avoid unnecessary damage and to give your team more room to maneuver.

In the final encounter with Ki'katal, be precise with cooldowns. Her Cosmic Singularity ability pulls all players to the center of the room, and to survive the blast, you must quickly move into a puddle left behind by dead Bloodworker adds. Failure to reach these puddles in time will result in heavy damage or death. Additionally, be mindful of the Cultivated Poisons debuff on your character. When it is dispelled, an ooze wave is launched in the direction you are facing. Make sure to aim it away from your group to prevent unnecessary damage and disruption.

Players with Level 25 Tailoring can interact with the dead Discordant Attendant mobs scattered around the dungeon. Tailors can use Silk Thread to stun enemies for 10 seconds, which is a powerful crowd control tool for dealing with key mobs.

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CITY OF THREADS

DISPELS TO BRING	ELIGIBLE CLASSES
Poison Dispel	Druids   Evoker   Monk   Paladin   Shaman

Stay within Orator Krix'vizk’s purple melee circle and move as a group; however, stay pre-spread – this will help you dodge the orbs that spawn when a healer dispels a player afflicted by Shadow of Doubt. Expect some party-wide damage with his Vociferous Indoctrination, so your healer will need to be on their toes! When Vociferous Indoctrination is complete, be prepared to move together out of the growing deadly Lingering Influence puddle.

Next, there is a mini event similar to hide-and-seek. When you start, follow the purple shadowy figures to reveal and defeat the Eyes of the Queen: there will be one in each of the three “zones”. To start the boss RP, someone must get into proximity of the yellow dot in the West Zone (see figure below).



The second boss, Nx and Vx, Fangs of the Queen, will swap roles mid-fight, forcing you to constantly adjust your positioning. Be prepared to dodge the deadly Ice Sickles, which can easily hit unprepared players. Both bosses frequently use frontal attacks and teleport, which can make melee positioning difficult. To counter this, try to stay loosely grouped to help maximize your group's damage uptime while allowing everyone to quickly adjust to the bosses’ movements and avoid unnecessary panic.

The Coaglamation encounter requires you to intercept the boss's healing orbs and contend with the healing absorb they apply. Healing check would be to clear the healing absorb and top off the group before the boss hits 100 energy to cast Dark Pulse or the knock back Viscous Darkness.

Izo, the Grand Splicer is incredibly powerful. Everyone should stack on the tank and rotate around the outside of the room to bait the Shifting Anomalies orbs into a manageable pattern. When the tank is targeted by Process of Elimination, they should run to the center of the room, allowing the rest of the group to safely dodge the mechanics. Staying close together also helps with passively cleaving the Umbral Weave, reducing the risk of being hit by orbs and avoiding unnecessary deaths.

If you have Rogues, Priests, or Khaz Algar Engineers with 25+ skill in your group, make sure they interact with the Queen Ansurek Shadecaster podiums for a handy Stolen Power buff, which boosts DPS, HPS, and movement speed for everyone in your party.

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THE DAWNBREAKER

DISPELS TO BRING	ELIGIBLE CLASSES
Curse Dispel	Druid   Evoker   Mage   Shaman

Speaker Shadowcrown tests your reaction time with her deadly Obsidian Beam and ranged players need to position themselves safety at a distance to drop Collapsing Night. Darkness Comes forces everyone at 50% to jump ship on a flying mount, using Radiant Light (floating yellow orbs) to avoid certain death. When Shadowcrown reaches 1% and begins casting Darkness Comes players can begin flying down into the courtyard.
The courtyard around the second boss is a special type of liquid nightmare, as Anub'ikkaj steps up with his Dark Orb aka massive bowling ball of death and Terrifying Slam, dishing out heavy AoE damage and knockbacks that require careful positioning to survive. Coordinate personal damage reduction cooldowns for Shadowy Decay.

Just when you think you've seen it all, Rasha’nan, the final boss, brings a two-phase fight that throws everything at you, from Arathi Bombs to Acid Pools and Sticky Webs. DPS are responsible for pick up the three Arathi Bombs then moving to melee to use thier extra action button on the boss. Healer will be painfully busy during Erosive Spray. If you are chosen for Rolling Acid pay close attention to the green beam that appears. You need to move toward the thicker side of the beam—either the right or left—to ensure that the deadly acid doesn't roll over stunning your teammates. Failing to position correctly can result in significant group damage and likely a wipe. This fight is all about coordination and reacting quickly to mechanics while keeping your team safe from environmental hazards.

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GRIM BATOL

DISPELS TO BRING	ELIGIBLE CLASSES
Curse Dispel	Druid   Evoker   Mage   Shaman
De-Enrage Ability	Druid   Evoker   Hunter   Rogue

Grim Batol is a Cataclysm dungeon packed with tough enemies and tricky mechanics. There is a part of the dungeon where you are able to ride a Battered Red Drake, and you only get two abilities: one with limited charges called Engulfing Flames, and another you can use an unlimited number of times during flight called Searing Ember. I like to spam Searing Ember for the first half of the flight then use my Engulfing Flames charges on these packs on my return flight if they are not dead already. Saving my big damage abilities for my return flight prevents any overkilling of certain packs and full health packs elsewhere.



Take General Umbriss’s Rock Spikes towards the far side of the Shadowflame Breath lanes; positioning is key to avoid unnecessary damage when moving through or around the area denial from Rumbling Earth. Use a personal damage reduction or a healthstone before Commanding Roar if your health is low to mitigate the incoming damage.

Forgemaster Throngus will switch up his weapons, creating fiery hazards with his Molten Mace (run!) and Fiery Cleave, so make sure that everyone stays carefully grouped alongside the wall to bait the Cleave that could target anyone. Everyone should stay out of those dangerous Molten Pools. Players chosen for Molten Spark sure play extra safely and be prepared to use defensives.

When you reach Drahga Shadowburner don't use your cooldowns on pull; save damage for Valiona in Phase 2! Throughout the second phase, watch out for exploding Invoked Shadowflame Spirits and Valiona’s deadly Twilight Buffet — Remember to not get knocked into your fixated Spirit or into tomatoes.

Try to identity Erudax’s safe zones during Shadow Gale quickly and carefully move around Void Tendrils. Resist the urge to kill the Mutated Hatchling too quickly; wait until after the Erudax casts Void Surge due to extra damage from Shadow Wound stacks.

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MISTS OF TIRNA SCITHE

DISPELS TO BRING	ELIGIBLE CLASSES
Poison Dispel	Druids   Evoker   Monk   Paladin   Shaman

In Mists of Tirna Scithe, Night Elves, Tauren, Druids, and Shadowlands Herbalists can interact with Overgrown Roots and Depleted Anima Seeds to provide shortcuts, buffs, and checkpoints for the group. I have marked these locations within the routes!

The first boss, Ingra Maloch, requires you to deal with both him and Droman Oulfarran, whom he controls using Soul Shackle. Once you manage to free Droman, you’ll receive some crucial assistance to help take Maloch down. You can push additional damage into Ingra Maloch until he activates Embrace Darkness, at which point you’ll need to shift focus to surviving and handling mechanics.

Then there’s Mistcaller, who keeps things interesting with the Guessing Game — you’ll have to find the correct clone while dodging Freeze Tag and reminding your tank to interrupt Patty Cake to avoid massive damage and a 5-second stun. If you struggle to find the imposter, look for three distinct features: Design (LEAF or FLOWER), Color (FILLED or EMPTY), and Outside (RINGED/CRUST or NOT RINGED/NO CRUST). Try not to refer to the ring as “circle/non-circle” since some WeakAura auto-markers use “circle icon,” which can be confusing leading to wasting time on the wrong guessing target.

The final boss, Tred'ova, ramps things up with Mind Link, forcing players to spread out while dealing with adds and breaking her Gorging Shield to stop her from healing. Remember, you control your Acid Expulsion puddle movements; if you take slow, small steps out of the 4-yard range, your puddles will be small and manageable. However, if you use large movement abilities and travel far from the spawn point, your swirlies will quickly fly across the room, putting your teammates at risk. Please don’t be that inconsiderate player.

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THE NECROTIC WAKE

DISPELS TO BRING	ELIGIBLE CLASSES
Disease Dispel	Evoker   Monk   Paladin   Priest
De-Enrage Ability	Druid   Evoker   Hunter   Rogue

Blightbone starts off strong by vomiting on a random player. The targeted player should quickly aim Heaving Retch away from the group and into any existing Fetid Gas puddles. Be sure to focus on killing Carrion Worms quickly and step out of their Carrion Eruption to avoid taking unnecessary damage.

Amarth will summon waves of adds with Land of the Dead, and all adds must be dead before the Final Harvest cast finishes. Moving the boss near Brittlebone Crossbowman and interrupting Brittlebone Mage's Frostbolt Volley will maximize your overall damage. Be sure to de-enrage Amarth's Unholy Frenzy and interrupt Necrotic Bolt.

Surgeon Stitchflesh adds a fun twist, requiring players to use his creations’ Meat Hook to pull him off his platform while also burning down the monstrous add before he summons more. Advanced groups will leverage the Awaken Creations' Meat Hook to interrupt Stitchflesh’s Morbid Fixation. There is a significant amount of group-wide passive Festering Rot damage the longer a Creation is alive, so prioritize killing the add quickly to reduce incoming damage.

Finally, Nalthor the Rimebinder banishes players with Dark Exile, forcing them to fight their way back while the rest of the group continues. Upon returning from Dark Exile, players should run to a far corner and wait for the debuff Frigid Cold to drop on the ground. This Razorshard Ice puddle size equals the speed the player completes the gauntlet. Players targeted by Frozen Binds must move away from others before being dispelled, or they risk rooting all other players during Comet Storm, which can result in group wipe.

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SIEGE OF BORALUS

DISPELS TO BRING	ELIGIBLE CLASSES
Curse Dispel	Druid   Evoker   Mage   Shaman
Poison Dispel	Druids   Evoker   Monk   Paladin   Shaman

The first boss, Chopper Redhook, is a chaotic combination of knowing when to move proactively and responding quickly when your character is involuntarily pulled. Players will be yanked into the boss by Iron Hook, so be prepared to run out of melee range immediately. The boss will fixate on a random player, and it’s crucial to keep moving and kite him into bombs scattered around the area. The fixate tends to prioritize ranged players, so if you’re the only one, be ready to run throughout the entire fight from bomb to bomb. Your team will definitely thank you!

Then you face Dread Captain Lockwood, where it’s important for everyone to stand in melee range to help share the Fiery Ricochet slash damage. Lockwood retreats to her ship on a timer, leaving the group to dodge ground swirlies and deal with adds. Make sure to use the item dropped by the Ashvane Cannoneer, Unstable Ordinance, and aim it at her ship to bring her back into the fight.

Hadal Darkfathom brings chaos to the fight with his Tidal Surge, which can wipe the group if you don’t take cover behind statues in time. A second Tidal Surge will spawn while you’re still hiding from the first, so it’s crucial to save your movement speed abilities for when a wave appears directly behind you, allowing you to dodge quickly and avoid getting caught.

Finally, Viq’Goth looms large as the end boss. Your first priority is to focus down the Demolishing Terror and then free engineers trapped by the Gripping Terror to man the cannons and help take Viq’Goth down. Two Putrid Waters debuffs will go out at a time, so stay loosely spread to avoid being launched in random directions when the healer dispels, preventing you from being thrown into shark-infested waters. If you are marked with the Putrid Waters debuff and a Demolishing Terror is about to cast Slam, use a personal damage reduction ability or a healing potion to survive the incoming damage!

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THE STONEVAULT

DISPELS TO BRING	ELIGIBLE CLASSES
Curse Dispel	Druid   Evoker   Mage   Shaman

During E.D.N.A., melee should stack closely to create clusters of Volatile Spikes that can be easily broken with a single Refracting Beam. Waiting to use the beam on the third and final spike will help ensure your group stays healthy. Healers should focus on dispelling the Seismic Reverberation debuff from the tank, but holding the dispel until just before the boss casts Seismic Smash. Upon dispelling Seismic Reverberation, the tank benefits from the damage reduction of Stone Shield for the upcoming Seismic Smash.

Skarmorak’s Crystalline Smash spawns three Crystal Shards. Quickly defeat the two Shards closest to the boss and allow your healer to top everyone off before taking down the final Shard from range. Be sure to run out of melee when Unstable Crush is cast. However, dodging the purple swirlies and stepping into the dark purple orbs/fragments called Unstable Energy will give you a damage buff. Each player getting one stack will help your team efficiently break through the Fortified Shell. Breaking his Fortified Shell quickly is key to survival.

To avoid massive unhealable AoE damage, the Master Machinists bosses must die at the same time. It's best to fight the pair near a vent or grate in the four corners of the room. There are 4 vents, but only one will be safe at a time. Use the in-game ping feature to communicate safe zones to your team. Speaker Brokk should always be your priority target. Ranged players must interrupt Molten Metal after Brokk leaps away for Scrap Song. Be sure to dodge the frontal attack Lava Cannon from Speaker Dorlita.

Finally, Void Speaker Eirich throws a nasty debuff at you with Void Corruption, which ramps up over time unless you cleanse it near Void Rifts — but be careful not to touch the center of the rift, or it’s lights out! This dungeon is all about movement, positioning, and coordinating with your team to manage environmental hazards and debuffs. Expect some serious teamwork moments where communication will be the key to keeping the run smooth and efficient.

In The Stonevault, Warriors, Dwarves, and Khaz Algar Blacksmiths can interact with Imbued Iron Bars to gain the Imbued Iron Energy buff, increasing Versatility for 10 minutes.

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