Mythic+ Affixes (Season 1)
In The War Within (TWW), Blizzard developers did a considerable Mythic+ system rework fueled by community feedback. According to developers, a major aim was to alleviate the pain of what players coined “Push Weeks” – where certain affix combinations were dramatically simpler to manage than others.
Although Push Weeks have been a staple of the Mythic+ culture, allowing players to plan their seasonal play-time in advance or participate in events that landed on Push Weeks (such as the Break The Meta, the High Key Hustle, and more), few could argue that Push Weeks caused an imbalance in week-to-week enjoyment, participation, and progress throughout any given Season.
The new Mythic+ system may seem confusing at first glance, so we’re here to break it down for you! Let’s dive in with a summary of the Mythic+ system changes in TWW Season 1, info and tactics for the different Mythic+ Affixes, and some useful resources for the glory (and peril) ahead.
NOTE
Visit this page for updates throughout the Season. Stay tuned for the Xal’atath’s Bargain and Tyrannical/Fortified affix rotation schedule – coming soon!
Table of Contents
Mythic+ System Overview: Changes in TWW Season 1
The new Mythic+ system in Season 1 of TWW now operates as follows:
- Keystone levels +2 to +11: Players now counter weekly affixes called Xal’atath’s Bargains. However, players running keystones in this range will only face 1 of the 4 Bargain affixes at a time, as they are on a weekly rotation. These Bargains cease at keystone level +12, where they are replaced by Xal’atath’s Guile.
- Keystone levels +4 to +9: Players will see a weekly alternation between the “base affixes” – Fortified and Tyrannical. However, both Fortified and Tyrannical have had some recent adjustments in scaling since, at keystone levels +10 and up, both Tyrannical and Fortified are active on every keystone, forcing players to contend with difficult bosses and trash alike.
- Keystone levels +7 and up: Dungeons become more punishing with the addition of Challenger’s Peril, meaning that player deaths are more impactful to the dungeon timer.
- Keystone levels +12 and up: As if having both Tyrannical and Fortified in dungeons wasn’t enough, dungeons grow significantly more challenging with the addition of Xal’atath’s Guile – another static increase to boss health and damage. This marks a massive difficulty increase, so buckle up!
Although the new Mythic+ affix system has some pros and cons depending on whether you felt empowered or demotivated by the old “Push Week” culture, the tactics from week-to-week will now vary greatly depending on whether your keys fall between levels +2 and +11 for Xal’atath’s Bargains, +10 for the deadly Tyrannical/Fortified combo, or +12 and up where the difficulty level jumps by the largest margin in Mythic+ to date.
Level +2 to +11
Xal’atath’s Bargains
USEFUL RESOURCES:
To keep track of the new Affixes triggering in advance, there are many great WeakAuras packages available for both the new set of Affixes, as well as many important mechanics you will have to deal with on both trash and bosses. For your convenience, we have selected a few and linked them below, so feel free to pick the one that best suits your current User Interface!
For tips and routes to tackle the new affixes with ease, The Weekly Route series will be coming back next week – bookmark the page to stay in the loop!
Ascendant
Every minute, Xal’atath summons Orbs of Ascendance, which begin to cast Cosmic Ascension. If the orbs complete their casts, enemy mobs will receive a movement speed and Haste buff per orb. If players stop the casts through interrupts, crowd control, displacement spells, or purges, the group instead receives the Cosmic Ascension buff for 20 sec 30 sec Updated 10/10/24.
TACTICS:
Prior to starting the key, each group member should check their talents to ensure they talent into as many stops, interrupts, or offensive dispels as possible in order to handle the Orbs of Ascendance. Be aware that the orbs do have a significant absorb shield, so simply killing them is out of the question. As this affix is spawned in waves of 3, then 3, and finally 4 orbs, organized groups may prefer to determine which members will be handling which waves in order to ensure maximum coverage for the duration of the affix.
Voidbound
When the group is in combat, Xal’atath periodically summons a Void Emissary who will immediately begin to empower nearby enemy mobs with Dark Prayer. Each successful Dark Prayer cast will grant the surrounding enemies stacking damage reduction. Upon defeating the Void Emissary, players will gain a 20 second buff reducing cooldown rate and increasing Crit.
TACTICS:
When a Void Emissary spawns, players should immediately swap to it as a priority target, and DPS it down while interrupting each cast of Dark Prayer. The Dark Prayer buff on enemy mobs can quickly stack and become unmanageable, so it is imperative that the Void Emissary is locked down and killed.
Oblivion
Whenever the group is in combat, Xal’atath occasionally summons crystals that travel towards enemy targets and can be absorbed by either the enemy mobs or players themselves. If the Shattered Essence crystals hit their intended target, the mob gains a damage reduction per crystal absorbed. However, players who soak the Shattered Essences will gain Void Essence, granting the entire party increased Mastery and Leech (per stack) for 20 seconds.
TACTICS:
This is the easiest Bargain affix to handle. Simply put, players should plan to soak the Shattered Essences slowly advancing on melee, intercepting these crystals before they hit enemy mobs instead. This affix may be slightly easier for melee dps to handle, as most ranged cannot effectively circle the entire room and cover each crystal themselves, but beware of running into lethal frontals if you’re overly focused on Shattered Essences! Note that soaking a crystal will result in the entire group gaining the Void Essence buff.
Devour
Xal’atath periodically casts Void Rift on each group member. Void Rift is a healing absorb that can be removed by healing it off or dispelling it. This absorb persists for 15 seconds; if it is not removed before the duration expires, the shield will explode, healing enemy mobs. If the shield is removed before expiration, players will gain Lingering Void, which grants health and Crit for 20 seconds.
TACTICS:
This affix is essentially just another version of Afflicted, but on players instead of mobs. Any form of dispel works on the Void Rift debuff, including abilities like Cloak of Shadows and Stoneform. Removing each Void Rift debuff is of utmost importance for the group, as allowing it to expire on a large pack of mobs or a boss can have dire consequences for your timer. Players who can remove their own debuffs are absolutely encouraged to do so!
Level 4+
Base Affixes
TACTICS:
Fortified is one of the two affixes that alternates weekly and then remains static at levels +10 and up. Fortified empowers the trash mobs throughout the dungeon to have more health and do more damage.
When playing keys during a Fortified week, players are encouraged to build a group composition and talents that favor AOE damage output and crowd control (CC). However, remember that empowered trash mobs also mean that single-target damage output is valuable for certain trash mobs with higher health pools and dangerous abilities, as well as bosses.
During Fortified weeks, many Mythic+ groups tend to line up their Bloodlust timings on the most challenging trash pulls rather than bosses. However, it is sometimes worth saving Bloodlust for the hardest bosses in each dungeon – even on Fortified weeks – just depending on the difficulty of that boss amongst other possible factors. SEE NOTE
USEFUL RESOURCES:
Simming your character on Raidbots for Mythic+ can feel a bit daunting and even confusing. However, one of the simplest ways you can do this is to run 2 separate Sims with “Top Gear” to assess whether your gear and talents are suitable for AoE or single-target damage. For example, first, you can run a Patchwerk sim for 1 boss, 4 minutes. Then, you can open another tab and sim on Patchwerk for 5 (or more) targets for 1 minute. Although you will want to adjust these numbers based on what level keys you are doing or how many mobs may be in each pull, this can be a helpful starting point towards understanding whether your gear and talents are set up well for running Mythic+ on a Fortified week to do more AOE damage.
TACTICS:
Every week alternates between Fortified and Tyrannical. Unlike Fortified, which empowers trash mobs, Tyrannical modifies the difficulty of boss encounters, increasing each boss’s health pool and the damage dealt to players.
Saving cooldowns for bosses, especially the most difficult ones, is vital for success on Tyrannical weeks.
It can also be helpful to adjust your talent and/or gear setup to be more focused on single-target damage than on Fortified weeks. However, keep in mind that you will need to kill the trash quickly in order to time higher level keystones, and the extra time you are forced to spend on bosses on Tyrannical weeks may force you to pull more trash at once throughout the rest of the dungeon to save time. Finding a balance between single-target and AOE damage is just as important for Tyrannical as it is for Fortified.
USEFUL RESOURCES:
Similarly to Fortified, simming your character on Raidbots on Patchwerk for both single-target encounters and multiple targets for AOE can help you understand how to adjust your gear for Tyrannical weeks since the balance may shift in favor of single-target output depending on the needs of your group composition or the level of keys you are aiming to push.
NOTE
With both Fortified and Tyrannical active simultaneously during keystones levels +10 and up now, it is worth noting that when and where to use Bloodlust timings may be far dependent on your specific group composition than ever before since trash mobs and bosses will be empowered. Different classes have different damage profiles, meaning that some classes/specs do more sustained damage vs. burst damage, some do more single-target vs. AOE damage, and some do more single-target based upon how many mobs are present in a pull (funnel damage). As the Season transpires and you play more and more Mythic+ dungeons at levels +10 and up, try to pay close attention to which bosses or trash mobs in each dungeon may require Bloodlust no matter what level keystone you are running. Sometimes, certain mobs, bosses, or even dungeons are harder than others!
Level +7 and Up
Timer Deductions: Deaths
Challenger’s Peril
Dying subtracts 15 seconds from time remaining, but an additional 90 seconds are added to the overall dungeon timer. NOTE: As of 10/29/24, Blizzard has implemented a nerf to this affix whereby whereby the time penalty per death will remain at 15 seconds, but the affix will add an additional 90 seconds to the overall dungeon timer. This nerf appears to have been applied retroactively.
TACTICS:
Challenger’s Peril is rather simple: Don’t die! Seriously though – from keystone levels +7 onwards, you must be more mindful of your character’s health. Do not rely on your healer to save you – ensure that you are using defensives during periods of large incoming damage or when you are targeted by certain spells. Play safer and cleaner, and your party (and dungeon timer) will thank you!
USEFUL RESOURCES:
- Within the Raider.IO AddOn in-game, enable Mythic+ Replays to see an overlay of your current dungeon run against past runs. If you’re struggling to live through each dungeon and want to see if you’re making improvements, the Mythic+ Replay System is the easiest way to see that improvement in real-time.
- The GTFO AddOn will sound a buzzer (or whatever sound you’d prefer) when you take avoidable damage. Although this AddOn can be considered very annoying by some, those who love to layer their gameplay experience with sound notifications will love this addition to their UI.
- Want to know what defensives your teammates have available or when they press their big cooldowns? OmniCD is a fantastic AddOn that allows you to customize which cooldowns you see of your teammates, as well as your own abilities if desired. Tracking your team’s interrupts or other utility spells is a great way to know if you’re going to have to use a defensive or not…like when your teammates overlap kicks and a big cast is coming up that may not get stopped in time!
Level +12 and Up
Xal’atath’s Guile
Xal’atath’s Guile
Xal'atath betrays players, revoking her bargains and increasing the health and damage of enemies by 20%
TACTICS:
Given that +12 keys have Tyrannical, Fortified, and Xal’atath’s Guile, the jump from keystone level +11 to +12 may suddenly feel like Mythic+ on steroids.
Use keystone levels +10 to +11 to practice what it feels like to have both bosses and trash mobs empowered by Tyrannical and Fortified to get a hang of when to line up your cooldowns and Blooodlust timings. It will require practice, finesse, and some analysis on how to push towards the top 0.1% of the player base.
As the Season progresses, we will see the “meta” comp(s) emerge. With such hefty class reworks and tuning coming up, it is too early to know what type of DPS class combination will present the best damage pattern to tackle the challenge of Xal’atath’s Guile in the highest keystones. It will certainly feel challenging with bosses and trash mobs so empowered, but the challenge will also feel steady once you get the hang of it since the affixes from +12 and onwards are so static.
Stay tuned for more tactics to come later this Season!
USEFUL RESOURCES:
- High Mythic+ keystone pushers are always looking for the next-best way to optimize their dungeon route and shave some time off the clock…but having the time to comb through videos of streamers to transcribe their routes can be time-consuming. Play Like the Pros saves you time by presenting a curated list of top routes per dungeon each week with time-stamped videos and editor notes on what to be aware of to perform the route successfully. Import the routes directly into your game via MDT...and maybe try racing against them with the Mythic+ Replay System!
- Looking for a tried-and-true route more specific to your unique group composition? The Auto Route Creator lets you generate routes of any completed dungeon on our site that was Live-Tracked...including runs on the Leaderboard, and leverage the power of Keystone.Guru to make any adjustments!
- Within the Raider.IO in-game AddOn, enable Mythic+ Replays for an overlay showing your current dungeon against past runs. If you want to see exactly how you stack up against the pros – pull by pull, boss by boss – the Mythic+ Replay System is the easiest way to see that in real-time to improve your gameplay tremendously.
Resources
- Raidbots.com – The best place to sim yourself
- Wago.IO – The best place to find any WeakAura
- Omni CD – All your party’s Damage, Utility, and Defensive CDs in one!
- The Weekly Route Series – Mythic+ routes with notes included!
- Play Like the Pros – Grab top routes from the Leaderboard with notes!
Links
- Download the Raider.IO Client
- Set up Raider.IO Discord Alerts
- Join Raider.IO on Discord
- Follow Raider.IO on Twitter
- Support Raider.IO on Patreon
About the Authors
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.
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 community manager for the DEIBAJ initiative VISAGE. She is excited to bring her wealth of experience and love of writing to the Raider.IO team.
Seliathan has been playing Rogue for over half his life, since the initial release of WoW over 19 years ago. After a long career of Raid Leading, Theorycrafting, and pushing Mythic+, Seliathan enjoys creating all kinds of PvE content on Twitch, co-hosting the Tricks of the Trade Rogue podcast, contributing to Raider.IO as Staff Writer, and writing guides for Icy Veins.
