Welcome to WEEK 5 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 War Within 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 are in play, which will affect your Bloodlust timings and pull strategies. Stick with your routes, 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 designated percentage targets.

Bargain of the Week (+2 to +11): The Xal’atath’s Bargain of the week is 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 30 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 deleting adds before they reach the boss, or she will gobble them up, buffing her damage done ( Insatiable). Every 45 seconds, Avanoxx will cast a powerful group wide AOE called Alerting Shrill, so plan 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 in the midst of a big pull.

Anub'Zekt will occasionally debuff players with Ceaseless Swarms, indicated by the bees on 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 Webmages when they cast Silken Restraints, as the completed cast will root its target 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 or damaged Bloodworker adds. Failure to reach these puddles upon completion of the Singularity cast will result in heavy damage or death. Additionally, be mindful of the Cultivated Poisons debuff on your character. When Cultivated Poisons are dispelled or expire, an ooze wave is launched either in front and behind you, or to each side. Pay close attention to the direction those ooze cones will go and make sure to aim them away from your teammates to avoid unnecessary damage. Sometimes, mechanics have a tricky overlap where the ooze waves are moving but the team also needs to secure themselves in a puddle for Cosmic Singularity. It's easy to get caught in an ooze’s path while rooted, so be thoughtful of your teams’ positioning. Avoid carelessly sending an ooze towards the tank or into the safe puddles, as this could lead to death and chaos.

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 your healer dispels a player afflicted by Shadow of Doubt. Expect some party-wide damage with his Vociferous Indoctrination and rotate your personal cooldowns as necessary to help your healer out! When Vociferous Indoctrination is complete, be prepared to move together out of the growing, and very deadly, Lingering Influence puddle.

Next, you’ll need to do 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” shown below. To start the boss RP, someone must get into proximity of the yellow dot in the West Zone (see figure below).



The second pair of bosses, Nx and Vx, Fangs of the Queen, will swap roles mid-fight, forcing you to constantly adjust your positioning. Be prepared to fan out with Ice Sickles, which will pierce any player between the boss and her target. They frequently use frontals and area of denial spells, and will teleport to each other across the arena, making 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. Remember to stack on your tank in preparation for Freezing Blood lest they be frozen solid!

The Coaglamation encounter requires you to intercept the boss' healing orbs and contend with the healing absorb they apply. This fight is a major healing check, requiring your healer to clear the healing absorb and top off the group before the boss hits 100 energy and casts Dark Pulse or the Viscous Darkness knockback. Dark Pulses can occur roughly 75 seconds apart; therefore, be prepared to commit anything you need to stay alive for the entire 20 second cast duration.

Izo, the Grand Splicer is an incredibly demanding fight. Everyone should stack on the tank and rotate around the outside of the room to bait the Shifting Anomaly 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 mechanic. Staying close together also helps with passively cleaving the Umbral Weave roots, reducing the risk of a rooted ranged player being hit by orbs. When Izo prepares to cast Tremor Slam, be ready with a personal defensive or health potion if you aren’t topped off.

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, while ranged players also need to position themselves safety at a distance to drop Collapsing Night. The Darkness Comes cast at 50% forces everyone to jump ship on a flying mount, using Radiant Light (floating yellow orbs) to avoid certain death. When Shadowcrown reaches 1% and begins casting her second Darkness Comes, players can fly down into the courtyard to start trash instead of returning to the ship.

The courtyard around the second boss is a special type of 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 picking up the three Arathi Bombs and moving them into melee to use their extra action button on the boss. The healer will almost always 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 your teammates, stunning them all. Failing to position correctly can result in significant group damage and maybe even 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   Monk   Rogue

Grim Batol is a Cataclysm dungeon packed with tough enemies and tricky mechanics. At the beginning of the dungeon, you’ll free a Battered Red Drake and ride it through the trash up to the first boss. While on the drake, 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 and use my Engulfing Flames charges on my return flight if the biggest packs are not dead already. Saving my big damage abilities for my return flight prevents any overkilling of certain packs and full health packs elsewhere. Whether you choose to practice my strategy or coordinate Engulfing Flames usage with your group, be sure you have a plan to maximize the use of this powerful ability!



Take General Umbriss’ 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 avoid an unnecessary death.

Forgemaster Throngus will switch up his weapons, creating fiery hazards with his Molten Mace (run!) and Fiery Cleave; be sure that everyone stays carefully grouped alongside the wall to bait the Cleave, as it can target anyone. Everyone should stay out of those dangerous Molten Pools. Players chosen for Molten Spark should 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 not to get knocked into your fixated Spirit or into tomatoes. Melee should be careful not to rush to a newly-spawned Spirit too quickly, in the event that they become the fixated target and blow up the group!

Try to quickly identify Erudax’s safe zones during Shadow Gale 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 (RING or NO RING). 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   Monk   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 and make your healer’s job much easier. 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 Awakened 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 through a gauntlet while the rest of the group continues to battle Nalthor himself. Upon returning from Dark Exile, players should run to a far corner and wait for their Frigid Cold debuff to drop on the ground. The size of this Razorshard Ice puddle depends upon the speed in which the exiled player completed their 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 will almost certainly result in a 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, before the boss finishes his Gore Crash cast. The boss will fixate on a random player, and it’s crucial to keep moving and kite him into the 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 damage and maximize healing efforts. 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 the central statue 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. Ensure you’re not dropping your puddles right up against the fountain, allowing your party space to maneuver during Tidal Surges.

Finally, Viq’Goth looms large as the end boss. Your first priority is to focus down the Demolishing Terror and then free the engineers trapped by the Gripping Terrors; these engineers will 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. 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. Take care not to fall into the water here, or you’ll find yourself crushed to death!

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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 WAIT to 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 Unstable Energy orbs 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. Don’t forget to allow your healer first pick of Unstable Energy soaks, as they’ll need that healing done buff to keep you all healthy throughout this high-damage fight.

To avoid massive unhealable AoE damage, the Master Machinists 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 Lava Cannon frontal from Speaker Dorlita.

Finally, Void Speaker Eirich throws a nasty debuff at you with Void Corruption, which ramps up over time unless you move near Void Rifts — but be careful not to touch the center of the rift, or it’s lights out! This dungeon, and especially Eirich himself, 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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