Mythic+ Keystones — Mythic+ Dungeon Guide

Mythic+ keystones are dungeons with an infinitely scaling difficulty level that players can run without any limit on the number of completions per day/week. Completing a dungeon within the allotted time raises the keystone level, while failing lowers it. The higher the keystone level you finish, the better the rewards and the more rating you earn for the run.

• Keystones have different difficulty levels, from +2 to infinity, and their level depends solely on the skill of your group. The stronger you are, the higher the keystone level you can complete.

• Each keystone level increases the attack power and health of the monsters and bosses inside the dungeon.

• Once a keystone is raised to certain levels, special modifiers come into effect in the dungeon, making the run harder.

• Each dungeon has a limited time to complete (from 30 to 39 minutes, depending on the dungeon). Completing a dungeon past the timer will not upgrade your keystone, but you can still receive completion rewards at the end of the dungeon. Each death in the dungeon subtracts 5 seconds from the timer (15 seconds with the modifier active on a +12 or higher keystone).

• To complete a Mythic+ dungeon you must kill all the bosses in the dungeon, as well as defeat a certain percentage of the monsters in it. Until both of these conditions are met, the dungeon will not be finished and the timer will not stop.

• On a successful completion you upgrade your current keystone. The dungeon it opens changes, and its level rises by +1 to +3 depending on how quickly you cleared the dungeon. For example, if you cleared a level 7 dungeon and had more than 30% of the time remaining.

• 8 dungeons are available for Mythic+ keystones, and their rotation changes every season. As a rule, this is 4 dungeons from the current expansion and 4 dungeons from past expansions.

• Unlike normal dungeons, Mythic+ dungeons cannot be queued for using the search button. All groups for this type of content are assembled manually through a special interface, in which the keystone holder personally selects the players they want in their group. This tab is found in the dungeon finder window -> Premade Groups -> Dungeons.

Monster health and damage scaling

The higher the Mythic+ keystone you run, the harder it will be. In particular, special modifiers will begin to appear in it, adding special mechanics and making dungeon runs more difficult. They activate at keystone levels 4, 7, 10, and 12:

• Level 4: depending on the week, one of the "Xal'atath's Bargain" modifiers is activated: "Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant", "Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound", "Xal'atath's Bargain: Pulsar", or "Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour".

• Level 7: depending on the week, the "Tyrannical" or "Fortified" modifier is activated.

• Level 10: the "Fortified" or "Tyrannical" modifier is activated, depending on which modifier was active at level 7.

• Level 12: the current "Xal'atath's Bargain" modifier is replaced by "Xal'atath's Guile".

Let us explain each of the modifiers in a bit more detail

Level 4: "Xal'atath's Bargain"

• Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant: In combat, Xal'atath periodically summons 10 Ascension Orbs that begin casting "Cosmic Ascension" over 6.5 sec. If an orb finishes its cast, nearby enemies gain the "Xal'atath's Gift" effect, increasing the damage they deal by 5% and reducing the damage they take by 10% for 20 sec per orb. If players manage to stop the cast with an interrupt, displacement, crowd control, or dispel, the orb disappears and grants them a 2% bonus to movement speed and Haste for 30 sec per orb.

• Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound: In combat, Xal'atath periodically summons a Void Emissary that begins a 15 sec channel of "Dark Prayer", which applies the "Xal'atath's Gift" effect to nearby enemies, increasing the damage they deal by up to 50% and reducing the damage they take by up to 100% for 20 sec. The strength of the effect depends on the value of the shield remaining at the moment the cast ends. If you defeat the emissary before the cast finishes, it disappears and the effect is not applied. Also, by defeating the emissary, players gain the "Otherworldly Blessing" effect, which increases Versatility by 20% and speeds up ability cooldown recovery by 30% for 30 sec.

• Xal'atath's Bargain: Pulsar: Xal'atath summons "Void Pulsars" that orbit the players. Each player gets 1 pulsar. After 15 seconds the pulsar releases energy and grants creatures the "Xal'atath's Gift" effect, increasing the damage they deal by 10% and reducing the damage they take by 20% for 20 sec per pulsar. On contact with players, the pulsar empowers them, increasing Mastery by 4% and self-healing by 2% for 30 sec per pulsar.

• Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour: In combat, Xal'atath periodically opens a Devouring Rift, which applies the "Devouring Rift" effect to everyone. This effect deals shadow damage equal to 1% of the player's maximum health once every 1 sec for 15 sec. The effect can be dispelled either with a large amount of healing or with any dispel ability. On a successful dispel, all players gain the "Rift Essence" effect, which increases critical strike chance by 4% and maximum health by 2% for 30 sec per application, and it stacks. If it expires on its own, all enemies gain the "Xal'atath's Gift" effect, increasing the damage they deal by 10% and reducing the damage they take by 20% for 20 sec per application, and it stacks.

Level 7: "Tyrannical" or "Fortified"

At level 7, either the "Tyrannical" or the "Fortified" modifier is activated. These modifiers alternate every week and do not repeat.

• The "Tyrannical" modifier permanently empowers bosses, increasing their health by 25% and damage by 15%.
• The "Fortified" modifier permanently empowers non-boss creatures, increasing their health by 20% and damage by 20%.

Level 10: "Fortified" or "Tyrannical"

At level 10, either the "Fortified" or the "Tyrannical" modifier is activated, taking into account which one was active at level 7. If the "Tyrannical" modifier was active at level 7, then the "Fortified" modifier will be enabled at level 10, and vice versa. The same modifier cannot be active at both level 7 and level 10.

Level 12: "Xal'atath's Guile"

At level 12, the current "Xal'atath's Bargain" modifier is replaced by "Xal'atath's Guile". This modifier sharply reduces the remaining time to complete the dungeon when a player dies. Each death subtracts 15 seconds from the timer instead of the usual 5 seconds.

For completing a Mythic+ dungeon you will receive a special reward from a special chest that appears after the dungeon is finished.

A few features of Mythic+ keystone rewards:

• In Mythic+ keystones, the reward is not in the bosses but in the chest at completion and in the weekly Great Vault.

• Upon completing the dungeon, players will be offered 2 items distributed randomly among the participants. The reward is received by predetermined players and depends on the loot specialization conditions the player has set. The items received can be traded to other participants within 2 hours of receiving the item.

• The chest contains only items from the loot table of the specified dungeon. No other items or set items can drop from the chest, so if you need a specific item, you can run a specific dungeon until it drops for you. Toys/mounts and other cosmetic items from the dungeon's reward list can also drop from the chest. These items do not affect the number of dungeon rewards and do not replace gear items.

• Upon reaching 2000 dungeon rating, you will receive a special seasonal mount. This mount is different every season, which makes it unique, since it will not be available anywhere except for 2000 rating in that specific season (recolors of the mount will be available for other in-game achievements, but the color earned for 2000 rating remains unique).

• With a small chance, items for your warband can also drop from the chest. These items cannot be traded to other players and are account-bound immediately upon being received.

Table of reward levels for the level of keystone completed

One of the features of running Mythic+ dungeons is a special rating system.

After completing a dungeon you receive a certain amount of rating, the value of which depends on the level of the keystone completed and the time spent on completing it.

A few features of how rating is awarded

• There is no maximum rating value. You can earn as much rating as you can. It all depends solely on the level of the dungeons you finish.

• The total amount of rating for a single keystone is capped by its maximum value, from +2 up to the current level cleared. In other words, if you cleared a level 10 dungeon, and then the same dungeon at level 12, then for clearing level 10 you will receive rating points from +2 to +10, and for clearing level 12 you will receive points from +10 to +12.

• The number of rating points for a dungeon depends not only on its level, but also on how quickly you clear that dungeon. There are 3 levels in total by which your keystone is upgraded and, accordingly, rating is awarded. But keep in mind that if you clear a +10 keystone with a +3 upgrade, and then clear a +12 keystone with a +1 upgrade, you will not receive rating for it, since you already received it earlier when clearing the keystone with a +3 upgrade.

• Each dungeon grants a certain amount of rating, so it is important to clear all 8 dungeons to earn the maximum number of points.

• Rating resets every game season and rewards/points do not carry over to the next season.

On an unsuccessful dungeon run, the keystone level drops by 1 and you have to run it again to upgrade it. But the game has a system for preserving the keystone level on failure.

If you have completed all the dungeons offered in the season at level 12 or higher, then on failure your keystone will not drop below that level. For example, you completed all dungeons at level 15 and failed another dungeon at level 15. In this case, the keystone will remain level 15 and you will be able to try upgrading it again. The effect lasts until the end of the season.

To track progress, a series of hidden Feats of Strength called "Keystone Hero" is used, for example:

• The War Within Season 3: Keystone Hero – 15 – Complete all Mythic+ dungeons at level 15 within the time limit during The War Within Season 3. Reward: your keystone level will not drop below 15 until the end of The War Within Season 3.

• The War Within Season 3: Keystone Hero – 20 – Complete all Mythic+ dungeons at level 20 within the time limit during The War Within Season 3. Reward: your keystone level will not drop below 20 until the end of The War Within Season 3.

• The War Within Season 3: Keystone Hero – 25 – Complete all Mythic+ dungeons at level 25 within the time limit during The War Within Season 3. Reward: your keystone level will not drop below 25 until the end of The War Within Season 3.

• The War Within Season 3: Keystone Hero – 30 – Complete all Mythic+ dungeons at level 30 within the time limit during The War Within Season 3. Reward: your keystone level will not drop below 30 until the end of The War Within Season 3.

The game offers many different bonuses when running Mythic+ keystones. Below we will go over the most useful and interesting of them.

Dungeon teleports.

Once you complete a level 10 dungeon or higher, you will be granted a special ability that lets you teleport to the entrance of that dungeon. This ability is account-bound and will always be available to you, with no ties to the season.

The teleport has an 8-hour cooldown, but it resets if, after teleporting, you complete the dungeon within the timer.

Portal room

If you have not yet unlocked the dungeon teleports, then in Dornogal there is a special portal that takes you to a special location housing portals to all the dungeons featured in the current season. These portals take you to the old zones where the dungeons of past expansions are located, so there are no portals to the current expansion's dungeons there.

Next to the portals stand phantom bosses of the dungeon, so you will always know which portal leads to which dungeon.

Lowering the keystone level

If you do not plan to run a high keystone level but only want to clear the dungeon for maximum rewards, then you can always forcibly lower the keystone level. To do this, you do not have to enter/leave the dungeon to break the keystone.

You can lower it at the panda located next to the portal to the portal room. By taking a special quest from her, you can choose what keystone level you need.

Changing the keystone's dungeon

If you get a dungeon you don't need, then after completing any dungeon the well-known panda appears who will offer to change the dungeon to another random one.

For her to appear, two factors must be taken into account:

• the dungeon must be completed in time.
• you must have already cleared the dungeon you were given this week.