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The affix schedule is unknown at the moment.
Let me know if anything is wrong! Contact info is in the footer.
No ads! Tracker free! Poorly written by some guy on the internet!
The affix schedule is unknown at the moment.
Let me know if anything is wrong! Contact info is in the footer.
An affix is a modifier applied to a mythic keystone at set levels. Different combinations occur every week, with the combinations repeating on a set schedule.
Fortified
Non-bosses have more health and deal 30% more damage.
Note: interrupting and dodging any/all enemy abilities becomes an absolute priority with this affix. Most of the time spent in the dungeon will be fighting beefy trash.
Tyrannical
Bosses have 30% more health and deal 15% more damage.
Note: Boss abilities are no longer trivial. Boss mechanics need to be respected (don't stand in stuff!). Some fights become endurance tests because they last so long.
Afflicted
While in combat, Afflicted Souls periodically appear and seek the aid of players. They must be healed to full or dispelled before their cast, Afflicted Cry, goes off or they will reduce all players haste by 100% for 10 seconds.
Note: any dispel works. Afflicted Cry can be line-of-sighted, and has a 60 yard range.
Incorporeal
Incorporeal beings periodically spawn and cast Destabilize. If the cast goes off, player damage and healing is reduced by 50%. The debuff stacks The mobs do not take damage and can only be crowd controlled.
Note: this affix is garbage, or was at the time of writing. I hope they adjust the spawn rate by the time 10.1 comes out.
Volcanic
Enemies cause eruptions of flame near distant players. Additional volcanoes may appear near existing volcanoes.
Note: Keep an eye out for the volcano animation under your feet or near you. Sometimes you may not have to move! Knocks you high in to the air in addition to doing damage scaled to the keystone level.
Entangling
Entangling vines periodically appear and slow players. Moving away from the vines will snap the vine and remove the debuff. If players do not move from the vine before the debuff expires, players are stunned for 3 seconds.
Note: movement immunities like Freedom, Posthaste, etc will remove the debuff.
Storming
Tornadoes spawn around enemy creatures while in combat.
Note: Grey swirlies appear on the floor indicating where a tornado will spawn. If a player is hit by the tornado, they take damage and are knocked back. The tornado disappears a player comes in contact with it.
Spiteful
Spirits rise from the corpses of non-boss enemies and chase down random players, dealing HEAVY melee damage.
Note: Whenever an enemy dies, it spawns a Spiteful Shade that will fixate on a random player. Their health and damage scales with keystone level. They lose 8% of their HP every second and can be crowd controlled.
Raging
Non-boss enemies enrage at 30% health, becoming immune to crowd control other than interrupts.
Note: enemies with high damage targeted abilities or high damage AoE abilities become deadly with this affix. Be sure to focus fire enemies down so there aren't multiple enraged enemies at once. Soothe effects remove the enrage!
Bolstering
Non-boss enemies buff nearby allies on death, increasing damage by 20%. This effect stacks.
Note: it's important to kill all the trash in a pull as closely together as possible with this affix so enemy damage doesn't become unmanageable. Enemies spawned by another enemy or boss ability do not trigger bolster. Bolstering stacks fall off 20 seconds after they were applied.
Bursting
Non-boss enemies explode on death, causing all players to suffer flat damage that scales with keystone level. This effect stacks.
Note: This effect stacks, so it is safest to let the stacks drop before killing multiple enemies. Typically only elite enemies trigger bursting. Now dispellable!
Sanguine
Non-boss enemies will leave a pool of blood on the ground on death. This pool heals enemies and damages players for a percentage of their maximum health.
Note: The pool's radius is 8 yds. Pools last 12 seconds.
The following table shows the expected affix schedule for the entirety of the current season.
Baseline | 2 (+7) | 3 (+14) |
Tyrannical | Storming | Raging |
Fortified | Entangling | Bolstering |
Tyrannical | Incorporeal | Spiteful |
Fortified | ??? | ??? |
Tyrannical | ??? | ??? |
Fortified | ??? | ??? |
Tyrannical | ??? | ??? |
Fortified | ??? | ??? |
Tyrannical | ??? | ??? |
Fortified | ??? | ??? |
Group makeup barely matters at low keystone levels. There is little reason to sweat your group composition on keys below 15. Bring the player, not the class.
That being said, your group composition will always be one tank, one healer, and three DPS. Multi-tank strategies are not viable, no matter how much you think they should be.
It's important to build a group that is well rounded in order increase your chances of completing a keystone within the timer. This means bringing consumables to make up for gaps in your group composition.
When considering your group composition, it is important to consider what each class can bring to the table. Does your group have:
Selecting your group carefully matters mostly for higher level keys where the difficulty of the run is often very high. For lower level keystone runs, group makeup is not as important. Just saying. Do what you want.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It sucks to apply to 50 groups and get declined from every single one.
Most of the time when you apply to a key, 100 other people apply to the same key and your application gets buried.
Unfortunately, lots of people want to do keys and people running groups have the luxury of choosing people that may be better geared than you or have a higher Mythic+ rating than you.
There are a few ways to ensure you can get into keys:
Grinding out score can be frustrating when it takes 45 minutes to find a group, especially when it's a key you need and the group disbands after one mistake. All you can do is try your best. I got declined from over 600+ Mythic+ group applications throughout Shadowlands. I promise not everyone out there is an elitist that's out to get you.
Complete a keystone run within the timer to upgrade a keystone to the next level.Example: Your group completes Halls of Infusion +6 in 36 minutes and 32 seconds. The par timer is 38 minutes, the keystone levels up from level 6 to level 7 and rolls a new random dungeon.
Complete a keystone run with 20% of the timer remaining and upgrade the keystone 2 times in one go.Example: Your group completes Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr +5 in 30 minutes and 54 seconds. The par timer is 38 minutes, so the keystone levels up from level 5 to level 7 and rolls a new random dungeon.
Complete a keysone run with 40% of the timer remaining and upgrade the keystone 3 times in one go.Example: Your group completes Halls of Infusion +2 in 19 minutes and 34 seconds. The par timer is 38 minutes, so the keystone levels up from keystone level 2 to keystone level 5 and rolls a new random dungeon.
Didn't beat the timer? That's ok. Your keystone just levels down by 1 and rerolls the dungeon.Example: Your group completes Neltharus +5 but misses the timer. Your keystone downgrades to a random dungeon at +4.
Don't have a keystone? Completing a Mythic difficulty dungeon will net you a key at the end of the run. This keystone will be one level under the keystone run level you complete, or +2 if you completed a Mythic +0.
There's also a vendor named Lindormi in Valdrakken that will give you a key based on your highest run completed, no dungeon run required.1
You can also get a key from the Great Vault based on the highest key you completed last week. If you did a 15 last week, you'll get a 15 this week from your vault.
If you do not complete any keystones for a week, the level degrades by 1 and continues to degrade by one for every week you do not do a higher difficulty keystone.2
[1] Example: you complete an Azure Vault +7 - the chest at the end will have a random +6 key in it.
[2] Example: Your highest key you complete for a week is a 15, but you do not do a key the following week. Your keystone degrades to a +14 on the third week.
Five seconds are subtracted from the timer any time a player dies in a keystone run. While this may seem inconsequential at first, the time lost to death will add up quickly if players die to mechanics frequently. This can easily result in missing the timer.
The following table shows the amount of time you have to complete a keystone run and upgrade your key. The +2 and +3 columns show how much time you have to complete a keystone run in order to +2 or +3 a key.
Name | Par time | +2 keystone levels | +3 keystone levels |
Brackenhide Hollow | 36:00 | 28:48 (7:12 left on the timer) | 21:36(14:24 left on the timer) |
Freehold | 30:00 | 24:00 (6:00 left on the timer) | 18:00 (12:00 left on the timer) |
Halls of Infusion | 38:00 | 30:24 (7:36 left on the timer) | 22:48 (15:12 left on the timer) |
Neltharus | 35:00 | 28:00 (7:00 left on the timer) | 21:00(14:00 left on the timer) |
Neltharion's Lair | 33:00 | 26:24 (6:36 left on the timer) | 19:48 (13:12 left on the timer) |
Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr | 35:00 | 28:00 (7:00 left on the timer) | 21:00(14:00 left on the timer) |
Underrot | 30:00 | 24:00 (6:00 left on the timer) | 18:00 (12:00 left on the timer) |
Vortex Pinnacle | 30:00 | 24:00 (6:00 left on the timer) | 18:00 (12:00 left on the timer) |
You CAN get tier pieces from your vault.
Every week at reset you are eligible to choose ONE PIECE of gear from The Great Vault based on your accomplishments from the previous week. Completing more milestones does not get you more gear, but expands your choices for the ONE PIECE of gear that you can claim.
You will also receive a keystone based on the highest TIMED run you completed the week before. If your highest key was a +15 last week, you're going to get a +15 key in your vault this week.
Remember that you only get to choose one piece of gear from The Great Vault no matter how many activities you do.
There are three paths to expand your gear choices: mythic plus, raiding, and PVP.
To reduce confusion, let's just assume that you only play mythic plus and don't raid or PVP.
To get the most choices at gear by doing only mythic plus, you must complete 8 mythic keystone runs a week. Completing 8 runs a week will present you with three pieces of gear to choose from at reset.
That's the short version - to be able to choose from three pieces of loot from the Great Vault, you gotta do 8 mythic keystone runs. Now let's do the long version where we talk about how keystone level affects the item level of gear you can choose from.
If you do at least one, but less than 4 keystone runs: you get one piece of loot to choose from in The Great Vault. Its item level will be based on the highest level keystone run you completed. (Look at the table below to see what the item level will be.)
If you do between 4 and 7 keystone runs: you get two pieces of loot to choose from in The Great Vault. The first item's level will be based on the highest level keystone run you completed. The second item's level will be based on the FOURTH HIGHEST keystone run you completed.
If you do 8 or more keystone runs: you get three pieces of loot to choose from in The Great Vault. The first item's level will be based on the highest level keystone run you completed. The second item's level will be based on the FOURTH HIGHEST keystone run you completed. The third item's level will be based on the EIGHTH HIGHEST keystone run you completed.
One thing that I want to make clear now that you've read this: it doesn't matter in which order you complete your keystone dungeons, but it does matter how many keys you do. The game makes a list of all the keystone runs you completed and sorts them from highest level to lowest level, then selects the first, fourth, and eighth highest completed keystone levels. This means you can continue to do keystone runs past the 8 required for your weekly milestones to give you more options at higher level gear. You can NEVER LOWER the item level of the gear you're going to get since the list is sorted from highest to lowest.
Example: You've been busy this week! You completed ten total keystone dungeons! Wow! The game has built a list of all the keystone levels you completed and sorted them from highest to lowest to determine what you're going to get for gear choices. Here's an example list:
+15, +15, +15, +15, +13, +12, +10, +10, +10, +9
The bolded numbers are the first, fourth, and eighth highest runs you completed. The item level of the gear you'll be able to choose from will be listed in The Great Vault's UI.
Let's say you want to raise the item level of one of your choices of gear, so you go out and complete some +12 runs. Using the example above, the +12s are injected into the list and cause your eighth highest run to become a +12. Here's what the new list would look like:
+15, +15, +15, +15, +13, +12, +12, +12, +10, +10, +10, +10, +10, +9
Level | End of Run | Great Vault | Crests to upgrade (End of Run, Great Vault) |
2 | 402 | 415 | Whelpling, Drake |
3 | 405 | 418 | Whelpling, Drake |
4 | 405 | 421 | Whelpling, Drake |
5 | 408 | 421 | Whelpling, Drake |
6 | 408 | 424 | Whelpling, Drake |
7 | 411 | 424 | Whelpling, Drake |
8 | 411 | 428 | Whelpling, Wyrm |
9 | 415 | 428 | Drake, Wyrm |
10 | 415 | 431 | Drake, Wyrm |
11 | 418 | 431 | Drake, Wyrm |
12 | 418 | 434 | Drake, Wyrm |
13 | 421 | 434 | Drake, Wyrm |
14 | 421 | 437 | Drake, Wyrm |
15 | 424 | 437 | Drake, Wyrm |
16 | 424 | 441 | Drake, Cannot upgrade |
17 | 428 | 441 | Wyrm, Cannot upgrade |
18 | 428 | 444 | Wyrm, Cannot upgrade |
19 | 431 | 444 | Wyrm, Cannot upgrade |
20 | 431 | 447 | Wyrm, Cannot upgrade |
The chest at the end of the run guarantees the GROUP two pieces of loot from the dungeon loot table, even if you don't beat the timer. One piece of loot will be at the item level that corresponds to the level of keystone you completed and one will be at a lower item level.
If you beat the timer, the group will be awarded two pieces of loot at the item level that corresponds to the level of the keystone you completed.
Example: Your group times a +15, two pieces of 424 loot drop in the end of run chest. Later, your group fails to time a +15. One piece of loot drops at 424 and one drops at 421 item level.
At reset, the Great Vault will have a keystone based on the highest level keystone run you completed the week before. However, the keystone will degrade if you do not continue to complete keystones at higher or equal levels to what you previously completed.
Example: You timed a +16 last week. This week at reset you get a +16 keystone from your chest. This week you don't time anything higher than a +16. Next week at reset you get a +15 key from the vault.
Gear that drops from keystone runs and from the Great Vault can be upgraded to a maximum item level of 441 using Flightstones and Crests. More info about Flightstones and Crests below.
It is best to complete a +20 every week to get the highest gear value from your weekly chest.
Mythic+ rating is an indicator of a player's mythic+ experience.
Your rating increases as a result of the following:
In order to maximize your rating, you must complete every dungeon on both Fortified and Tyrannical weeks, as they are rated separately. Whichever of the two versions yields your higher rating for each dungeon will provide full points.
Your overall Mythic+ rating is simply the sum of your ratings for all dungeons.
Dragonflight Keystone Explorer: Season 2 unlocks when you hit 750 Mythic+ rating and has no other reward.
Dragonflight Keystone Conqueror: Season 2 unlocks when you hit 1500 Mythic+ rating and awards the title the Smoldering.
Dragonflight Keystone Master: Season 2 unlocks when you hit 2000 Mythic+ rating and awards the Inferno Armoredon mount.
Dragonflight Keystone Hero: Season 2 unlocks when you hit 2500 Mythic+ rating and awards the Obsidian Aspectral Earthstone, which unlocks the mythic armor appearance for your Aberrus set appearances.
Additionally, timing a dungeon on +20 unlocks a portal to that dungeon in your spellbook. The portal has a 12 hour cooldown, but resets when you time any keystone.
Rather than inundate you with a ton of information, I'm going to give you a brief rundown of the system and then link you to more in-depth sheets/documents.
I hate this system, haha! It's complicated! It has shit scattered everywhere! It takes up space in your bags! It requires you to keep so much information in your head regarding what activities will give you the crests you want! It requires you to consult a spreadsheet for details! It sucks!
A redeeming feature of this system (this may sound elitist) is that players finally have to do harder content to get better gear which is good game design, I guess.
I am a little bummed that this system effectively kills the "valor farm" groups that formed last season, as those were also ways to get new players to step into mythic plus, knowing they had the safety net of geared players to help them clear dungeons.
Sorry for the tangent, let's talk about this garbage.
Combine 15 fragments of a type (Whelpling, Drake, etc) to create a Shadowflame Crest of the same type.
Fragments drop from endgame activities (raid, keystone dungeons, endgame world content). The harder the content, the better crests you'll get.
You can EARN 150 fragments PER TYPE PER WEEK, with the cap increasing every week (similar to the Valor cap).
Flightstones are the other currency you'll use to upgrade your gear. They come from pretty much any endgame activity.
A 60% account wide discount is unlocked when you get a higher item level piece of gear in a slot.
Here's a couple of helpful sheets and documents that have more info than I am willing to type about this system:
This is not a definitive list of THINGS YOU NEED, but a list of addons/WeakAuras that I like and find useful.
As someone who values their privacy online, I feel like it's important that I mention the Overwolf client is BAD and all of its privacy options are OPT-OUT by default, instead of OPT-IN. I encourage you to use an open source addon manager like wowup.io or instawow. Just my two cents.
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