Mythic+ Keystones

Mythic+ keystones are dungeons with infinitely scaling difficulty that players can run without any daily or weekly completion limits. Successfully completing a dungeon within the time limit will upgrade your keystone level, while failing will downgrade it. The higher the keystone level you complete, the better rewards and more rating you will earn.

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

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

• At certain keystone levels, special affixes activate in the dungeon, making it harder to complete.

• Each dungeon has a limited completion timer (30 to 39 minutes, depending on the dungeon). Completing a dungeon over the timer will not upgrade your key, but you can still receive loot from the end-of-dungeon chest. Each death deducts 5 seconds from the timer (15 seconds with the level 12+ affix).

• To complete a Mythic+ dungeon, you must kill all bosses and eliminate a certain percentage of trash mobs. Until both requirements are met, the dungeon will not be completed and the timer will not stop.

• Upon successfully completing a dungeon, your current keystone upgrades. The dungeon it opens changes, and its level increases by +1 to +3, depending on how quickly you completed the dungeon. For example, if you completed a level 7 dungeon with more than 30% time remaining, you will get a +3 upgrade.

• There are 8 dungeons available for Mythic+ keystones each season. Typically, these are 4 dungeons from the current expansion and 4 from previous expansions.

• Unlike regular dungeons, Mythic+ dungeons cannot be queued through the Dungeon Finder button. All groups for this type of content are assembled manually through a special interface, where the key holder selects 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 complete, the harder it becomes. Special affixes will appear, adding unique mechanics and making dungeon completion more challenging. They activate at keystone levels 4, 7, 10, and 12:

• Level 4: Depending on the week, one of the "Xal'atath's Bargain" affixes activates: "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" affix activates.

• Level 10: The "Fortified" or "Tyrannical" affix activates, depending on which was active at level 7.

• Level 12: The current "Xal'atath's Bargain" affix is replaced with "Xal'atath's Guile".

Detailed Breakdown of Each Affix

Level 4: "Xal'atath's Bargain"

• Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant: During combat, Xal'atath periodically summons 10 Ascension Orbs that begin casting "Cosmic Ascension" over 6.5 seconds. If an orb finishes casting, nearby enemies gain "Xal'atath's Gift", increasing their damage dealt by 5% and reducing damage taken by 10% for 20 sec per orb. If players interrupt the cast via interrupts, knockbacks, crowd control, or dispels, the orb vanishes and grants a 2% movement speed and haste bonus for 30 sec per orb.

• Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound: During combat, Xal'atath periodically summons a Void Emissary that begins a 15-sec channel of "Dark Prayer", applying "Xal'atath's Gift" to nearby enemies, increasing their damage by up to 50% and reducing damage taken by up to 100% for 20 sec. The strength depends on the shield value remaining when the cast finishes. If the emissary is defeated before the cast completes, she disappears and no effect is applied. Defeating her grants players "Otherworldly Blessing", increasing Versatility by 20% and cooldown recovery by 30% for 30 sec.

• Xal'atath's Bargain: Pulsar: Xal'atath summons "Void Pulsars" that orbit players. Each player receives 1 pulsar. After 15 seconds, the pulsar releases energy and grants enemies "Xal'atath's Gift", increasing their damage by 10% and reducing damage taken 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: During combat, Xal'atath periodically opens a Devouring Rift, applying "Devouring Rift" to everyone. This effect deals Shadow damage equal to 1% of maximum health per second for 15 sec. It can be dispelled with heavy healing or any dispel ability. On successful dispel, all players gain "Rift Essence", increasing critical strike chance by 4% and maximum health by 2% for 30 sec per stack. If the effect expires naturally, all enemies gain "Xal'atath's Gift", increasing damage by 10% and reducing damage taken by 20% for 20 sec per stack.

Level 7: "Tyrannical" or "Fortified"

At level 7, either the "Tyrannical" or "Fortified" affix activates. These affixes alternate each week and do not repeat.

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

Level 10: "Fortified" or "Tyrannical"

At level 10, the "Fortified" or "Tyrannical" affix activates based on which was active at level 7. If "Tyrannical" was active at level 7, then "Fortified" will activate at level 10 and vice versa. Two identical affixes cannot be active at levels 7 and 10 simultaneously.

Level 12: "Xal'atath's Guile"

At level 12, the current "Xal'atath's Bargain" affix is replaced with "Xal'atath's Guile". This affix significantly reduces the remaining dungeon timer upon player death. Each death deducts 15 seconds from the timer instead of the usual 5 seconds.

Upon completing a Mythic+ dungeon, you receive special rewards from a chest that appears at the end of the dungeon.

Some key features of Mythic+ rewards:

• In Mythic+, rewards are not found on bosses but in the completion chest and the weekly Great Vault.

• Upon dungeon completion, 2 items are offered to players, distributed randomly among participants. Loot is assigned to predetermined players based on their loot specialization settings. Received items can be traded to other participants within 2 hours.

• The chest only contains items from the specific dungeon's loot table. No other items or tier set pieces can drop from the chest. If you need a specific item, you can farm that particular dungeon until it drops. Cosmetic items like toys and mounts from the dungeon's reward list can also drop without affecting the number of gear rewards.

• Upon reaching 2000 Mythic+ rating, you will receive a special seasonal mount. Each season features a different mount, making it unique since it is only obtainable from 2000 rating in that specific season (recolors may be available from other in-game achievements, but the 2000 rating color remains exclusive).

• There is also a small chance for Warband items to drop from the chest. These items cannot be traded and are bound to your account immediately upon receipt.

Reward Level Table by Completed Keystone Level

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

After completing a dungeon, you earn a certain amount of rating based on the keystone level completed and the time it took.

Rating Calculation Details

• There is no maximum rating cap. You can earn as much rating as you can achieve. It all depends on the dungeon levels you complete.

• The total rating earned from a single key is capped at its maximum value from +2 to your current completed level. In other words, if you complete a level 10 dungeon and then the same dungeon at level 12, you earn rating points from +2 to +10 for the level 10 completion, and from +10 to +12 for the level 12 completion.

• Rating points per dungeon depend not only on the level but also on how quickly you complete it. There are 3 upgrade tiers for your keystone, and rating is awarded accordingly. Note that if you complete a +10 key with a +3 upgrade, then complete a +12 key with only a +1 upgrade, you won't earn additional rating since you already earned it from the +3 completion.

• Each dungeon awards a specific amount of rating, so it's important to complete all 8 dungeons for maximum points.

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

When you fail a dungeon, your keystone level drops by 1 and you have to run it again to upgrade. However, the game has a keystone level preservation system.

If you've completed all dungeons available in the season at level 12 or higher, your key will not drop below that level upon failure. For example, if you've completed all dungeons at level 15 and fail another level 15 dungeon, the key will remain at level 15 and you can retry. This effect lasts until the end of the season.

Progress is tracked through a series of hidden Feats of Strength called "Keystone Durability", for example:

• The War Within, Season 3: Keystone Durability – 15 – Complete all dungeons with a Mythic+ keystone of level 15 within the time limit in The War Within Season 3. Reward: Keystone level will not drop below 15 until the end of The War Within Season 3.

• The War Within, Season 3: Keystone Durability – 20 – Complete all dungeons with a Mythic+ keystone of level 20 within the time limit in The War Within Season 3. Reward: Keystone level will not drop below 20 until the end of The War Within Season 3.

• The War Within, Season 3: Keystone Durability – 25 – Complete all dungeons with a Mythic+ keystone of level 25 within the time limit in The War Within Season 3. Reward: Keystone level will not drop below 25 until the end of The War Within Season 3.

• The War Within, Season 3: Keystone Durability – 30 – Complete all dungeons with a Mythic+ keystone of level 30 within the time limit in The War Within Season 3. Reward: Keystone level will not drop below 30 until the end of The War Within Season 3.

The game offers many bonuses for completing Mythic+ keystones. Below we cover the most useful and interesting ones.

Dungeon Teleports

After completing a dungeon at level 10 or higher, you will receive a special ability that allows you to teleport to that dungeon's entrance. This ability is account-bound and is permanently available regardless of season.

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

Portal Room

If you haven't unlocked dungeon teleports yet, there is a special portal in Dornogal that takes you to a special location containing portals to all dungeons featured in the current season. These portals transport you to old zones where dungeons from previous expansions are located, so there are no portals to current expansion dungeons there.

Phantom bosses from each dungeon stand near the portals, so you always know which portal leads to which dungeon.

/way #2339 53.8 39.0 Lindormi

Downgrading Your Keystone Level

If you don't plan to run a high keystone level and just want to complete a dungeon for maximum rewards, you can always manually downgrade your keystone. You don't need to enter/exit dungeons to break your key.

You can downgrade it at the Pandaren NPC located next to the portal room entrance. By picking up a special quest, you can choose what keystone level you need.

/way #2339 53.8 39.0 Lindormi

Changing Your Keystone Dungeon

If you received a dungeon you don't need, a well-known Pandaren NPC appears after completing any dungeon and offers to change your dungeon to a different random one.

For her to appear, two conditions must be met:

• The dungeon must have been completed in time.
• You must have already completed the dungeon assigned to you that week.