Fans of “Mythic+” can look forward to good news. The developers of World of Warcraft have implemented a pretty cool change.
Mythic+ keystone dungeons are one of the primary endgame features of World of Warcraft. However, the system can also lead to frustration when the “right” keystones are simply not available. To provide solo players and groups with more variety soon, Blizzard is introducing a new NPC in Patch 9.1 Chains of Domination. This NPC will help you acquire better keystones.
What was the problem before? The difficulty of the various dungeons in Shadowlands varies greatly depending on the current affixes. For instance, there are weeks where the affix “Necrotic” makes the Sanguine Depths significantly harder than in other weeks.
Many players tend to want to avoid these dungeons. It’s simply much easier to achieve a good rating in a different dungeon – such as Tirna Scythe – rather than struggle through the Sanguine Depths.
This led to the Sanguine Depths (but also others) being regarded as “dead” keystones. A keystone that no one wants to play – a “Dead Key”.
What is being changed now? In Patch 9.1 you will have the ability to exchange your keystones. If you complete a “Mythic+” dungeon within the time limit, the NPC Ta’hsup will appear at the end. Players can exchange their keystone with him to receive a new, random keystone. However, there are some restrictions:
You can only exchange keystones that are of the same keystone level or lower than the dungeon just completed.
Higher keystones – and thus the recently upgraded keystone – cannot be exchanged.
Who benefits from the change? Essentially, this is something good for all players; however, fixed groups are likely to benefit from it. Occasionally, it happens that in a 5-player group, three, four, or even all have the same keystone. In that case, it suffices to complete the dungeon just once so that the other four players can exchange their keystones for different keys.
This should increase the variety of dungeons and simultaneously offer players a few options to hope for their desired keystone.
Returnees receive a free keystone: Another new feature concerns players who have taken a break from “Mythic+” gameplay for a while. Because if you missed a season week, previously there was no new keystone. In that case, a dungeon had to be completed first to acquire a new stone. This will also change in Patch 9.1. In Oribos at the great vault, you can visit Ta’hsup to receive a keystone. At least if you have already completed a mythic dungeon before.
This removes the previously obligatory “first have to tag along somewhere” to obtain a new stone.
The community is excited: The changes have so far been well received by the community. Whether on wowhead or the WoW subreddit, there is praise for the adjustments everywhere. A few comments on this:
- “Actually a damn huge change. Thanks, Blizz, this is wonderful.”
- “This helps players to run dungeons strategically or avoid them. For organized groups, this is a fantastic feature.”
- “Absolutely fantastic for casual groups. You start the week with 3x Sanguine Depths? Oh yes, let’s just roll the good stuff again.”
What do you think of the change? A good thing that will benefit M+ significantly? Or should everyone just be able to choose any stone freely?
