In Patch 9.2 there is a new affix. We reveal how “Encrypted” will change your dungeon runs in WoW: Shadowlands.
Patch 9.2 End of Eternity is slowly but surely coming into view. This also coincides with the start of a new “Mythic+” season, which naturally requires a fresh affix to make the dungeons tougher and more interesting. Meanwhile, it is known from the PTR what the new affix “Encrypted” will do – and it offers a lot of room for maneuver.
What is it about? It’s about the new affix “Encrypted”. This becomes active after the launch of Patch 9.2 and the start of Season 3 in WoW: Shadowlands. The affix thematically fits the new area Zereth Mortis, where it is largely about the encrypted messages of the First Ones that players must decrypt to unlock powerful forces and gain more knowledge.
As usual, it will significantly change the playstyle of the dungeons and the approach to particularly tough bosses or trash packs.
How does “Encrypted” affect gameplay? The affix is, as has become customary, a bit more complex. When active, different trash groups and all bosses are equipped with relics. These are small enemies with low health that are easy to kill. As long as they are alive, they have auras and effects:
- The relic Urh regularly fires projectiles at players that cause damage.
- The relic Wo reduces the damage taken by all nearby enemies by 15%.
- The relic Vy increases the speed of all nearby enemies by 15%.
Of course, the affix has not only negative aspects but also positive ones. Depending on which of the three relics you kill first, players receive a buff at the end of the current fight.
- If you kill Urh first, you get 150% movement speed for 45 seconds and stealth for 10 seconds, allowing you to skip several trash groups.
- If you kill Wo first, the group receives 20% haste for 45 seconds.
- If you kill Vy first, you get a 25% reduction in cooldown time for 45 seconds, meaning cooldowns are ready faster.
However, the buff doesn’t just happen like that. After the third (and thus last) relic of a group is defeated, a small miniboss, an Automa, appears. It has few abilities, and upon its defeat grants the corresponding buff.
When is the affix active? As usual, the “Encrypted” affix only comes into play when you tackle dungeons at level +10 or higher. Only then will enemies be equipped with the affix, and you must face the additional enemies, but you can also reap the rewards and thus skip particularly difficult passages in the dungeon or drastically simplify bosses.
What do you think of the new affix? A cool innovation in Patch 9.2? Or basically just like previous affixes?
