Some classes are almost never used in “Mythic+” from World of Warcraft. A mistake, thinks the dungeon lead – because all classes can be successful.
The first season of World of Warcraft Dragonflight is still quite fresh, but little by little, all players have adapted to the new dungeons and their peculiarities. In an interview with Naguura, lead encounter designer Matt Villers discussed Mythic+ and the dungeons of Dragonflight. It was also about the balancing of the classes.
What was discussed? The interview primarily focused on mythic dungeons and class balance. Matt Villers believes that currently, all classes and all specializations can complete a dungeon on “Mythic+20” within the time limit. The problem often lies in the perception within the community. He explains:
A major challenge we are facing is perception. Every class is currently capable of completing a dungeon on Mythic+20. But of course, we have leaderboards, players at the top, and streamers who are very good at this game. And they look for every advantage they can get to be competitive, because that’s what they enjoy. This perception can trickle down. You watch your favorite streamer and see how they do it and think: “Oh, so that’s how it’s done successfully.
Even if you play something that can definitely handle this challenge, you may have difficulties because people think, “Ah, you’re not that meta class, so we don’t want you, we only want the best possible.”
This is something we are monitoring closely and responding with balance changes to Mythic+. Especially with the new talent system, there are many ways we can adjust certain aspects.
Why are many specializations not included? The fact that only a few specializations are invited during group searches, while others are neglected, mainly relates to the community’s perception. The best players in the world use classes that theoretically provide the best performance with perfect play, which then reflects on all other players. Even if another specialization is only one or two percentage points behind the best, it is already seen as “unplayable” by some.
Once such an impression has solidified, it is difficult to shake off this view. In Dragonflight, developers have tried to address this with regular buffs and nerfs. So far, there have been multiple hotfixes each week with class adjustments, so the differences between individual specializations are becoming less pronounced.
What else was said? The entire interview revolves around the design of dungeons and especially the adjustments that are necessary for “Mythic+”. For example, it was also about the affix “Thunderous”, which comes into play starting from level 10 and represents the seasonal affix. They have chosen a particularly simple affix for Season 1 of Dragonflight. The reasoning behind this was:
Those who are already busy learning the new dungeons should not also be overwhelmed with particularly complex affixes. Therefore, there are several ways to play the “Thunderous” affix:
Those who don’t want to worry much can simply deactivate the positive and negative charges immediately and not have to deal with the mechanics any further.
Those who want to gain more benefit can keep the debuffs active longer and benefit from additional damage – but risk that the debuff may expire and lead to a stun.
In general, fans of “Mythic+” should definitely watch the entire interview, as it provides some insights into Blizzard’s design philosophy and also some early hints about how they will handle the mythic dungeons in the future.
Which specialization do you play in “Mythic+”? What is the highest keystone you have successfully completed with it?
