The seventeenth week of Mythic+ in this season is over and once again Nightstalker314 is taking a look at the data provided by Raider.IO. We are still a week away from unlocking the highest Item Level on the D.I.S.C. belt. So activity in the higher key levels isn’t increasing much outside of the very end. And in that key level range the balance is diverging quite a lot. During the 3rd dungeon event quest last week lower keys were more in focus. But that key range also had to deal with one of the worst affix combinations within the rotation. The overall bump from that kind of event doesn’t really last long for now. The 4 weeks of farming legacy raids for mounts and cosmetics clearly shift the focus away from Mythic+. So let’s look at the details.
Weekly Total Run Performance Compared to Other Seasons
After the introduction of the new belt from delves the numbers have rebound. In combination with the dungeon event quest total run numbers went up by 7.03% compared to the previous week. Once again TWW S2 is only behind DF S1 in long term weekly activity. 600,000 weekly runs seem to be the new baseline for this season. But the focus on current legacy raids will clearly impact Mythic+ activity. Similar to how Pandaria Remix shifted the focus away from DF S4. A similar effect is to be expected from Legion Remix later during TWW S3 leading up to Midnight.
Total Runs Across All Dungeons
The split of all dungeons is still rather tight. The order has once again been slightly shifted. The weekly quest once again lead to players seeking out the shorter dungeons close to the capital. So Priory and Operation Floodgate dropped positions. The average in time percentage also decreased a bit down to 85.47%. The Ascendant affix continues to underperform. And a combination of this with Tyrannical is dragging down runs from key level 7 to 9.
Except for one dungeon the in time percentage dropped by 0.74% to 1.42%. Darkflame Cleft is still leading far ahead with 91.32%. MOTHERLODE (87.03%) was the only dungeon to improve, gaining 0.1 points compared to last week. The Rookery (85.80%) is heavily impacted by the Tyrannical affix. And all boss fights make it rather hard to also deal with the Ascendant orbs. The Priory (84.95%) with its massive trash pulls also doesn’t mix well with the affix. Floodgate (84.46%) and Cinderbrew Meadery (84.30%) follow close behind. Theater of Pain (83.01%) and Workshop (82.73%) are once again the last two ranks.
Split Across All Key Levels
Only 65% of all runs were done above key level 9. Total numbers for the lowest key level were between 40% to 69% higher compared to week 16. And up to key level 9 that lead was still at least 12.6%. Players also had a reason to do more +10 keys for the weekly quest. 4% more runs on that level which still makes up 27.66% of all runs in week 17. For key level 19 and above we also saw more runs. Each week now sees more completed keys than the entire last season in that level range. And with a total of 9 timed +22 keys it is only a matter of time until we see the first +23 key this season.
Almost all key levels saw lower in time percentages this week. Especially from 7 to 11 the drop-off between 2.4 and 4.4 points was quite massive. At level 4 we already have a drop of 3 percentage points. This clearly shows how impactful the Ascendant affix is. It needs another tuning pass.
Dungeon Split and Success Rates for High Key Levels
Up to Key level 16 the split of dungeons is almost solidified. Beyond it we can clearly see preferences for the easier dungeons. Darkflame Cleft is clearly pulling ahead followed by the MOTHERLODE. Both dungeons also see regular +22 keys each week. Theater of Pain is the only dungeon not dropping lower until level 21. Mechagon Workshop is also a good pick for most groups. But outside of that all the new dungeons – especially Rookery and Priory – are falling out of favor towards the highest key levels.
Looking at the in time percentages we have to keep two major decisions in mind: To start a key in the first place and to abandon it once you wipe too many times. Priory and Rookery have rather high in time percentages for level 21. In combination with their low total number of runs, these two dungeons should be a prime example of: Don’t even attempt the key if you can’t finish it.
Meanwhile Darkflame seems to be the easiest choice for almost every key level. MOTHERLODE is showing similar metrics just a bit behind. And Mechagon Workshop despite its steady pick rate is probably the roughest time in M+ by now. But people seem to finish the dungeon anyway. And maybe the high overtime percentage is tied to rather long boss fights or a wipe leading to a major loss of time. Another factor that can lead to a high rate of finished but depleted keys would be wipes near the end of the dungeon. The Priory on the other hand has massive risky pulls before the first boss. And here players might abandon a key way more often than in other dungeons.
Conclusion and Early Numbers for Week 18
From next week on we should see major activity around the 0.1% rank range in M+. Most players in the title range should have their finalized gear sets. And around key level 12 to 13 we are nearing the final IDs to secure the 3,000 rating mount. We know that Priory and Floodgate will carry over into the next season. Both dungeons need some tuning and we have already seen announcements for nerfs. Bubbles in Floodgate will not make it into the next season. Several bosses and trash mobs in Priory will get nerfed. Major nerfs and changes are also confirmed for Ara-Kara and the Dawnbreaker.
As of this writing hourly numbers for week 18 are about 30% behind compared to week 17. This value might decrease a bit towards the next reset. With each day more and more desired mounts drop and players might find some time to finish a few keys until the ID is over.
