Two weeks ago saw the first completed +20 key of the season in The War Within in MOTHERLODE. However, that one wasn’t timed. The same key has now been timed!
The Run
Both runs were done by different teams of Chinese players. The class setup was identical in both runs but this time the spec line-up included an Arcane Mage instead of a Frost Mage. The first run finished just 21 seconds over time due to 3 unnecessary deaths costing the team at least 45 extra seconds. Today’s key was finished almost a minute under time with 4 deaths. One major difference here being a tank death two weeks ago.
Another big difference is the average item level being 3.2 points higher. Add to that four mythic versions of the 
House of Cards trinket in the successful team, instead of just having one heroic and one mythic version. The different Mage spec is not the only lineup difference. In general, more CC and mobility was the focus in the timed run. The number of pulls got reduced to just 13, according to the Keystoneguru route. The previous attempt included 15 pulls. We’ll ignore the single rat pull for 0.2%.
While the first three pulls were identical, the successful run ditched two packs on their way to the second boss and made larger pulls in the area before the third. Overall, they pulled less total trash between the second and third boss. This was then compensated for by not skipping the final two big War Machines before the final boss. All in all, this was a better DPS performance due to better gear and more efficient pulls allowed this key to succeed where the first attempt failed.
Congratulations to the team! How high do you think we’ll go in Season 2, and The War Within overall?
