RETAIL
CLASSIC ERA
WRATH
RETAIL
CLASSIC ERA
WRATH

Mythic+ 34, the Highest Key Ever, Conquered!



We have a big Mythic+ breakthrough, as the highest ever key has been cleared! Mechagon Junkyard hosted the run, as Bamesjond, Equibus, Flippyx, Lagbugdc and Som tore through the dungeon and finished up the key with a minute and 30+ seconds to spare! The pre-patch has been kind to high M+ runners, as we've seen a steady stream of 30-32 runs in pretty much all dungeons, but today we got two big spikes. The above team pushed through Shrine of the Storm +33 and then got the Junkyard for the highest key... actually ever in World of Warcraft. Legion capped out at +31 (also in the BfA pre-patch), so the last several highest runs have been the best ever (despite the different set of dungeons). So, congratulations once again to Bamesjond, Equibus, Flippyx, Lagbugdc and Som, and let's take a look at the run itself, starting with Lagbugdc, the healer Paladin PoV:


In case you wanted a DPS PoV instead, we got you covered there as well, with the BamesJond Warlock PoV:


And since just looking at the action isn't enough for us and we just have to inspect, analyze and explain, we had our own Dratnos take a look at the impressive run as well:

Dratnos Discusses the Run
It's no surprise that this remarkable achievement happened first in Junkyard - this dungeon features the incredibly powerful Shock Bot buff which scales in damage with the keystone level, providing a huge amount of extra damage to coordinated groups that are able to stay alive and maintain the buff. In the huge upheaval of the Shadowlands pre-patch, many new specs have entered the highest level of keys, as evidenced by the diversity on the front page of our Leaderboards. This group's composition features an Affliction Warlock and a Frost Mage, two specs that would have been surprising to see at the top of the ladder before, though there is a common through-line between almost all top groups - Outlaw Rogue, a spec that entered the metagame in BFA Season 2 and continues to provide unmatched utility and control.

The new metagame surrounding itemization has crystallized, for the most part, into stat stacking. Azerite traits like Heart of Darkness are present on every player in this group, and most have chosen to wear not just the +18 Main Stat Leviathan's Eye gem but also a copy of the +12 Main Stat Kraken's Eye gem. Pre-patch was also kind to certain damage effects, like the damage proc portion of the Crucible of Flame essence, which all of these players used. One copy of the Ret Paladin Azerite Trait Light's Decree has always been used by Holy Paladins for the Crusade duration increase, despite having no other text for the spec, but now that they have Holy Power, it deals a large amount of damage too, and three copies of it are on display here. The crafted inscription trinket Highborne Compendium of Storms and the Mythic N'zoth Trinket Manifesto of Madness also feature on all three Intellect users in this group, as the pre-patch balance has been very kind to both of these books.

To close it all off here's the +33 Shrine of the Storm clear, that made the 34 possible:



We have a while yet until the pre-patch is gone and Shadowlands arrives, so we might be seeing even higher keys get cleared, and we definitely can't wait to see that!