The Mythic Dungeon International (MDI) Global Finals are coming up on Friday, July 8th through Sunday July 10th at 10am PST!

MDI is exhilarating to watch as teams pull entire rooms of mobs onto bosses and blast damage. Between the Time Trials and tournament formats such as The Great Push and The Last Stand, the MDI showcases some of the best Mythic+ players and dungeon strategies from around the world. These teams work tirelessly with various possible compositions— both in-game practice and experimentation, and out of game theory-crafting and cooldown planning.

Every tournament season, the MDI produces extraordinary dungeon routes. With the MDI Global Finals just around the corner, we will be showing you some of the strats we saw in the 2022 MDI Groups A, B, and C.

Want to learn about some of the MDI dungeon strategies and even import them to try for yourselves? Get ready…your road to greatness starts here!

Table of Contents

DE OTHER SIDE

For De Other Side, both Echo (Tyrannical) and Dismissed (Fortified) chose to kill the Wo Relic in the first trash pack and go straight to Hakkar the Soulflayer to use their Hunter’s Bloodlust (Ancient Hysteria). Baldy (Tyrannical) chose to pull 9% of enemy forces onto Dealer Xy’exa with Bloodlust. The final boss, Mueh’zala, can be baited to a specific platform. Throughout this recent MDI, many teams chose to maximize their cleave damage on Mueh’zala and opted for two Shatter Reality totem phases.


Team: ECHO
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level:+21
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Bolstering, Explosive, Encrypted



Team: BALDY
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +21
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Bolstering, Explosive, Encrypted




Team: DISMISSED
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Inspiring, Quaking, Encrypted

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HALLS OF ATONEMENT

The enemy forces in Halls of Atonement are front-loaded, meaning that roughly 80% of enemy forces are completed before groups reach the second boss, Echelon. This way, you want your first pull to be as large as your group can handle with Bloodlust. Communication on interrupts is key to success. If your group does not have a decurse dispel from a Mage, Druid, or Shaman, then your kick prioritization will need to shift (i.e. Curse of Obliteration becomes a more dangerous cast than Wicked Bolts). You will need someone in your group to be the Venthyr covenant since every route leverages Loyal Stoneborns to save Bloodlust for Echelon.


Team: DWARF THIS
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo: Fortified, Sanguine, Grievous, Encrypted




Team: APES TOGETHER STRONG
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo: Fortified, Sanguine, Grievous, Encrypted




Team: INCARNATION
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo: Fortified, Sanguine, Grievous, Encrypted




Team: PERPLEXED
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Spiteful, Necrotic, Encrypted




Team: FROG GANG
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Spiteful, Necrotic, Encrypted




Team: Team: ETHICAL
MDI Group: C
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Bursting, Volcanic, Encrypted




Team: SLOTH
MDI Group: C
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Fortified, Raging, Explosive, Encrypted

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MISTS OF TIRNA SCITHE

In Mists of Tirna Scithe, most teams chose to expedite their enemy forces percentage by pulling through walls in nearly every room of the maze. The extra maze percent can be chosen from a side room or towards the direction the maze is naturally solved by using a controllable companion (such as a Hunter or Warlock pet) to bypass the barriers and engage with those mobs. Many routes also pulled side paths of enemy forces into Mistcaller’s room to optimize cleave damage onto the boss.


Team: ECHO
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo: Fortified, Spiteful, Necrotic, Encrypted




Team: EVOLVED
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Raging, Volcanic, Encrypted




Team: INCARNATION
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Sanguine, Storming, Encrypted




Team: MONKA
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Fortified, Sanguine, Grievous, Encrypted




Team: SOUNDPROOF
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Fortified, Sanguine, Grievous, Encrypted




Team: W OMEGALUL
MDI Group: C
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Inspired, Quaking, Encrypted

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PLAGUEFALL

One of the largest Mythic+ changes this season was that Bolstering no longer affects bosses. Therefore, in Plaguefall, it is pretty fun to watch the massive pack of Gushing Slimes be pulled with Globgrog even with Bolstering present. However, be mindful that pulling the entire room with Globgrog is a bit risky on Bolstering week since you don’t want a Gushing Slime to wind up more health than the actual boss itself!

In these Plaguefall routes, some teams chose to kill a few Gushing Slimes for the easy Encrypted buff. In order to accommodate the crowded room with Plaguestomp, teams either fought Globgrog in the “exit” doorway and used the door frame to minimize the knockback, or they used the vertical grade of a nearby “hill” along the south-east side of the boss room to naturally minimize the knockback’s distance. Both locations offer optimal damage/healing uptime and minimize the movement out of the Slime Wave’s frontal cone.


Team: EVOLVED
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Busting, Volcanic, Encrypted




Team: PERPLEXED
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo: Fortified, Bolstering, Quaking, Encrypted




Team: FREE FOR ALL
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo: Fortified, Bolstering, Quaking, Encrypted




Team: W OMEGALUL
MDI Group: C
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo: Fortified, Spiteful, Necrotic, Encrypted

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SANGUINE DEPTHS

Sanguine Depths routes are roughly planned around the Venthyr covenant’s anima cage, also referred to as “lanterns”. In the MDI, we saw a lot of creative pulls back and forth around Executor Tarvold’s room (the Depths of Despair). Routes tend to start by going one direction around this circular room and then backtrack to clear the other side — often using the small doorways to line-of-sight the Research Scribes. A “big brain strategy” is to open the anima cages just as enemy forces are dying to quickly gain stacks of Sinfall Boon.

In the recent MDI, the best execution of anima cage/lantern stacks happened during the gauntlet to the final boss, General Kaal. Normally, groups think that the point of a gauntlet is to keep moving forward as steady as possible; however, the mindset in the MDI was to hold steady and then move at the proper moment. Teams often took the first two packs together for the gauntlet with Encrypted and phased General Kaal at 90% health. Instead of instinctively pulling the next group with the anima cage/lantern; they would pull a flying Ravenous Dreadbat and wait until two waves of Stonewall Gargons spawned (they spawns in pairs, so this equaled 4 Gargons total). When these 5 mobs were low, they then activated the anima cage/lantern for an instant 5 stacks of Sinfall Boon. When you attempt Sanguine Depths for yourselves, make sure to get a last refresh on your Sinful Boon stacks before moving through the gauntlet towards the last boss!


Team: DWARF THIS
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Fortified, Inspiring, Grievous, Encrypted




Team: FREE FOR ALL
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Bursting, Volcanic, Encrypted




Team: A DUI DUI DUI
MDI Group: China Finals
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Raging, Volcanic, Encrypted

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SPIRES OF ASCENSION

Spires of Ascension was possibly the most commonly-run dungeon during MDI. The routes were straightforward: Pull an entire platform to get to the next Kyrian “taxi” (the angels that take you to the next platform) as fast as possible. If you try this in your own Mythic+ groups, make sure you communicate with your team before surprising the group with some of these maneuvers. We saw several groups pull all three of the Intertwined Fates mini bosses at a time before Devos (Astronos, Klotos, and Lakesis) — staggering both of the special Kyrian Spear items for stuns and extra damage. However, if you are looking for a safer, more accessible route to use for your own Mythic+ groups, consider Frog Gang’s strategy below!


EVOLVED: +23 (Tyrannical, Sanguine, Storming, Encrypted)




Team: INCARNATION
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Sanguine, Storming, Encrypted




Team: DWARF THIS
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Sanguine, Storming, Encrypted




Team: ECHO
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Sanguine, Storming, Encrypted




Team: FROG GANG
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +21
Affix Combo: Fortified, Raging, Explosive, Encrypted




Team: MONKA
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +21
Affix Combo: Fortified, Raging, Explosive, Encrypted

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TAZAVESH: SO'LEAH'S GAMBIT

In Tazavesh: So’heal’s Gambit, approximately 50% of the enemy forces count are achieved before the first boss. During the MDI, Gambit showed more variety in routes than any other dungeon, as teams either cleared along the top (northeast) side of the map, cut right through the middle, or cleared trash along the southwest side.


Team: DWARF THIS
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo: Fortified, Raging, Explosive, Encrypted




Team: YEPPERS
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo:: Fortified, Raging, Explosive, Encrypted




Team: BALDY
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo:: Fortified, Raging, Explosive, Encrypted




Team: YANG XIONG BU XUI
MDI Group: China Finals
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo:: Tyrannical, Sanguine, Storming, Encrypted

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TAZAVESH: STREETS OF WONDER

This MDI season, Tazavesh: Streets of Wonder gave rise to some of the most exciting route innovations. There are several routes to choose from in this dungeon. Although there are two paths to choose from after the first boss (right or left), most groups in the MDI chose to go to the right (North) after killing Zo’phex. In each of the Streets transcriptions below, check out the added notes to learn little tips and tricks I noticed while transcribing the routes. When watching the replays of this dungeon in the MDI, the field of vision I had as an observer was somewhat limited. However, based on assumptions, it appeared that Wo skips were used to trigger unavoidable Role Play (RP) from bosses or to expedite the Bazaar of Tangible Delight event towards Zo’gron in Myza’s Oasis. Please note that the transcripts for MDI routes that I have provided within Keystone Guru represent my best guesses, and that the enemy forces count may vary.

Additionally, players recently discovered a new “snapping” strategy in Streets where trash can be pulled onto the final boss using a Warlock teleport via Demonic Circle. Want to see how this was done when it was first showcased on the MDI broadcast by Echo? Check out the video below or read our recent Raider.IO Riddle Solution article for more details!


Team: EVOLVED
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Inspiring, Quaking, Encrypted




Team: ECHO
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Inspiring, Quaking, Encrypted



And, as promised, here is a video showing the new Warlock “snap” in action by Echo:





Team: PERPLEXED
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo: Fortified, Bursting, Storming, Encrypted




Team: JUST RESET
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo: Fortified, Bursting, Storming, Encrypted




Team: FREE FOR ALL
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo: Fortified, Bursting, Storming, Encrypted




Team: DONUTS AND DESPAIR
MDI Group: C
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Inspiring, Quaking, Encrypted

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THE NECROTIC WAKE

In The Necrotic Wake, groups carefully planned out their Kryian weapons (Forgotten Forgehammer, Bloody Javelin, Discarded Shields, Discharged Anima), and the Kyrian Malfunctioning Goliath’s Anima orbs. These special Kyrian Weapons are uniquely-equipped; therefore, you can pick up a hammer, orb, and a javelin (spear), but not two of the same item at a time. Usually, tanks pick up the Discharged Anima orbs while damage/healer classes pick up the hammers and javelins. Note: When doing a Necrotic Wake key of your own, be sure to pick up the hammer before the spear; these on-use items stack and you want to be sure you can use the spear before the hammer. This is because the spear will apply a 20% increased damage debuff for 20 seconds, which will make the hammer inflict more damage when used back-to-back.

Incarnation and Free For All both utilized a Rogue in their team composition for The Necrotic Wake to have them Stealth forward and jumpstart the unavoidable role play (RP) before the second boss, Amarth.


Team: ECHO
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo:: Tyrannical, Raging, Volcanic, Encrypted
*Note: This route requires a Rogue




Team: INCARNATION
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo:: Tyrannical, Raging, Volcanic, Encrypted
*Note: This route requires a Rogue




Team: DISMISSED
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo:: Tyrannical, Raging, Volcanic, Encrypted
*Note: This route requires a Rogue




Team: FREE FOR ALL
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo:: Tyrannical, Raging, Volcanic, Encrypted
*Note: This route requires a Rogue




Team: SLOTH
MDI Group: C
Keystone Level: +24
Affix Combo:: Fortified, Bolstering, Quaking, Encrypted

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THEATER OF PAIN

MDI showcased a great amount of variety in routes for Theater of Pain, as each wing of this dungeon has the opportunity to be pulled in a different order. On the way to Xav the Unfallen within the Chamber of Conquest (colloquially referred to as the “PVP wing”), all groups chose to run a Blood Death Knight tank to cast Control Undead on the Ancient Captain. Look and see which Theater of Pain routes interest you!

Despite being in the final MDI Group C, Sloth performed a particularly excellent and innovative Theater of Pain route that surprised casters and MDI fans alike. Be sure to check out their route and a video breakdown below to learn why it is revered as a “perfect” Theater of Pain by MDI caster, Xyronic!


Team: EVOLVED
MDI Group:
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo: Fortified, Bolstering, Quaking, Encrypted




Team: YEPPERS
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +23
Affix Combo: Fortified, Bolstering, Quaking, Encrypted





Team: FROG GANG
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Sanguine, Storming, Encrypted




Team: JUST RESET
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +22
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Sanguine, Storming, Encrypted




Team: ETHICAL
MDI Group: C
Keystone Level: +21
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Raging, Volcanic, Encrypted




Team: SLOTH
MDI Group: C
Keystone Level: +21
Affix Combo: Tyrannical, Raging, Volcanic, Encrypted



As mentioned above, be sure to check out this video breakdown of Sloth’s “perfect” Theater of Pain run!

COURT OF STARS

Court of Stars is a renowned Legion dungeon that has been brought back into the MDI circuit due to the Legion Timewalking events of Shadowlands. Court of Stars is a unique dungeon because character class, race, profession choice, and even role can unlock group-wide buffs and functional items throughout the Midnight Court area of the instance. As you clear the room, kill Felbound Enforcers, or click on some of the special items, Talixae Flamewreath will send out Emissary mini bosses. Baldy chose to leverage the zone-wide threat of Talixae’s Emissaries to maximize cleave on the mini bosses — most impressively, bringing one Emissary, Jazshariu, back towards the entrance by the docks. If you try this strategy, just be mindful of Jazshariu’s frontal Shockwave!


Team: BALDY
MDI Group: A
Keystone Level: +21
Affix Combination: Fortified, Sanguine, Quaking, Infernal

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EYE OF AZSHARA

Eye of Azshara is a Legion dungeon known for its massive trash pulls and 5 bosses — each with simple yet punishing mechanics.

One of the most notable oddities of this dungeon is a “boat skip” that has been widely used in the Legion and Shadowlands MDIs. This skip is essentially mandatory for competitive Mythic+ teams, as it is arguably the biggest time save of the dungeon and allows players to skip a slew of dangerous yet inefficient trash towards King Deepbeard.

Check out Booma Booma performing the boat skip in the Shadowlands Season 3 MDI Group B below:




If you want to learn how to do the boat skip for yourself, it is best practiced in the dungeon on Normal, Heroic, or base Mythic difficulty. To properly execute it, you will need to climb up a set of broken ship rubble, jump, and use certain class abilities such as Wild Charge, Double Jump + Felrush, Infernal Strike, Heroic Leap, etc., to make it up onto the ledge above. Then, the player that ascends can carefully move downwards on the terrain with a two-seater mount or a Druid Mount Form until they almost fall, and pick up their teammates one by one. Alternatively, a safer method is to use a Swapblaster with a player on the ledge and repeat the process.

For tips on tricks on learning the boat skip, check out Sco’s guide:





Team: BOOMA BOOMA
MDI Group: B
Keystone Level: +21
Affix Combination: Tyrannical, Bursting, Volcanic, Infernal

Additional Resources

To further unpack the magic of the MDI for yourselves, here are a few additional resources:

• Subcreation – Find S-tier for ranged, melee, tanks, and healers. Also see their gear-equipped manager and top builds.
  
• Twitch – specific player PoVs in real-time and videos on demand. Twitch may also provide an opportunity for you to respectfully ask MDI players reasonable game-related questions directly!
  
• Warcraft Logs – Data and replays: cast queues, spell uptime, interrupt/stuns, etc.
  
• Raider.IO - When watching the MDI, you can search one specific player’s name into Raider.IO to find character-specific info such as gear/legionaries, gems, enchants, soulbinds, conduits, talents, how many keys they have completed on time (5,10,15 for both Fortified/Tyrannical). Also, you may find links to each players’ socials, which can help you track down their personal addons, UIs, WeakAuras, etc.

Key Takeaways

When transcribing a route and trying it for yourself, it is best to be focused on intentions to time or speed through the key. MDI routes may be specific to the type of tournament. For example, in The Great Push where the highest key wins, routes may differ from the Time Trials of the MDI where the fastest key wins. The Great Push and Time Trials are very different styles since mechanics uniquely scale for each key level. Some abilities in +21s are easily livable while that same mechanic in a +25 will be instant death. Adversely, the painful abilities in a +21 are virtually the same in a +25. Said another way, the mechanics that you think are scary in a +21 may not be deadly in +25, and the abilities that you ignore in a +21 demand respect in a +25. Learning what is possible for each dungeon at various keystone levels comes with time and experience, so don't get discouraged if a random death happens as you practice. One death or one wipe are rarely the sole culprits to an untimed key!

The best way to be successful in any Mythic+ key is to communicate with your group. Individually, seeing a route performed in the MDI or by your favorite streamer is great; however, you should still share your ideas or routes with the people in your own keystone group. The best part about route sharing with the Mythic Dungeon Tools (MDT) addon is that it bridges the gap of language barriers when everyone can see your route visually pull-by-pull. Taking a moment before the keystone begins to make and share a route with your group via MDT will increase your chance of successfully completing the key. If you are a DPS player, you might want to know when the big pulls are happening so you can plan your important cooldowns. When you time a key and your group feels synergy, there is a greater chance that people may stick around for another key. Who knows…maybe you will find a new friend!

Always remember that the game is supposed to be both challenging and fun.

Be sure to tune into the Shadowlands Season 3 MDI Global Finals next weekend, Friday July 8th through Sunday July 10th at 10am PST, live on the Warcraft Youtube channel here!

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