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The Weekly Route: Ascendant, Fortified
Welcome to The War Within Season 2, Week 6!
The following dungeon routes are based upon reviewing top runs with the Auto Route Creator and Mythic+ Heatmaps – a feature that aggregates millions of Mythic+ runs to help you see what others are doing at the same keystone level as you.
The weekly-alternating affixes are Xal’atath’s Bargain: Ascendant in keystone levels +4 to +11, and Fortified in keystone levels +7 to +9. Tyrannical is added at keystone level +10, and Xal’atath’s Guile replaces Xal’atath’s Bargain: Ascendant at keystone level +12. Here’s a refresher on The War Within’s affix system:
So, which dungeons may be easier to target for rewards? The graphs below will update throughout the week to show the relative difficulty of all of the dungeons, as well as spec popularity so far this Season:
The dungeon timers and requirements for +2 and +3 rewards for each dungeon in The War Within Season 2 are shown in the table below:
| Dungeon | Timer | +2 | +3 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Cinderbrew Meadery | 33:00 | 26:24 | 19:48 |
 Darkflame Cleft | 31:00 | 24:48 | 18:48 |
 Mechagon Workshop | 32:00 | 25:36 | 19:12 |
 Operation: Floodgate | 33:00 | 26:24 | 19:48 |
 Priory of the Sacred Flame | 32:30 | 26:00 | 19:30 |
 The MOTHERLODE!! | 33:00 | 26:24 | 19:48 |
 The Rookery | 29:00 | 23:24 | 17:48 |
 Theater of Pain | 34:00 | 27:12 | 20:24 |
Find the dungeons at the following locations:
All set? Grab our dungeon routes + boss guides below and start grinding that IO!
Bookmark The Weekly Route for our updates to top routes every Tuesday!
Table of Contents
BREW: Cinderbrew Meadery DFC: Darkflame Cleft WORK: Mechagon Workshop FLOOD: Operation: Floodgate PSF: Priory of the Sacred Flame ML: The MOTHERLODE!! ROOK: The Rookery TOP: Theater of Pain Cinderbrew Meadery
Bloodlust Timings
First pull, I’pa, and Benk Buzzbee
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You DO NOT wish to use Invisibility Potions or have a
Rogue / 
Priest for skips - You are in a PUG without voice comms
- You’re in a lower key and won’t be too impacted by going over on enemy forces count
Bloodlust Timings
First pull, I’pa, and Benk Buzzbee
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You would like to do one low-risk Invisibility/CC skip in the hallway towards I’pa
Bloodlust Timings
First pull, I’pa, and Benk Buzbee
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You want to do a really cutting-edge high Mythic+ route to save as much time as possible
- You are in voice comms with a coordinated group
- You have a way to do the double Hopgoblin skip with a
tank (e.g. 
Vengeance Demon Hunter) towards I’pa, as demonstrated by Kira in the video timestamp below:
Mythic+ Heatmaps – What We’re Seeing in Keys
In Cinderbrew Meadery, we’re starting to see top Mythic+ groups find clever ways to skip the double Careless Hopgoblins on the way to I’pa. The Hopgoblins are not only very high health and annoying with all their charging around, but they also spawn troublesome little Brew Drops when they die, so skipping all of them would be fantastic…which is probably why they were given Stealth Detection.
According to the data aggregated by Mythic+ Heatmaps, it seems that this hallway skip starts occurring at around keystone levels +15 and up. It’s not extremely common, but that’s where it seems to start occurring. If you click the Heatmap above to view it on the mainpage, try toggling its different keystone level filters.
If you didn’t catch the video about this skip in the previous tab for the Expert Cinderbrew route, you can see Kira perform it in his +16 Cinderbrew Meadery video below:
Otherwise, if you’re looking for a simpler skip with less requirements and risk, the skip proposed in our Intermediate route is popular across nearly all keystone levels.
Dispels to Bring
| BLEED | |
|---|---|
| NPC | Ability |
| Venture Co. Patron | Mean Mug |
| Worker Bee (trash) | Shredding Sting |
| Ravenous Cinderbee (boss mob) | Shredding Sting |
| Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
 Evoker → |  Paladin → |  Dwarf → |
Quick Boss Guides
In a hurry? Get the mechanics of each boss in Cinderbrew Meadery:
Darkflame Cleft
Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, The Candle King
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You DO NOT wish to use Invisibility Potions or have a Rogue / Priest for skips
- You are in a PUG without voice comms
- You’re in a lower key and won’t be too impacted by going over on enemy forces count
Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, The Candle King
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You wish to use Invisibility Potions or have a Rogue and for the two skips
Mythic+ Heatmaps – What We’re Seeing in Keys
One of the more interesting things we’ve seen in Darkflame Cleft is that some top runs have opted for pulling trash onto the first boss to leverage the assistance from the minecarts to help run over that trash; however, the Expert route we’re providing from Felflames does not pull trash onto that first boss, as the route is still highly efficient with two very nifty skips that save a large chunk of time.
If you do not have a
Rogue for Shroud / Sap skip after Blazikon before you perform the stairs skip to The Candle King right after, you can skip some of the trash towards the last boss or wherever you’d like.Two of the most time-saving skips we’ve seen in Darkflame Cleft are both demonstrated back-to-back in the following clip from Shindig. Some groups skip one or the other, but Shindig’s group opts to skip both:
As shown in the clip, the skip at the stairs uses a spot where the invisible wall seems to have a break in it, and they use a
Priest Mind Soothe to keep the pack at the base of the stairs from accidentally pulling as the group makes their way safely onto the boss’s platform.We can start to see the pack before The Candle King being skipped in Mythic+ Heatmaps data in +14s and up, but this is by no means a “common” skip at the moment – it’s just a particularly good one, as it can save you around 2 minutes worth of time:
Dispels to Bring
| BLEED | |
|---|---|
| NPC | Ability |
| Menial Laborer | Crude Weapons |
| Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Evoker → | Paladin → | Dwarf → |
| DISEASE | |
|---|---|
| NPC | Ability |
| Pack Mole | Nasty Nibble |
| Requirements | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evoker → |  Monk → | Paladin → | Priest → | Dwarf → |
Quick Boss Guides
In a hurry? Get the mechanics of each boss in Darkflame Cleft:
Mechagon Workshop
Bloodlust Timings
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You DO NOT wish to use Invisibility Potions or have a Rogue for skips
- You are in a PUG without voice comms
- You’re in a lower key and won’t be too impacted by going over on enemy forces count
Bloodlust Timings
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You wish to use Invisibility Potions or have a Rogue for the two skips
Bloodlust Timings
Notes
Choose this route if:
Here is the Night Elf VDH skip skillfully demonstrated by Skylarked:
Yoda explains how to do this skip without a VDH in the video below. Instead, he uses a
Protection Paladin:
- You’re working on a really high key that’s pushing the top of the Leaderboard
- You’re in a highly coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)
- You have a Night Elf Vengeance Demon Hunter for the final skip towards the last boss (can be any tank class, but they will have to sacrifice themselves if not a Night Elf VDH due to the threat drop granted by Shadowmeld).
Here is the Night Elf VDH skip skillfully demonstrated by Skylarked:
Yoda explains how to do this skip without a VDH in the video below. Instead, he uses a
Protection Paladin:Quick Boss Guides
In a hurry? Get the mechanics of each boss in Mechagon Workshop:
Operation: Floodgate
Bloodlust Timings
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You’d like a flexible PUG route where you can either do one skip towards the end (see route) or just go a little over enemy forces count by doing that one extra pack
Bloodlust Timings
Pull 1, on cooldown, and Geezle Gigazap
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You’re working on a really high key that’s pushing the top of the Leaderboard
- You’re in a highly coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)
- Classes that were used to perform this route on a stream and to enable the skips were Night Elf Vengeance Demon Hunter,
Assassination Rogue, 
Discipline Priest, and Water Walking or Path of Frost from their 
Elemental Shaman and 
Death Knight
Dispels to Bring
| BLEED | |
|---|---|
| NPC | Ability |
| Venture Co. Diver | Harpoon |
| Venture Co. Architect | Nailed |
| Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Evoker → | Paladin → | Dwarf → |
Quick Boss Guides
In a hurry? Get the mechanics of each boss in Operation Floodgate:
Priory of the Sacred Flame
Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, on cooldown, and Prioress Murrpray in Phase 2
Mythic+ Heatmaps – What We’re Seeing in Keys
With a few weeks of the new Season under our belt, we have data to review on whether people like to go up the left or right stairways towards the first boss, and the results are in…people prefer to go left!
In high keystones on the PTR for Season 2, we saw a lot of groups trend-setting up the right side due to a safe spot that trivialized the otherwise formidable miniboss Forge Master Damian. However, this unintended tank-and-spank was recently hotfixed, which has caused key pushers to start finding new avenues of success in this dungeon.
As such, we now see most groups go left to an overwhelming degree across all keystone levels:
Dispels to Bring
| BLEED | |
|---|---|
| NPC | Ability |
| Fervent Sharpshooter | Caltrops |
| War Lynx | Grievous Rip |
| Sergeant Shaynemail | Lunging Strike |
| Captain Dailcry | Pierce Armor |
| Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Evoker → | Paladin → | Dwarf → |
Quick Boss Guides
In a hurry? Get the mechanics of each boss in Priory of the Sacred Flame:
The MOTHERLODE!!
Bloodlust Timings
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You DO NOT wish to use Invisibility Potions or have a Rogue / Priest for skips
- You are in a PUG without voice comms
- You’re in a lower key and won’t be too impacted by going over on enemy forces count
Bloodlust Timings
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You want to use Invisibility Potions or have a Rogue / Priest for skips
- You’re in a coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)
- You want to do a pull and then skip to the first boss for efficiency, such as the skip demonstrated by Kesslive:
Mythic+ Heatmaps – What We’re Seeing in Keys
The MOTHERLODE!! is one of those dungeons with heavy trash density and it can feel a bit overwhelming to learn how and where to start performing skips as you climb in IO over the course of the Season. Let’s take a look at what’s happening in keystones +15 and up since that’s where a decent chunk of the IO-pushing player population will be moving towards.
Unlike many popular high MOTHERLODE routes in BFA which skipped a ton of trash towards the final boss (fully popularized by BFA Season 4 due to the accessibility of skips with the Seasonal Awakened affix), it is now very difficult to skip past many of those pesky little landmines.
We’re seeing the top groups heading to the first boss as quickly as possible via a big skip. However, rather than turning around after the Coin-Operated Crowd Pummeler and backtracking some of that early trash count, groups are heading straight to Azerokk since the popular BFA skip(s) towards Rixxa Fluxflame are no longer possible either in the MOTHERLODE remake for The War Within.
Here’s a video of Kesslive and his group that shows how to skip to the first boss and slam a +16 Motherlode:
Dispels to Bring
| BLEED | |
|---|---|
| NPC | Ability |
| Taskmaster Askari | Heavy Slash |
| Earthrager | Jagged Cut |
| Azerite Extractor | Puncture |
| Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Evoker → | Paladin → | Dwarf → |
| POISON | |
|---|---|
| NPC | Ability |
| Venture Co. Alchemist | Caustic Compound |
| Hired Assassin | Toxic Blades |
| Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
 Druid → | Evoker → | Monk → |
| Paladin → |  Shaman → | Dwarf → |
Quick Boss Guides
In a hurry? Get the mechanics of each boss in The MOTHERLODE!!
The Rookery
Bloodlust Timings
1st pull, on cooldown, and Voidstone Monstrosity
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You do not wish to do any skips
- You are not in voice comms / prefer to do something simple and safe
Bloodlust Timings
1st pull and either Pull 8 (highly recommended) or Voidstone Monstrosity
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You’re doing higher keys and want to do one relatively simple skip
- You’re in a coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)
Notes
Choose this route if:
This route also contains a skip just prior to the second Bloodlust at Pull 8 by utilizing a Night Elf Vengeance Demon Hunter to pull mobs to the side and Shadowmeld on his way back while the group Shrouds around the corner with the Rogue:
- You’re in a highly coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)
- You’re pushing competitive keys on the Leaderboard and want to do some of the most advanced skips, such as the Parasol skip demonstrated by Vibezz and his group below:
This route also contains a skip just prior to the second Bloodlust at Pull 8 by utilizing a
Night Elf Vengeance Demon Hunter to pull mobs to the side and Shadowmeld on his way back while the group Shrouds around the corner with the Rogue:Dispels to Bring
| CURSE | |
|---|---|
| NPC | Ability |
| Corrupted Oracle | Seeping Corruption |
| Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Druid → | Evoker → |  Mage → |
| Shaman → | Dwarf → |
Quick Boss Guides
In a hurry? Get the mechanics of each boss in The Rookery:
Theater of Pain
Bloodlust Timings
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You want a simple and straightforward route for a lower key or a PUG
- You are not in voice comms
Bloodlust Timings
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You want an efficient route that utilizes some skips
- You’re in a coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)
Bloodlust Timings
Notes
Choose this route if:
- You want to replicate what some of the highest key pushing groups did in Shadowlands
- You’re in a highly coordinated group (voice comms, friends, etc.)
- You want to carefully optimize Bloodlust timings for high keys
Dispels to Bring
| BLEED | |
|---|---|
| NPC | Ability |
| Bone Magus | Bone Spear |
| Gorechop | Jagged Gash |
| Shambling Arbalest (boss mob) | Jagged Quarrel |
| Advent Nevermore / Harugia | Ricocheting Blade |
| Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Evoker → | Paladin → | Dwarf → |
| CURSE | |
|---|---|
| NPC | Ability |
| Nefarious Darkspeaker | Curse of Desloation |
| Portal Guardian | Shadow Vulnerability |
| Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Druid → | Evoker → | Mage → |
| Shaman → | Dwarf → |
| DISEASE | |
|---|---|
| NPC | Ability |
| Blighted Sludge-Spewer / Diseased Horror | Decaying Blight |
| Rancid Gasbag | Vile Eruption |
| Disgusting Refuse | Withering Blight |
| Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Evoker → | Monk → | Paladin → |
| Priest → | Dwarf → |
Quick Boss Guides
In a hurry? Get the mechanics of each boss in Theater of Pain:
Links
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About the Author
VitaminP (VP) is the Content Manager of Raider.IO. VP holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and has worked for Raider.IO since the formation of its News Section in November 2018. VP specializes in tanking classes and has loved doing competitive Mythic+ on and off since early Legion.
About the Editor
Gogogadgetkat has been playing WoW since late BC, and has been the GM of her guild Propaganda since its creation in 2014. As a career healer, Kat has a number of CEs and old-school heroic kills under her belt, all on a variety of healing classes and specs—she’s a serial altoholic! In addition to Mythic raiding and a little Mythic+, creating safe, inclusive spaces in gaming is her longtime passion; Kat has been an admin for the Perky Pugs community since late BfA, and is also a founding council member and the Executive Director for the DEIBAJ initiative VISAGE. She is excited to bring her wealth of experience and love of writing to the Raider.IO team.
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