Mythic+ is World of Warcraft's timed, infinitely scaling dungeon mode: five players slot a Mythic Keystone at the dungeon entrance and race a clock while extra affixes buff the enemies. Beat the timer and the key upgrades one to three levels; miss it and it drops a level. You loot the final boss either way, and every run counts toward your weekly vault.
How a Mythic+ run actually goes
- Get a keystone. Clearing a Mythic dungeon gives you a key in your bags. It names one dungeon from the current season's pool and a level.
- Form a group of five. One tank, one healer, three damage. Only one key is used per run — the group decides whose.
- Slot it at the pedestal just inside the entrance and activate it. The timer starts when you pull, not when you place the key.
- Clear trash to 100% enemy forces and kill every boss. The percentage bar is not optional — a dungeon with all bosses down but 96% forces is not complete.
- Watch the clock. Every death shaves seconds off it, and that penalty gets harsher as key levels climb. A few sloppy wipes can cost you the timer on their own.
- Finish. Loot drops from the last boss, your key rerolls into a new dungeon, and the run is banked toward your weekly rewards.
What beating the timer gets you
| Result | Key change |
| Finished inside the timer | Upgrades +1 |
| Finished well under the timer | Upgrades +2 |
| Finished very far under the timer | Upgrades +3 |
| Completed over time | Drops one level |
| Abandoned before the last boss | Nothing — no loot, no score, key stays |
What are affixes in Mythic+?
Affixes are extra rules layered onto the dungeon as key levels rise. Low keys run clean. Past set thresholds you pick up a weekly rotating modifier — usually one that buffs bosses or one that buffs trash — and higher up, a seasonal mechanic plus a stiffer death penalty.
The exact list rotates weekly and gets reworked every season, so don't memorise a blog table. Hover your keystone in your bags: it prints the affixes live for that level, that week.
What loot does Mythic+ give?
Two sources. End of dungeon: items drop from the final boss, and a timed clear gives the group more than an over-time one. Item level scales with the key you completed, up to a seasonal ceiling — past that point higher keys give score and vault quality, not better direct drops.
The bigger prize is the Great Vault. Run 1, 4 and 8 Mythic+ dungeons in a reset and you unlock up to three choices on Tuesday, with quality set by your 1st, 4th and 8th highest completed keys. Eight runs a week is the number to remember.
What key level should a beginner start at?
Start at the bottom of the range and go up in ones. The floor keys exist to teach you routes, boss mechanics and where your group's interrupts go, and they're where the affix load is lightest. Learn one dungeon properly before touching a second.
Your Mythic+ rating comes from your best run in each dungeon of the season pool, so breadth matters as much as depth — five decent keys across five dungeons beat one lucky high key.
What happens if you don't beat the timer?
The run still counts. You get end-of-dungeon loot, you bank vault progress, and you keep score for the completion — just less of it. The key itself drops a level. Depleting isn't a disaster; leaving at the third boss is, because that gives you nothing at all.
If you'd rather learn the routes alongside someone who runs them every day, PewPewShop offers Mythic+ coaching and play-together sessions with vetted human players — no bots, no cheats — from EUR 11.99. Handy if you're stuck on timers or chasing a rating target before the season ends.