I see a lot of posts on here complaining about M+ not being accessible or people generally confused on how to progress so I figured I’d make a step by step write-up on how to get 3K as a casual player. You can skip steps, and sure you don’t have to follow the general progression path but if you choose not to, you have only yourself to blame.
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Start by selecting a class/role that suits your ideal time investment. I play disc it’s a meta healer role which since I don’t have a ton of time to play, I need to play something that’s highly sought after. You can play Ret pally if you want, but you’re competing against everyone who fotm rerolls.
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Go to warcraftlogs find the highest rated player for your class/spec and copy/paste their talents and learn to play it. Read your spells and how they interact with each other.
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Get starter gear from the hallowfall nightfall or LFR and upgrade it as far as weathered/carved crests will get you. This should get you to at least 640+ which will make +2 keys trivial.
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The most IMPORTANT part of prog is to complete ALL KEYS at +2, then all at +3, and then +4, and so on. If you think ‘that will take forever,’ timing 8 dungeons takes 4 hours of gameplay, and you need to fill your vault anyway. You NEED the io, the gear, the valorstones, the crests, and the EXPERIENCE to do the next higher difficulty of keys. This is the most critical step people miss because they think ‘oh my io is 2k, I can do 10s.’ That’s completely incorrect. There’s too many addons telling the party leader that not ONLY is your io/ilvl not high enough, you have only done a +7 of this key so why in the world would they take you for a +10 when another guy in group finder has 3 chest a +11. People don’t want to waste their time and brick their key. You have to remember you are competing for position AGAINST OTHER PLAYERS, not against Blizzard not opening a door for you to let you in. In other words, if you have not at LEAST timed all 9s on all dungeons, you will NEVER be invited to a +10, that much is safe to assume. Also consider raiding for extra loot/crests. You can make this step 10x easier or skip most of it entirely if you play with friends or guildies/mostly the same people all the time. I personally did not have this luxury I pug myself to 3K in LFD, but friends will teach you, have more patience, funnel you gear, and skip key difficulty with you/carry you at times.
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The higher you go, the better you have to be at the game. This isn’t just pumping dps. This is knowing which spells to interrupt that will wipe your group (I.e. withering discharge TOP), and using your kicks. If your total kicks per dungeon is like 6, then the problem is you. Know which spells you need to save your stuns for that cannot be kicked (gunk in WS/the spinning things in floodgate etc.) and what spells you have available to assist. There are also pulls (elementals in priory) that will do insane damage that COULD KILL YOU if you do not use your defensives. Your journey through your keys will train you on which events these are that bring you extremely low/kill you. Get good at cycling defensives to increase your chance of success. Even more so if you have party-wide spells like amz or mass barrier. If you don’t know from your experience, watch a video, there are plenty on YT. If you refuse to learn how to get better, the problem is you. These videos will also sometimes teach you tips and tricks that your class/spec can do that pugs will EXPECT you to know. Educate yourself, or expect to sit at 2k.
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If you get stuck or can’t seem to climb, the issue might be you. Consider using an app to replay the last few minutes of your gameplay to see where the group when wrong. Use details to track your dps/hps/death log/interrupts so you can learn from your mistakes. If you are incapable of humbling yourself and considering everything you could have done to save that pull/dungeon you probably will not be successful. There’s something to learn from every failure.
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Timing is important. Realize that we are like 12 weeks into the season. There are MANY players over 3K it’s like 4% of total players now which is a lot, and these people still need to crest cap every week so you’re competing with them. What will save you time, and keep you competitive is by raising your io early in the season to be competitive with the other people applying. If you’re at 2k right now you’re a noob but if you hit 2k first week that’s actually something. If you spend four weeks at 2500 expect to sit in queue for awhile before you get an invite when you return to m+.
I personally didn’t have much trouble or find it very hard to get 3K, I timed almost all of my 12s and went from 2600-3000 in a weekend playing like 4-6 hours a day. But I’ve been playing this game forever, if you’re newer it might take longer but by following these steps you really can’t fail. Most people just want to jump into 10s straight away for vault. You’re only doing that with friends who are amazing at the game or if you’re paying for it.