No, this is not going to be another “git gud” thread. Not in the least. I have prepared this post to hopefully help some of you naysayers that believe that you can’t get into higher keys …well, get into higher keys. I know you think you’re being held back, but hear me out. Follow these steps and start enjoying higher key content!
Get your gear up
This can be accomplished in many ways. LFR, Warfronts, Arathi (and soon to be darkshore maybe) rares, WQ, etc. An item level of 350-355 is sufficient to start running anything up to a +3 keystone. I would recommend doing a world tour of M0 at least once. There is plenty of ilvl 370 gear to be had in there as well! Once you reach 365-370 or so you can start pushing a little higher!
Learn the dungeon mechanics
By this I mean that you need to know the trash mechanics as well as the boss fights. In BFA there is trash in dungeons that can and will wipe your group. Know which adds have critical abilities that need to be interrupted. Don’t be afraid of your interrupt button. It’s off the GCD and can be used at will. I know casters probably have to lose a GCD if they are mid-cast of another spell but dead DPS do no damage!
Start by running your own Keystones
This one is important. If you have a very low IO score it is unlikely you are going to be invited to higher level keys. Love it or hate it, IO is a quantifiable measure of your experience in a dungeon. Can it be misleading? Sure. There are folks out there buying carries but this is the exception, not the rule.
Know the affixes and how to deal with them
This is a hard rule. For example: If it is a bursting week it is the responsibility of the DPS to not kill everything in a manner which will cause the bursting stacks to become unbearable. If it is bolstering week it is the responsibility of the DPS to smooth out DPS so that all trash dies within seconds of one another. If it is Necrotic week it is the responsibility of the tank AND DPS to control the adds so the tank can drop stacks. You get the picture.
Use Voice Communication
This is particularly important on higher keys. If you don’t communicate you have 4 people using an interrupt on the same ability and then there is no interrupt remaining for when it is cast again. You can use Discord, Skype, or the In-game voice. They are all viable options and can save your key from extinction!
Utilize your BNET friends list!
Did you just run the smoothest +7 of your life with a tank you’d never met before? Ask him if you can add him/her so that you can run with them again. By doing this you increase your chances of success in higher level keys as you have played with these people before and know how they operate.
Be on top of your game!
Anything +7 and above you may want to bring a flask and food. I always come prepared with buff scrolls as well just in case we don’t have all buffs available. I try to provide my group with the highest possible chance of success.
Be patient.
You will not, I repeat, will NOT complete every key you run in time! Attempt to complete the dungeon anyway if your group is willing to stick it out. Even failed M+ dungeons are worth IO points and the experience with the trash and bosses is valuable indeed! Try not to become too salty when someone up and leaves your key. This will happen a few times and I can say that with the utmost certainty.
Be understanding
Currently, +10 keystones award gear on par with Heroic Uldir. If you don’t get invited because your item level is 350, don’t be upset. MOST people don’t get to go into Heroic level raiding at 350 either. Check the loot tables on WoWhead for what item level gear drops at that key level and try to be within 10 ilvls of that content. That will help your chances a lot!
Be tenacious
Nothing that I’ve listed above will come overnight. Ranking up in M+ is a tedious process at best. It will NOT be a source of instant gratification, but if you follow these steps, you will very likely be having the time of your life (in game) before you know it.
Get some helpful addons
I currently run Method Dungeon tools, AngryKeystones, Keystone Roll-Call, and Keystone Helper to help me through the dungeons. They are not required by any means but are more of a QoL improvement. *Suggested by Jolie - QE Dungeon Tools. Adds a mouseover tooltip that will allow you to see which trash mobs have trivial or critical abilities that must be interrupted. Exorsus Raid Tools is also exceptional as it adds a party/raidwide cooldown tracker window so you always know when BREZ or other critical abilities are available.
Downgrade your key if necessary.
This is being added due to the 8.1 patch notes. You are no longer able to delete your keystone if you find it to be something undesirable. My best advice for this one, which I actually used in Legion, is to downgrade the key 2 levels and then try to 2-chest it for a different key of the same level. Is that tedious? Yes. Is it worth it? Debatable, that’s up to you to decide.
The challenge of M+ is extremely gratifying and immeasurably frustrating all at the same time. Personally, I find it to be some of the best content available. Some may disagree and some are going to call this list stupid. I’ve got thick skin, I can handle it. I just hope it helps SOMEONE out there who thinks that they are hitting some imaginary barrier to content. M+ is NOT a gimme system, it is one that you have to earn your way into. When you do, you’ll thank yourself for it!
Good luck out there. Hope to see you all in Azeroth!
Really good list. The trash mechanics in most cases are more important than the boss mechanics.
I also would add 1 thing to the list… Get in voice with your group. I promise it will help a ton with cc, stun rotations, interrupts, cooldown usage. I actually have no idea how people push keys without voice coms
Basically people are upset they cannot control people that go in dungeons anymore so they try with some “point system” gating system. sick.
I just make my own groups and if they are griefers or quit i ignore them never to run with them again… since i like to tank alot they miss out huge. Never do i require a inflated insane IL or a “io score” lol. nice try though.
The fact that you call it a “gating point system” just brings to light that you don’t understand its function. As far as “can’t control people that go into dungeons”, well, there is no queue at all for the M+ system so people most certainly CAN control who gets into their groups and who doesn’t.
The point of this thread is not to keep people OUT of the M+ system, but to help them gain entrance. A wider pool of skilled and experienced players does nothing but benefit the rest of the M+ community. If you don’t like it then just don’t participate.
that is utter crap and you yourself note that it is used to shun other players. It means nothing about true game skill or experience in dungeons actually. Stop spreading misinformation, you do not NEED io score to get in mythic dungeons.
Negativity is having players jumps through hoops to experience the content, more like griefer activity actually.
Ya u do you, i’ll do me…
I hardly think that the average intelligent person is gonna wanna group with your attitude… and they don’t need some job application to do a dungeon in a video game either, but feel free to demand people use it.
/facepalm
The is why LFR is a good thing puts those pesky carriers out of business and the elitists in their place.
When did working your way up a ladder of difficulty begin to be “jumping through hoops?” You have to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run. I do find it a little disconcerting that you are bringing all of this anger and upset into a thread literally designed to help players move up in their content.
My attitude? My attitude is fantastic! I’m happy to help those that truly need or want it. A job application? Demand people use it? IO is a completely passive thing that accrues over time using Blizzard’s own API and Armory system.
LFR is a good thing. Good thing this thread isn’t about that. I also hope those pesky carriers are put out of business and if you think I’m displaying elitism, you truly have no concept of what the word actually means.
lol…its a dungeon in a video game, not a place to gate others from. io score gates others from entering into groups based on experience. just stop.
Don’t use it people… I’m in there and do not require it as well as many others dont require it. It is not needed to be a “successful” mythic dungeoneer lmao.
Now go chase more carrots on dem sticks.
What you are saying is people should have to “prove” their movie watching skills to see a new movie. That’s sad.
I’ll assume you’re posting on an alt then since you are a “successful mythic dungeoneer” but your IO and Armory have you completing an average of 0 dungeons on that difficulty ever. Otherwise you are just being salty and trying to drive what is supposed to be a helpful thread into the ground. Nothing I have said is harmful to anything, except for maybe your incredibly fragile ego.
Trashing my video game image is not gonna help you pump up your epeen score pal. nice try though… i have a real job, and it’s not wow.
Thanks for showing your true colors.
You talk of “helping people” but io score goes against that completely.
Read this:
Its so toxic and terrible people want it banned…
It is a bad thing to hold people hostage to not let them experience higher end content because of their “experience”… You basically do not care about new players so please stop claiming you do. You have already proven you don’t care about others based on experience.
I do feel bad for you however because anything new in life that may come your way you crave the need to have some addon or rating system in place to experience the unknown. That is a weakness, not a strength in my eyes.
Playing wow is not some job interview and they need to step away from that diseased attitude.
An entirely opinion based piece written by a fellow player, just like me. He has his opinion and you CLEARLY have yours. I agree that requiring absurdly high IO scores for low keys is detrimental, but never did I mention that being a thing. I specifically said that low IO scores will keep you out of HIGH keys. You are cherry picking your argument, sir, and I no longer have time to beat my head against the brick wall of your stubbornness. I’ll bid you good day, sir, and continue on trying to help people that actually want it and stop wasting it on people who refuse to see anyone else’s point of view.
![:thinking:](https://d38bqls1q93fod.cloudfront.net/en/wow/images/emoji/twitter/thinking.png?v=6" ":thinking:")