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Before you open the dungeon list

The Mythic+ screen looks like a spreadsheet written by someone in a hurry. Names, icons, timers, a number that goes up. Here is a way to read it without feeling lost. It works whether you play tank, healer or damage, and it assumes you are brand new to keys this season.

A few players also look at WoW Boosting for the longer runs when their evenings are short, and that is a perfectly ordinary thing to consider. The list below is for the runs you want to do yourself.

Reading the list itself

1. Find the Season 2 pool. Only the dungeons in the current rotation count for keys. Older ones may be in the group finder, but they will not feed your rating.
2. Look at the timer. Each dungeon has a target time. Beating it upgrades your key, missing it depletes it. Newcomers should aim to finish rather than race.
3. Note the affixes. Weekly modifiers change how a dungeon plays. Read them once at the start of the week and you will understand why people keep shouting about certain mobs.
4. Check the key level. The number is a difficulty setting. Low numbers are forgiving and give gear of a decent quality. Start there.

Picking which dungeon to run first

• Choose a dungeon with a short route. Fewer pulls means fewer places for something to go wrong.
• Prefer places where your class has a clear role. A tank who knows the boss mechanics makes everyone’s evening nicer.
• Avoid the ones with long, complicated trash packs until you have seen a few runs.
• Watch one video or read one page for the route. Five minutes is enough.

Getting into a group

• Use the group finder, filtered to your key level. Do not apply to fifteen levels higher than your gear.
• Write a short note in your application: item level, role, and anything useful like a battle resurrection.
• If you tank or heal, expect fast invites. If you deal damage, expect to wait and apply to several.
• Be on time. A late arrival to a short key is a quiet way to lose a group.

During the run

1. Follow the tank. If you are not sure when to pull, watch the character in front of you.
2. Interrupt what you can. A well-timed kick avoids half the damage in many dungeons.
3. Speak up politely. If you do not know the route, say so. Most groups will walk you through it.
4. Use your cooldowns on bosses. Not on the first pull of the day.

Reading your own score

• Your rating rises with each timed key and climbs faster on the dungeons where you do best.
• Do not chase the number early. Your first weeks should be about learning pulls, not polishing a score.
• Look at the weekly best for each dungeon. It tells you which ones you are comfortable in and which ones still feel like a fog.
• When you can finish three or four different dungeons on time, step up a level, not before.

Little things that save a run

• Bring a flask or food if your group likes them, but do not panic if you forget.
• Learn the shortcut skips in your favourite dungeon. Even two of them shave a lot of the walking.
• Say thank you at the end. People remember who was pleasant and invite them again.
• If the key is going badly, agree early whether to finish for the practice or leave. Dragging it out in silence is the worst of both.

If you are the tank or healer

You are the scarce resource, which is both a gift and a mild burden. Invites arrive quickly, so take a minute to read the group note before accepting. A tank sets the pace, so pick a pace you can sustain without panic. A healer keeps an eye on the group rather than just the health bars, and learns which pulls ask for a defensive cooldown. Neither role needs perfection on day one, just a willingness to say what you are about to do in chat.

If you try a role for the first time, tell the group. Nine out of ten will answer with advice rather than complaints, and the tenth you can leave.

After the key finishes

Check what dropped, and check the Great Vault, which rewards the number of keys you completed in the week. Spend crests on a piece you plan to keep. If the run was rough, do not take it personally; keys are a skill and the first few are always messy. Note one thing you would do differently and go queue again.

A short weekly rhythm

One or two keys a night is plenty for a newcomer. By the end of a couple of weeks you will recognise the pool, the group finder will feel less like a lottery, and the idea of stepping up a key level will stop sounding scary. If you also want to practise group play outside keys, a run through The Voidspire, the previous raid, is a good complement.