WoW’s Ion Hazzikostas explains how Mythic+ 11.1 changes will benefit players of all levels

World of Warcraft is entering its first major content update since The War Within’s launch, as Undermine(d) Patch 11.1 hits live servers. One of the areas getting some attention this time around is Mythic+, and it should benefit players of every ilk.

It’s no secret that Mythic+ players have been through a bit of a rocky period in the expansion’s first season. Player numbers have dropped off as time wore on and it became difficult for those running off-meta specs and classes to join groups.

Heading into The War Within, the Mythic Keystone system was squashed significantly, as former +10s served as the new standard for Mythic 0. This was designed to stop the spiralling system where teams were pushing ridiculously high keys, but it may have put more casual players off entirely.

To discuss what’s next for WoW’s prestige dungeon mode, we spoke with Ion Hazzikostas and Maria Hamilton to get the lowdown on their analysis of Season One and their intentions for Season Two.

Mythic+ changes in Season 2 should benefit everyone

Blizzard Entertainment

Though the figures for Mythic+ might seem stark on first inspection, Hazzikostas explains that the reduction in player count was an expected consequence of additional content in The War Within.

“We’ve made a lot of big changes to the system of going into War Within and now in Season Two, our focus is on making that the people who enjoy Dungeons as their primary playstyle are having a satisfying, fun experience. The fact that the community has observed that there seems to be fewer people doing Mythic Plus later in the season than there were in the past, isn’t a problem in and of itself.

“Delves exist. Delves didn’t exist in the past. By definition, the existence of a new endgame activity is going to pull some players away from a playstyle that maybe wasn’t their preferred way to spend their time in WoW, but was something they felt forced into as their only way of continuing to advance.

“So, it’s no surprise. But when we’re hearing from players, as we were over the course of Season 1, that they really love Dungeons and Mythic+ is the primary activity that they enjoy, but they were finding elements that they weren’t satisfied with. That’s really spurred action and become our primary focus as we move into Season 2.

“We’re really trying to improve the experience for all levels of play. As we laid out in the blog a few weeks ago, we want to make sure there’s an approachable on-ramp to the Mythic+ system and that the rewards from the lower end of the system are relevant, even to players who have come with some Delve experience and Delve gear.

“This sets them up for initial success so they can learn the dungeons and their mechanics at the introductory levels as opposed to feeling rushed into the advanced levels before having the basic knowledge.

“Equally, the changes being implemented by the team aren’t solely aimed at bringing new and returning players into the fold with a gentle introduction. Higher end player should find their efforts more rewarding than ever before once 11.1 arrives.

“On the other end of the spectrum, for people who are at the very high end, pushing past where the rewards stop getting stronger and are just trying to chase prestige and leaderboards and rankings, we want to improve quality of life.

“We’ve implemented changes like a new set of achievements that we’ve added that basically allow players to set a floor for their keystones below which they won’t de-level. Let players really push their skill at the high-end of the system, stay there instead of feeling like they have to constantly retread the same ground over and over again.”

The Undermine(d) content update Patch 11.1 is set to go live on February 25, with Season Two following a week later on March 4.