World of Warcraft’s Mythic+ playerbase has firmly decided that running dungeons while the Tyrannical affix is enabled is still a pain—so much so that many players are simply refusing to run Mythic+ dungeons while the affix is active.
In a data study posted to the WoW subreddit by user NORATHEDESTROYER earlier today, it was found that the Mythic+ playerbase experiences a week-over-week dropoff whenever the main affix present in dungeons is Tyrannical. Dating back to at least Shadowlands, Tyrannical weeks average anywhere between 30 to 40 percent fewer Mythic+ runs than Fortified weeks. The data used in this particular study was likely accrued from WoW stats site Raider.io.
Throughout Dragonflight, the number of Mythic+ runs during each of the Tyrannical weeks this expansion has been lower than the number of runs completed in the preceding Fortified week. Between weeks five and six of the expansion, 33 percent fewer Mythic+ runs were completed, with the game seeing a nearly perfectly balanced 33 percent increase the following week once Fortified returned to the affix pool.
The most dramatic dropoff between a Fortified and Tyrannical week this expansion came between weeks one and two of Dragonflight season one. In the first week of the M+ season, over 3.2 million runs were completed, while only 1.8 million runs were completed the following week once Tyrannical was activated. Keep in mind, though, that data could be skewed considering a large number of players were trying out Mythic+ dungeons while they were brand new to the expansion during the season’s first week.
Is Tyrannical that much harder than Fortified?
Depending on the dungeon you’re running, as well as the other affixes enabled in the run, either Fortified or Tyrannical can end up being the harder affix to deal with. In certain cases, like when Bolstering and Fortified are combined nine times out of ten, you’re going to have more headaches when Tyrannical is the baseline affix.
Dealing with Fortified, which enhances the health and damage of trash mobs in dungeons, is far easier to manage. Depending on the strength of the mob, abilities cast by non-boss enemies are traditionally less hard-hitting than those used by bosses. Wiping to a boss is also far more punishing in Mythic+ runs, especially after pulls in which you dedicate resources like Bloodlust only to wipe the encounter and lose a chunk of your timer without making any progress. In PUGs, experiences like that could disband a group altogether, leading to data points that reflect fewer completed keystones during Tyrannical weeks.
Related: All classes with a Bloodlust effect in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
In Dragonflight, certain bosses like Melidrussa Chillworn in the Ruby Life Pools and The Raging Tempest in The Nokhud Offensive can completely make or break a Mythic+ run, and those boss fights’ importance is only heightened when Tyrannical boosts their HP by 30 percent. Unfortunately, those fights (and many others) usually do nothing more than place a throughput check on the shoulders of healers and DPS. If bosses don’t die fast enough and players’ health bars aren’t topped off at all times, one misstep could completely brick a keystone.
WoW’s Mythic+ dungeon rotation is currently in the midst of a Tyrannical week, with Spiteful, Quaking, and Thundering as accompanying affixes.
This article will be updated when next week’s weekly reset cycles and the Mythic+ affix pool is refreshed. The trend of more players completing Mythic+ dungeons during Fortified weeks is expected to continue next week.
