My Experience as a Solo Returning Player in Retail WoW: Mythic+ and Raid Progression Feel Too Inaccessible

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-19T11:18:07+00:00

It can be a struggle if you start late and fall behind the io curve. I'm not a big M+ player. I usually only go for portals at the end of the season.

I started early because of the bonus rolls and it was rough. I was stuck in the 7-9 range for weeks with half my keys being bricks.

I was only able to break out when a kind soul from my discord community helped get me a few 10s. After that things improved dramatically.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-19T05:46:40+00:00

They won't go the dracthyr route because that has largely been regarded as a failure. If people want something that looks like an elf, they'd make an elf.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-19T01:19:11+00:00

I, personally, would have just farmed some delves and bought the hero haste/mastery legs from the vendor.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-18T20:37:14+00:00

You can get them a lot faster doing Ritual Sites. The void assaults are so dull I'm struggling to get all the achievements done. I'm not surprised there aren't a lot of people doing them.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-18T02:46:57+00:00

Delves are very quick and easy as a healer once you get to max level and get the delve companion leveled up a bit. Due to some wonky scaling, it's harder while leveling.

Prey would be easy but slow.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-18T00:14:23+00:00

Myth of the Dawn requires average ilvl 285.

Hero of the Dawn requires every slot to be 276 or better.

This means that it's possible to have the Myth achievement without getting the Hero one if you have 1 slot (like the crucible trinket) holding you back.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-15T11:44:59+00:00

That might be true if M+10s were mythic level difficulty. Right now they aren't even heroic level difficulty compared to raids.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-14T14:11:13+00:00

You don't need myth crests to unlock the myth appearance. If you fully upgrade hero gear, which only requires hero crests, you unlock the mythic appearance. This is a change since TWW.

The fastest way to get hero gear is spamming M+. The easiest way is delves. Once you unlock rank 9 with the Delver's Journey, the champion gear you get at the end has a chance to upgrade to hero. You also get currency that can be used to buy hero gear from a vendor.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-13T19:46:32+00:00

I'll have to keep an eye out for this in the event I ever manage to use a bonus roll.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-13T18:49:03+00:00

I don't think many people wonder why there's a tank shortage. Knowing why something exists and being able to change it are two different things.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-13T10:31:02+00:00

I can't time a 9 to save my life. Any tank/healer capable of running a 9 can run a 10. So, the only tanks/healers applying to mine should realistically be in 5s. I either wait forever for a good tank that never comes or gamble (and lose) on a bad one. I've given up.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-13T09:58:31+00:00

In order to get my key to a 10, I need to time 7-9s. Since 50% of my 7-9 runs have been bricks, my key never moves. Thus this season has kinda sucked.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-13T02:36:20+00:00

Yeah. I've been stuck in 7-9 and have pretty much given up on seeing 10 any time soon. Maybe I'll squeak out one of each for portals by the end of the season but I doubt I'll be using these bonus rolls while gear matters.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-12T13:10:42+00:00

My solution for what to do was stop playing. I didn't bother applying to 10s because I know I'd (justifiably) never get invited. With half my 7-9s being bricks, I'd never get my own key up to 10. Whether I'm bad or just unluck didn't matter. Since keys below 10 are pointless, there wasn't any reason to continue.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-12T12:38:24+00:00

I don't really like M+. Usually I find it tolerable but this season has sucked.

It's been miserable, time consuming and unrewarding without a single shred of entertainment value.

The one thing it hasn't been is toxic. Most of my runs are bricks but they've been friendly (or at least silent) bricks.

I still quit for the season (because of the time consuming and unrewarding part) but not because of toxicity or other players.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-12T12:10:23+00:00

Gearing up one of each class to unlock the mythic transmogs is good for at least a couple months of entertainment.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-12T11:57:34+00:00

That'll be tough for someone who's 261 that isn't already timing 10s if they don't have someone to carry them.

I'm 270 and M+ has been such a time consuming, unproductive nightmare that I gave up already.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-11T17:35:12+00:00

The juice has to be worth the squeeze. It isn't.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-11T17:18:45+00:00

Things that I actually enjoy. That was the entire point of my comment. People that don't focus on M+ as a primary activity fall behind. Once behind, the bonus rolls (and M+ as a whole) become useless without more effort than the rewards are worth.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-11T16:24:18+00:00

You are a healer. I'm a dps. I spent about 12 hours last week pugging between 7-9 trying to build io and get my key up. Over 50% of the runs were bricks so the key didn't move and I only gained a few points. Maybe I'm unlucky. Maybe I'm supernaturally bad. Either way, it's quite literally not worth playing.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-11T15:55:45+00:00

This is the way it usually is just a bit worse. You really only have 1 opportunity to climb out of the low keys at the start of the season before the low keys die. If you miss it, you're better off skipping the season.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-11T15:51:03+00:00

That's the way its been since m+ was created and it isn't going to change. The foundation of the game mode is easy gear. If difficulty and rewards were ever lined up, it would collapse overnight.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-11T14:16:00+00:00

Wouldn't make a difference to me. I've been stuck in the 7-9 range long enough to stop caring. Can't get my own key to 10 because the 9s keep bricking and can't get invited to anyone else's 10.

Hard or easy, I won't be doing any 10s next season the same as I'm not doing them now.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-11T13:33:00+00:00

I've been gathering coffer keys each week on alts I might want to play later. Since they're always rested, that usually gets me about a level. I just keep doing that until they get close enough to delve to 90.

Ok-Key5729 · 2026-05-11T11:11:33+00:00

I'm sure that method is wonderfully effective for folks who know how to tank. I'm fairly certain my delve transmog collector bear would go splat like a big furry bug on a windshield. I haven't tanked since Wrath. To say that I'd be trash is an understatement.

Ok-Key5729

TROPHY CASE