World of Warcraft Chart Shows Concerning Drop in Mythic Dungeon Runs
The number of players completing Mythic Dungeons in the popular game World of Warcraft has significantly decreased compared to previous data, as Season 2 of the expansion Dragonflight enters its seventh week. Despite being considered one of the best expansions in the game’s history, Dragonflight has struggled to retain its player base since the exodus of players during the Shadowlands expansion. When compared to past expansions, fewer players are participating in endgame content, with a steep drop in dungeon runs for Dragonflight on a weekly basis.
Despite Season 2 of Dragonflight being anticipated to have challenging content, the developers made adjustments to the difficulty of Mythic Dungeons, making them more manageable. The Embers of Neltharion update also introduced the Aberrus raid, which had one of the fastest World First completions in the history of World of Warcraft. However, Season 2 saw even less player engagement in Mythic Dungeons compared to Season 1, which are essential for gearing up at the maximum level.
A chart posted by NORATHEDESTROYER, a prominent member of the World of Warcraft Reddit community, shows a comparison between the number of completed Mythic Dungeons in Season 2 and Season 1 of Dragonflight. The only week where Season 2 performed better than Season 1 was the second week, mainly due to the notoriously difficult affixes during that week in the inaugural season of Dragonflight. In Week 6 of Season 2, there were less than a million dungeon runs in total, leading many players to question the continued decline.
The decline in engagement with Mythic Dungeons in World of Warcraft can be attributed to two main factors. The releases of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Final Fantasy 16, and Diablo 4 in May and June have attracted players away from the game. Additionally, the significant nerfs to healers in World of Warcraft have made playing as a healer less appealing, especially in Mythic Dungeons where healers already faced more challenges compared to other roles. These factors, combined with a shortage of healers, have made the experience of finding groups for Mythic Dungeons even more frustrating for players without a dedicated group.
As a result, many players are choosing to spend their gaming time on other titles like Final Fantasy 16 instead of enduring the tedium of struggling through difficult dungeon runs. It remains to be seen what the future holds for World of Warcraft in Season 3 of Dragonflight, but it wouldn’t be surprising if healer buffs play a significant role in enticing players back.
World of Warcraft is available for PC.
The amount of players completing Mythic Dungeons in World of Warcraft has dropped significantly compared to previous data, as Season 2 of Dragonflight enters its seventh week. Though Dragonflight is widely considered to be one of the better World of Warcraft expansions, the numbers haven’t been kind since the player exodus in Shadowlands. When measured up against past expansions, fewer players were engaging with endgame content, as dungeon runs in Dragonflight dropped off steeply on a week-to-week basis.
While Dragonflight Season 2 was slated to have challenging affixes, the developers had pivoted back from their initial vision for Mythic Dungeons, nerfing the newcomers down to a more manageable level. The Embers of Neltharion update also brought forth the Aberrus raid, which had one of the shortest races to World First in World of Warcraft history. Despite this, the pattern from Season 1 continued, and Season 2 saw even less engagement from players in Mythic Dungeons, arguably the bread-and-butter of gearing up at level cap.
The chart was posted by NORATHEDESTROYER, one of the more prominent members in the World of Warcraft Reddit community, which compared the numbers for completed Mythic Dungeons in Dragonflight Season 2 and Dragonflight Season 1. The only week it had a better performance than Season 1 was in its second week, largely because Week 2 in Dragonflight‘s inaugural season had an infamously hard affix cocktail. Week 6 of Season 2 saw less than a million dungeon runs in total, prompting many players to muse about the continued drop.
The main culprits in World of Warcraft‘s dwindling engagement, at least as far as Mythic Dungeons are concerned, are twofold. May and June saw the release of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Final Fantasy 16and Diablo 4 – a Blizzard title that keeps breaking sales records. The other factor concerns the major healer nerfs implemented in World of Warcraftseemingly as a way to reel healers back from their damage-dealing responsibilities. Healers already had a stressful experience in Mythic dungeons compared to other roles, and the new affixes continue to favor them even less.
These factors, coupled with the overall shortage of healers, have made “pugging” an even more miserable experience for World of Warcraft players without a dedicated group. Teams are more content going one-and-done during a Mythic Dungeon night, as the gameplay has slowly shifted from being fun to tedious. Instead of spending an hour on a bricked key, many would choose to boot up their PS5 and go exploring with Torgal in Final Fantasy 16 instead. While it remains to be seen what Blizzard has in store for players in Dragonflight Season 3, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if healer buffs played a significant part.
World of Warcraft is available for PC.
