Blizzard Details Midnight Season 2 Mythic+ Philosophy and Opens Testing
by JR Cook - 4 months ago show comments
Blizzard just dropped a detailed look at how they’re approaching Midnight Season 2 Mythic+, and it’s worth reading if you’ve been wondering why certain dungeons keep coming back (or why some finally got the boot). The blue post covers their entire philosophy around dungeon selection, how they update returning content, and what’s already been tweaked for Season 2. Spoiler: they’re addressing those pain points everyone complained about last time.
Testing is live right now on the PTR, running through July 22nd. Altar of Fangs is up first (June 25 to July 1), followed by the four Midnight dungeons the week after, then the three legacy picks. If you want to give feedback on Seat of the Triumvirate, Temple of Sethraliss, Kings’ Rest, or Ruby Life Pools before they go live, this is your window. Keystone vendors are set up in the capital cities, and your gear will auto-scale to item level 226 if you’re undergeared.
The philosophy post is the real meat here. Blizzard walks through how theme factors into dungeon selection (L’ura showing up in Seat of the Triumvirate ties directly into the Sunwell storyline happening in March), how they balance variety across the pool, and what kind of work goes into updating a dungeon that didn’t land well in a previous season. They mention looking at feedback, internal playtests, and early development discussions to figure out what needs fixing. It’s one of the more transparent dungeon design posts we’ve gotten in a while.
If you’re serious about pushing keys in Season 2, getting hands-on time during the test windows is huge. The Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset is a solid budget pick for clear comms during dungeon testing, and the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 gives you the precision you need when every mechanic matters at higher key levels.
We’ve been paying close attention to the discussion around the Midnight Season 2 dungeon pool. Some of that discussion has focused on returning dungeons with pain points from past seasons, and some has focused on the unique mechanics in the Midnight dungeons. That feedback is useful, and it lines up with the work we do internally when building a season. We want to take this opportunity to share more about how we choose dungeons, how we update them for Mythic+, and what we’ve already done for Midnight Season 2.
Choosing Dungeons
When we begin choosing dungeons for a Mythic+ season, the first thing we look at is which dungeons might fit the theme of the upcoming update. Sometimes that means reconnecting players with a story, character, or place that is relevant to the game’s current story. With L’ura threatening the Sunwell in March on Quel’danas, it was a great time to bring that character back and show the start of her relationship with Alleria in Seat of the Triumvirate. Other times, it is more about shared themes, like the connection between trolls, snakes, and the Curse of Ul’atek. Not every dungeon needs to point at the same story or tone, though. A dungeon like Ruby Life Pools can help the pool feel more varied by giving players a change of pace from the patch’s main themes, as can a dungeon like Skyreach from Midnight Season 1.
From there, we think about the shape of the full pool. Each dungeon should bring something distinct, whether that is its theme, layout, pacing, visual style, or mechanical identity. We want the season to feel varied from key to key, with a strong mix of different places, different problems to solve, and different reasons to be excited about each dungeon in the pool.
Updating Dungeons
Selecting a dungeon for a new season is a big commitment. We need to believe that the dungeon can contribute to the goals of the season, but we also must commit to addressing aspects of the dungeon that didn’t play out well last time it was featured in a Mythic+ season.
Once we know a dungeon is returning, we look at it from a few angles: feedback from its previous appearance, our own experiences playing the live game, our internal playtests, and early discussion during t…
Greetings!
Midnight Season 2 dungeon testing begins on Thursday, June 25th. Please note that this schedule may be adjusted.
- June 25 – July 1: Altar of Fangs
- July 2 – July 8: Midnight Dungeons
- The Blinding Vale
- Den of Nalorakk
- Murder Row
- Voidscar Arena
- July 9 – July 15: Legacy Dungeons
- Temple of Sethraliss
- Kings’ Rest
- Ruby Life Pools
- July 16 – July 22: All Season 2 Mythic+ Dungeons
During the test period you’ll be able to acquire and customize Mythic Keystones by talking to the Keystone Vendor in Stormwind, Orgrimmar and Silvermoon. The nearby Dungeon Teleports NPC will assist you with transportation. This NPC will now also appear at the beginning of each dungeon on Mythic difficulty who can teleport players back to a capital city.
Provided that the items equipped on your character are at least item level 226, they will scale automatically to a higher level as needed to support Dungeon testing.
Thanks for testing and sharing your thoughts with us! We’ll be reviewing your feedback closely and will continue to post updates throughout the beta as changes roll out.
