Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound is this week's Mythic+ affix. These Void Emissaries spawn every so often in Mythic+ keys, causing mobs to take reduced damage. Unless you deal with this affix, mobs won't die, and keys are sure to be overtimed.
Here's a concise guide explaining the Voidbound affix and best strategies in keys:
Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound Guide
Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound is one of the four new affixes in The War Within. Every 75 seconds, Xal'atath will summon a Void Emissary with a large shield equivalent to the average health of a mob for that key level.
Unfortunately, the Voidbound affix also has some additional rules that players have to be aware of:
The Void Emissary has an aggro table and must be picked up by the tank
The Void Emissary must be directly targeted. It can't be cleaved down
The Void Emissary reduces enemy mobs' damage by taken by 10% every 3 seconds that it's alive
The Void Emissary often spawns at the end of combat or in between packs in M+
The Void Emissary's shield cannot be AOE purged
When the Void Emissary is defeated, party members receive 30% ability cooldown reduction and 20% increased Versatility for 30 seconds!
One of the first things player will notice in keys is that the Void Emissaries aren't static ghosts like the Incorporeal affix from Dragonflight. Void Emissaries have an aggro table and must be picked up by a tank. Although the mobs don't melee, DPS or healers who aggro the emissary can run away with them and prevent them from being defeated.
Additionally, Void Emissaries need to be directly targeted in order to do damage. They won't automatically start taking cleave damage when it spawns in a pack.
Since Void Emissaries continually reduce the damage mobs take, there's no point cleaving when the mob is active. Players should directly target the Void Emissary and do single target damage to defeat the mob as soon as possible.
The Void Emissaries spawn every 75 seconds, and it must be defeated for it to go away. In Dragonflight, when incorporeal spawned, they would despawn if the group was close enough to being out of combat. Unfortunately, the Voidbound affix doesn't work the same way. Once the mob spawns, it must be defeated. Maybe Blizzard will rework the affix in the future.
Certain classes have extra utility when it comes to the Voidbound affix. Blood Death Knights can save stacks of Exterminate to quickly defeat the mobs. Windwalker Monks can spam Touch of Death on emissaries, making easy work of them.
Other Mythic+ Affixes in The War Within
Season 2 of Mythic+ in The War Within reworks some of the Xal'atath's Bargain affixes introduced in Season 1 and replaces Xal'atath's Bargain: Oblivion with a new affix: Xal'atath's Bargain: Pulsar.
Season 2 also pushes the first affix from starting at keystone level 2 to keystone level 4. Players won't see any of the Xal'atath's Bargain affixes until level 4 keys.
On Level 4 mythic keystones, players see the first affix - one of Xal'atath's Bargains, which changes every week. For Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant, once a minute 10 orbs of ascendance will spawn that cast Cosmic Ascension. If these casts go off, the orbs will buff enemy mobs with 20% movement speed and haste per orb. If all the players interrupt, crowd control, or purge every orb, players will receive a 20% haste buff themselves.
On weeks with Xal'atath's Bargain: Pulsar active, Xal'atath attaches pulsars around players for 15 seconds. After 15 seconds, the pulsar releases its energy to nearby creatures, granting them 10% increased damage and 20% damage reduction for 20 seconds. If players soak the Pulsar themselves, they will get increased Mastery and Leech for 30 seconds.
The final variation of Xal'atath's Bargain is Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour. Players will receive a Void Rift shield that either needs to be healed or dispelled, similar to the Afflicted affix in Dragonflight. This week will require a group composition with multiple dispels. If the shields aren't removed, enemy mobs will be healed for 10%. Players that successfully have the absorb shield removed will get 2% health and a 4% critical strike buff.
On top of these new seasonal affixes, mythic keystones also have additional challenges on higher levels:
On keystone level 7, either Tyrannical or Fortified will become active, alternating every week. On Tyrannical weeks, dungeon bosses will have 30% more health and deal 15% more damage. On Fortified weeks, all non-boss enemies will have 20% more health and 20% more damage.
On keystone level 10, Tyrannical and Fortified will both be active for the entire key.
On keystone level 12, Xal'atath's Bargains will no longer be active. A lot of players mistakenly think that 12's are easy because you don't have to deal with an affix, but don't underestimate how helpful the buffs from completing Xal'atath's bargains are!
The Season 1 Affix Challenger's Peril has been renamed Xal'atath's Guile. Every death in a keys +12 and above will deduct 15 seconds from the time remaining.
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