Dragonflight Season 4 Mythic+ Rotation and the Keystone Squish
Dragonflight Season 4 Awakened brought back all eight DF dungeons and first squished the Mythic+ ladder to 1-10, the structure M+ still uses today.
By:
John Langan
Key Takeaways
- Dragonflight Season 4 "Awakened" launched on April 23, 2024 (Patch 10.2.6) as the expansion's send-off season before The War Within.
- The Mythic+ pool was all eight Dragonflight dungeons, and Season 4 was where Blizzard first squished the keystone ladder from 1 to 20 down to 1 to 10.
- Under the new scaling a +2 matched the old +11, a +5 matched the old +15, and a +10 matched the old +20, with the best rewards capped at +10.
- The baseline Mythic 0 lost its timer, affixes, and talent lock; Mythic+ keystones, including the new +10, kept their timers.
- Affixes were reorganised to appear at +2, +5, and +10 rather than the old +2 / +7 / +14 layout.
- Three Dragonflight raids rotated weekly as "Awakened" with no Fated-style affixes, feeding a gear economy of Awakened Crests and Antique Bronze Bullion.
Season 4 was a celebration season, but it also quietly rebuilt how Mythic+ scaled. Here is what the "Awakened" rotation actually changed, and which of those changes are still with the game today.
What Dragonflight Season 4 "Awakened" was
Dragonflight Season 4, branded "Awakened," ran from late April 2024 until The War Within pre-patch that summer. Rather than ship a brand-new dungeon pool, it brought back all eight Dragonflight dungeons and rotated the expansion's three raids as weekly "Awakened" features. The goal was a victory-lap season that revisited the best of Dragonflight while Blizzard tested a major Mythic+ scaling overhaul ahead of the next expansion.
The eight Dragonflight dungeons
The full Season 4 Mythic+ rotation covered every Dragonflight dungeon:
- Ruby Life Pools
- Brackenhide Hollow
- The Nokhud Offensive
- Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
- Neltharus
- The Azure Vault
- Halls of Infusion
- Algeth'ar Academy
Dawn of the Infinite, Dragonflight's megadungeon, sat outside this pool. It received its own Hard Mode update with fresh tuning and rewards but was never part of the standard keystone rotation.
The Mythic+ level squish
The biggest change was structural. Season 4 compressed the keystone ladder so that the meaningful range ran from a baseline Mythic up to +10, instead of climbing toward +20 and beyond. A +2 was tuned to the old +11, a +5 to the old +15, and a +10 to the old +20, with the top rewards landing at +10.
The baseline Mythic 0 was reworked into a relaxed entry point: no timer, no affixes, and no lock on swapping specs or talents, all on a weekly lockout and tuned to roughly the old +10. Heroic dungeons were buffed in turn to sit near the old Mythic 0 level. One detail the early coverage muddled is the timer: only the baseline Mythic 0 lost its clock. Mythic+ keystones, including the new +10, were still timed runs.
Affixes and the new difficulty bands
Affixes were re-slotted to match the squished ladder. Instead of stacking up at +2, +7, and +14, they arrived at three clean breakpoints:
| Keystone level | Affix added |
|---|---|
| +2 | Fortified or Tyrannical (the weekly seasonal affix) |
| +5 | A second affix such as Entangling or Incorporeal |
| +10 | A third affix such as Bursting or Bolstering |
With fewer affixes spread across a shorter ladder, each level felt like a cleaner step up, and groups had an easier time finding partners within a narrow band of keystones.
The Awakened raids and gear economy
The "Awakened" name came from the raids. Vault of the Incarnates, Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible, and Amirdrassil, the Dream's Hope took turns as the spotlighted Awakened raid each week, tuned up to Season 4 difficulty and dropping current loot. Unlike the Fated raids of Shadowlands, the Awakened raids did not carry rotating affixes; the appeal was the loot and the reputation, not extra modifiers.
Gearing ran on two currencies. Awakened Crests came in Whelpling's, Drake's, Wyrm's, and Aspect's tiers and upgraded gear alongside Flightstones, while Antique Bronze Bullion dropped from Awakened raid bosses and bought guaranteed catch-up pieces. Together they let returning players and alts climb back into relevant gear quickly during the short season.
How Season 4 shaped Mythic+ going forward
The squish was not a one-season experiment. The 1-to-10 ladder, the timerless baseline Mythic, and the +2-as-entry structure that debuted in Season 4 carried straight into The War Within and remain the shape of Mythic+ today. In hindsight, "Awakened" was less a farewell to Dragonflight than a live preview of the system every later season would inherit.
FAQ
Which dungeons were in the Dragonflight Season 4 Mythic+ pool?
All eight Dragonflight dungeons: Ruby Life Pools, Brackenhide Hollow, The Nokhud Offensive, Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr, Neltharus, The Azure Vault, Halls of Infusion, and Algeth'ar Academy. Dawn of the Infinite was not included.
Did the Mythic+ squish start in Season 4 or in The War Within?
It started in Dragonflight Season 4. Blizzard introduced the 1-to-10 keystone ladder and the timerless baseline Mythic in April 2024, and The War Within kept that structure rather than inventing it.
What did a +10 equal under the new system?
A +10 in Season 4 was tuned to roughly the old +20, and it became the level where the best Mythic+ rewards and rating capped out.
Were the new baseline Mythic dungeons timed?
No. The baseline Mythic 0 had no timer, no affixes, and no talent lock. Only the Mythic+ keystones above it, including the new +10, kept a timer.
What were the Awakened raids?
Vault of the Incarnates, Aberrus, and Amirdrassil rotated as the weekly Awakened raid. Each was tuned to Season 4 difficulty and dropped relevant loot, but unlike Shadowlands Fated raids they had no rotating affixes.
Can you still play Dragonflight Season 4 content?
The seasonal rotation and rewards ended when the season closed in 2024. The dungeons themselves are still in the game at standard difficulty, but the Awakened tuning, currencies, and rating were retired.
If you want a clean clear of the current Mythic+ season instead, our team can push a Mythic+ key for you on demand. Last reviewed 2026-06-28 against Patch 10.2.6 Awakened. Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.