Beyond Azeroth: How Skills from Other Games Apply to Mythic+
As the online gaming industry evolves, some of the world's most predominant games have become more refined and competitive. Skill ceilings have increased, which has significantly raised the barriers of entry into many games. This can feel daunting to newer players. When embarking on a new game, they may feel overwhelmed as they consider how to take their very first steps.
World of Warcraft (WoW) can be an especially daunting venture, as the game has been live for over 17 years. Many WoW players are grizzled veterans, and there is a lot of information to process when you first get started. Fresh WoW players may feel as if they are too far behind to ever catch up in terms of gaining skill or critical knowledge to play the game at a “meaningful” level.
Whether you’re a new WoW player, a returning former player, or someone looking to get into more competitive WoW content, there is some good news: Many parallels can be made between WoW and other genres of games.
Today, we draw comparisons between WoW and other games to outline transferable skills and core concepts to Mythic+. With a primary focus on Multiple Online Battle Arena (MOBA) and Real-time Strategy (RTS) games, we will discuss how your gaming skills from beyond Azeroth can be translated and applied to your dungeon adventures.
Table of Contents
MOBA and RTS Games
First up, we’ll discuss MOBA and (RTS) games. These games fit right into the fantasy world, and most have a similar top-down play style. In fact, WoW is a continuation of the original Warcraft RTS games. However, the crossover does not stop there; your skills from the older Warcraft games and many others such as League of Legends, DOTA, Starcraft, Command & Conquer, and more can help you in Mythic+!
Skills that translate:
Both MOBAs and RTS games require attention to keybinds. In MOBAs, your keybinds are paramount to casting your spells and abilities as you play. RTS games have even more in-depth keybind requirements, as most buildings and units are attached to (or can be attached to) keybinds. Keybinds are the…key…to a good zerg rush! While many MMORPG games allow you to click your spells, keybinds are generally considered to be more efficient, as they may allow you to attain a higher DPS or HPS output and increase the speed at which you can reactively cast your spells and abilities.
Ability timing is crucial to your success in MOBA and RTS games. A well-timed heal, shield, or crowd control (CC) can make or break a play. Abilities that promote mobility are also important in these games to gain a massive advantage over your opponent. In like manner, timing your abilities well in Mythic+ can make or break a trash pull or make a dangerous boss mechanic survivable. For example, an AoE stun on a dangerous trash pack can save your tank’s life in a moment when they are vulnerable, and a perfectly-timed healing cooldown can keep your party alive through a period of heavy incoming damage.
Swift and accurate target selection are also key in both MOBA and RTS games. In Mythic+ there are often important “priority” targets that need to be quickly focused for either burst damage, interrupts, and/or crowd control.
Crowd Control (CC) is also of particular importance to Mythic+. Targets will frequently need to be stunned, knocked back, slowed, silenced, or interrupted. Learning about various types of CC is important, and CCs can be found in MOBA and RTS games as well.
One way of tracking CC is through a buff and debuff system. Typically, CC will be tracked as a debuff on your target. However, Buffs are usually beneficial effects on your own character(s). Both buffs and debuffs make a huge appearance in RTS and MOBA games, and Mythic+ is no different. In World of Warcraft, many classes can buff your allies, usually in the form of a stat boost or a shield (such as Bloodlust). CC is essentially a debuff that can be placed on your enemies in Mythic+; however, other effects such as DoTs are also considered debuffs.
RTS and MOBA games generally require good positional awareness. In these genres of games, it is very important to pay attention to the map, enemy movements and locations, how and where your enemies are setting up, and where you yourself are setting up. These same skills can help you focus on where you are positioned in a fight, and being mindful of your surroundings so you don’t accidentally pull a nearby enemy pack.
For MOBAs specifically, route planning can come into play. While MOBAs are largely PvP games that come with a whole host of variables that players must adapt to in real-time, a little route planning for roles like the Jungler can go a long way. The Jungler needs to consider their route through the jungle so that they can help their team and be in the right place at the right time. Similarly, Route planning is a huge part of pushing higher keys in Mythic+. Although routing can be prescripted more in Mythic+ than that of the Jungler in a MOBA game, using addons like Method Dungeon Tools (MDT) allows players to make routes and strategies together. With MDT, players can make routes on their own or with their teammates, and even revise them in real-time. Optimal dungeon paths can vary for each group depending on the party’s composition and weekly affixes, so learning how to effectively plan and revising your routes can give you a huge advantage in Mythic+.
While also primarily in MOBA games, Builds and Talent selections also make a small appearance in some RTS games. This directly applies to Mythic+, as frequently the talent selections you make in WoW are unique to different game features. For example, Mythic+ is very different from PvP, so having an understanding of different talent choices gives the player a good head start in either stepping into Mythic+ for the first time or advancing further into higher keys.
Resource management is an interesting skill, and one that makes appearances in many forms. RTS games are known for resource management; however, this practice applies to Mythic+ as well. On a smaller scale, you may have a limited number of crowd control abilities or interrupts and must manage how to use them effectively each pull. In Shadowlands dungeons, there are some covenant-specific resources such as buffs, temporary high-damage pets and abilities, debuffs, and utility, etc. These resources are very limited and unique to each dungeon, so they must be used efficiently.
Understanding and managing group composition is one of the fundamentals of team gameplay. MOBA games make frequent use of not only role synergy, but also “class” synergy. For example, in League of Legends, players must select from an assortment of damage champions, a support champion, and oftentimes a tankier champion to fill each particular lane. When picking a champion to play for each match, players look at the champions picked by their teammates as well as the opposing team. Some combinations of champions synergize better than others. This is similar to a Mythic+ in that players can pick from an assortment of different classes that fit the roles required for the content (tank, healer, and three DPS). Much like MOBAs, certain class specializations synergize well together in terms of what they bring to a group such as utility, crowd control, and burst versus sustained damage. In this way, you may balance the classes represented in your Mythic+ group composition in a similar manner to that of a MOBA game.
Last but certainly not least, for MOBA and RTS games, the knowledge and skills used in these genres must be applied simultaneously, which brings us to Multitasking! Multitasking is key to success in Mythic+. In the midst of a chaotic pull, you may need to avoid ground mechanics while still doing damage or healing, and keeping an eye on various timers or interrupts.
First Person Shooter and Battle Royale Games
First Person Shooter (FPS) and Battle Royale (BR) games may seem like a far reach from an RPG game like WoW (although Hunters may disagree). However, there are some skills learned from these games such as Apex Legends, Overwatch, Valorant, Fortnite, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive that can be applied to Mythic+.
Skills that translate:
Target selection comes in the form of aiming. Both “tracking” and “flicking” train your hand to put the cursor where you want it to go, and when.
Ability Timing is mostly prominent in games such as Overwatch, Apex Legends, and Valorant. Much like in these three FPS games, you will need to time your abilities both properly and precisely to advance in Mythic+.
Example of “Ability Timing” in Apex Legends
Positioning and awareness are your key to survival in FPS and BR games, and in Mythic+, these skills can be the difference between a successful boss kill or a simple ground effect ending your run.
Economy and resource management apply here just like in MOBAs. Effectively managing your pool of interrupts and crowd controls will net greater success.
Strategy and Puzzle Games
Strategy and puzzle games tend to relate more to the planning side of Mythic+. This can be for an individual boss fight strategy, pulls, or overall dungeon planning.
Skills that translate:
Strategy development is key to finding the most effective and efficient way through each individual boss and trash pull, and it helps you plan your overall route through each dungeon.
Problem solving skills are very important for developing new strategies as the affixes rotate. While you may have figured out one set of rotational affixes, the same dungeon may present new challenges with a different set of affixes.
Source: xQcOW
Once again, resource management makes an appearance in puzzle games. While some cases of resource management may be straightforward like in RTS games and economy-based FPS games, other situations in Mythic+ may require some out-of-the-box thinking. In puzzle games, this could be something like having a finite number of spaces to place pieces. In tower defense games, players have a currency limit to restrict how many towers they can place and how powerful they can be, so managing currency efficiently and effectively makes a big difference. Viewing resource management in Mythic+ like you would in a puzzle game can help you be more creative in implementing your resources to their maximum capacity.
Racing Games
Racing games may seem like the farthest possible stretch from MMORPGs, but they actually have one very important skill that directly applies to Mythic+.
Skill that translates:
You can spend countless hours devising the perfect strategies and planning the perfect routes, but when the timer starts, it is up to the players to execute that strategy with the fewest possible mistakes. In any racing game, you can make it around the track; but to do so in the best possible time means lots of practice and, ultimately, execution of the perfect lap. In Mythic+, executing your route efficiently and cleanly will help you meet the dungeon timer and beat your past records.
Source: DragCarTV
Horror/Survival Games
This genre of game may also seem like a far reach from an MMORPG. However, there are a few skills that can be learned in this genre that allow for better Mythic+ execution.
Skills that translate:
With the perfect strategy in place, your group can set out to run the key, but executing this strategy in practice against the clock applies pressure. Horror games frequently place you in stressful situations, and learning to manage stress can help you stay calm in your Mythic+ runs.
Source: SaneTBD
In order to complete higher and higher keys, some risk taking may be required to increase your speed through a dungeon. Learning to balance what risks are worth taking can help you develop more advanced strategies.
Self preservation may seem like common sense, but with all of the information to track during a Mythic+ run, it is important to remember to monitor your health. A well-timed Spiritual Healing Potion or defensive cooldown can save both you and/or your teammates from a wipe.
Other MMORPGs
Finally, we get to the most obvious comparison: other MMORPG games. Many of these games have very different playstyles and environments. However, there are enough similarities between various MMORPGs that the skills are usually transferable.
There are too many similarities to list out, but the biggest differentiator between comparing WoW to other games versus another MMORPG lies in the general mechanics. At the end of the day, most MMORPG games have things such as telegraphed attacks, ground effects, variations on threat, class balancing, requirement for a Tank/Healer/DPS, and much more. The core mechanics are similar enough between MMORPGs that any veteran of this genre should feel comfortable taking the leap into Mythic+.
Closing Thoughts
You may be thinking to yourself that some of these concepts in each genre can apply to other genres, and you would be correct. While the focus of this article was about what each category of game can teach you for Mythic+, the resounding message of this article is that concepts and skills from any game can be transferable to all manner of games. With the right learning-centered attitude and perspective, no barrier of entry is too high. World of Warcraft can be another place to test your skills and knowledge from other games and vice versa. If you are someone who plays other games and worries about your skill decaying in your time away, fear not. Your knowledge from WoW and any other game can help keep you sharp for all of your gaming adventures.
If you love Mythic+ and want to get your friends from other games involved, encourage them to jump right in and have fun!
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About the Author
MarianasTrench (Mari/Marinara) is an MMO veteran who has played most classes in Mythic+ and Mythic raiding. He is a staff member at the Mythic+ Friends Discord. While he loves Mythic raiding and higher Mythic+ content, he also enjoys helping other players get involved and expanding the Mythic+ community through the Mythic+ Academy at Mythic+ Friends.
