Darkflame Cleft Mythic+ Boost (WoW: The War Within, Season 2)

Overview

Darkflame Cleft is a max-level dungeon located in The Ringing Deeps in World of Warcraft: The War Within. It features four bosses: Ol' Waxbeard, Blazikon, The Candle King, and The Darkness. Unique mechanics include managing light sources in dark areas and escorting a candle-lit cart through the mine. On Mythic+ difficulty, the dungeon is timed with a 31-minute completion window. Successfully beating the timer upgrades your Keystone, unlocking higher difficulty levels with enhanced rewards. Darkflame Cleft is part of the Mythic+ rotation in Season 2 of The War Within.

Boss Strategies

Ol' Waxbeard

Description: A grizzled kobold commanding the mine’s wild creatures.
Abilities:

Reckless Charge: Charges the furthest player, dealing heavy damage, knocking them back, and triggering a Cave-In. Wax Throw: Throws a lit candle at a random player, dealing fire damage and causing Menial Laborers to fixate on them. Minecart: Summons a minecart that moves along tracks, damaging players or adds in its path. Pickaxe: A tankbuster dealing significant physical damage and increasing the tank’s physical damage taken.

Mythic+ Specific Mechanic:

Dynamite Mine Cart: Spawns a cart that explodes after 20 seconds, dealing fire damage to all players and applying a fire debuff. It must be destroyed before it explodes.

Strategies:

Position near pillars to block Reckless Charge knockbacks. Assign a player to kite Menial Laborers during Wax Throw. Use the minecart to kill adds. Tanks should use defensive cooldowns for Pickaxe. Prioritize destroying the Dynamite Mine Cart immediately.

Valuable Loot:

Wax-Sealed Boots (Item Level 639–655) Kobold Miner's Lantern (Item Level 639–655) Blazikon

Description: A living flame thriving on fuel and chaos.
Abilities:

Wicklighter Barrage: Ignites candles around the room that must be extinguished. Extinguishing Gust: Extinguishes candles but damages players within a radius. Enkindling Inferno: Deals group-wide fire damage and applies a debuff increasing fire damage taken. Adds: Summons enemies that must be killed quickly.

Mythic+ Specific Mechanic:

Enhanced Flames: Adds spawn more frequently and deal increased damage.

Strategies:

Assign players to extinguish candles during Wicklighter Barrage. Avoid standing near candles during Extinguishing Gust. Use group-wide defensive cooldowns for Enkindling Inferno. Focus DPS on adds to manage the enhanced spawn rate.

Valuable Loot:

Blazikon’s Emberstone (Item Level 639–655) Flamelicked Gauntlets (Item Level 639–655) The Candle King

Description: A deposed tyrant wielding darkflame powers for vengeance.
Abilities:

Darkflame Pickaxe: Throws a pickaxe at a random player, dealing shadow damage and knocking them back. Throw Darkflame: Marks three players, dealing shadow damage and applying a healing absorb after a delay. Paranoid Mind: An interruptible cast that fears all players if not stopped. Wax Statues: Spawn around the room, pulsing damage until destroyed by boss abilities.

Mythic+ Specific Mechanic:

Empowered Statues: Wax Statues pulse damage more frequently and have increased health.

Strategies:

Position behind wax statues to mitigate Darkflame Pickaxe. Spread out during Throw Darkflame to minimize overlap. Interrupt Paranoid Mind immediately. Use boss abilities to destroy the empowered wax statues quickly.

Valuable Loot:

Crown of the Candle King (Item Level 639–655) Darkflame-Infused Ring (Item Level 639–655) The Darkness

Description: An ancient evil fought in a dark environment requiring light source management.
Abilities:

Shadowblast: Deals heavy shadow damage to players within a radius. Engulfing Shadows: Damages players not standing in light sources. Candle Cart: Must be pushed through the fight, with its candle kept lit to progress.

Mythic+ Specific Mechanic:

Fading Light: Light sources deplete faster, requiring more frequent relighting.

Strategies:

Assign players to maintain light sources and push the cart. Spread out to avoid overlapping Shadowblast damage. Relight the candle promptly if it goes out. Use defensive cooldowns during Shadowblast.

Valuable Loot:

Shadowbound Cloak (Item Level 639–655) Wick’s Lead (Mount, rare drop)

Mythic+ Affixes

Mythic+ dungeons feature weekly rotating affixes that add extra challenges. Examples from Season 2 of The War Within include:

Fortified: Non-boss enemies have more health and deal increased damage. Tyrannical: Bosses have more health and deal increased damage. Bolstering: Non-boss enemies buff nearby allies when they die.

Impact on Darkflame Cleft:

Fortified increases the difficulty of trash pulls, especially with light source management. Tyrannical makes boss fights like The Darkness more punishing due to Shadowblast. Bolstering requires careful pulling to avoid overwhelming buffs on adds.

Strategies:

Pull trash cautiously and use crowd control to manage Fortified and Bolstering. Save major cooldowns for Tyrannical boss encounters. Coordinate interrupts and stuns to handle affix-enhanced enemies.

Tips for Optimizing Your Run

To beat the 31-minute timer:

Trash Management: Pull carefully to avoid overpulling, especially with affixes like Bolstering. Crowd Control: Use stuns and interrupts on dangerous trash mobs. Role Assignments: Designate players to handle light sources and the candle cart. Communication: Coordinate cooldowns and movement with your group. Efficiency: Chain pulls where safe to maximize time.

Valuable Loot and Rewards

Completing Darkflame Cleft on Mythic+ difficulty offers:

Gear: Item Level 639–655 from bosses. Great Vault: Up to Item Level 662 based on your highest weekly Mythic+ run. Achievements: Mythic: Darkflame Cleft Keystone Hero: Darkflame Cleft (grants a teleport to the dungeon). Mount: Wick’s Lead (rare drop from The Darkness).

Boss-Specific Loot Summary:

Ol' Waxbeard: Wax-Sealed Boots, Kobold Miner's Lantern Blazikon: Blazikon’s Emberstone, Flamelicked Gauntlets The Candle King: Crown of the Candle King, Darkflame-Infused Ring The Darkness: Shadowbound Cloak, Wick’s Lead (mount)