Xal'atath's Bargain
Weekly modifier — varies by week
What it is
Xal'atath's Bargain is a weekly-rotating affix introduced in The War Within and carried into Midnight Season 1. Each week, a different Bargain variant activates — Demon, Pulsar, Mocking, Voidbound, and others — each adding a unique mechanic that interacts with how groups pull, soak, or kill.
How the affix works
Bargain rotates one of several pre-defined variants weekly. Common variants include Demon (mobs drop weakening pulses), Pulsar (defeated mobs spawn healing orbs), Voidbound (tethers between players forced to move together), and Mocking (mobs ignore the highest-threat target periodically). Variant on the current week is shown in the keystone tooltip and Wowhead's affix tracker.
How our squad plays around it
Our squads brief the active Bargain variant before pull. Demon weeks favor steady throughput over burst; Pulsar weeks favor controlled pulls so the orbs can be picked up at intervals; Voidbound weeks demand pre-pull positioning planning; Mocking weeks shift threat-management to the tank. Mismanaging the Bargain affix is the #1 cause of dropped timers on +14 and above.
When this affix is active
Bargain activates at +5 and above. Until +7 the impact is mild; at +12 (where Xal'atath's Guile also activates) the combined affix load forces deliberate pull planning.
Other affixes in the rotation
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