Challenge Mode

"You won't get loot from challenge modes: there's no stopping for loot, so there's none of that — I know anybody who's done the Amani War Bear, um, remembers the drama of, 'But I wanna loot!', 'But we got 15 seconds! Gogogogogo!'"

—Patrick Magruder, Lead Software Engineer, MoP Behind the Scenes

Challenge Mode was an advanced mode for 5-player dungeons designed for players looking for the ultimate test of coordination and skill. In challenge modes, players are tasked with trying to complete an existing 5-player dungeon as quickly and skillfully as possible.

Depending on how well the group does, players will receive recognizable prestige rewards such as mounts, pets, titles, achievements, or special armor artwork that can be used with transmogrification to customize a character's appearance. Players who obtain a realm-best time in a Challenge Mode dungeon (group must contain at least 3 people from the same realm to qualify) will receive a temporary title specific to each dungeon (e.g. <Siegebreaker> for Siege of Niuzao Temple, <Darkmaster> for Scholomance, etc.). This title will persist for as long as a player retains the top time on the realm. Holding a realm-best time at any point will also confer a permanent Feat of Strength to record the accomplishment.

Challenge Modes exist in expansion-long seasons, reflecting challenges in completing current content with the abilities currently available to players. At the end of each season, the current Challenge Modes are removed, and associated achievements are converted into Feats of Strength. Realm Best titles are removed, and replaced with another title appropriate to the expansion, such as <Mistwalker>. Other rewards such as cosmetic armor sets, mounts and teleport spells remain in the possession of those who have earned them.

Challenge Mode medal times and current guild and realm bests can be viewed through the Challenges interface, part of the Group Finder. Full leaderboards can be found in the "Community" section of the official website, to compare performances with guild mates, the entire realm, or the entire region.

Notes[]

Timed dungeons runs to earn medals - Bronze, Silver and Gold.
While times and leaderboards can be accessed through the Dungeon Finder tool, Challenge Modes cannot be queued for.
Gear is normalized, everyone will have exactly the same item level on their gear.^[1] This is a skill based exercise and gear doesn't matter.
Once a Challenge Mode has started, characters can no longer change specializations, talents, or glyphs.
Rewards will be very awesome looking gear for Transmogrification purposes (no stats). Players will also earn [Valor] since the goal is to let players progress your characters no matter what they choose to do.
Challenge Modes will require you to be on the same server as other players.^[2]
The inspiration for challenge modes comes from events such as the 45-minute Baron Rivendare runs in the original Stratholme dungeon, or the timed Zul'Aman raid run for the [Amani War Bear].

Challenges[]

Instance	Time		Reward
Temple of the Jade Serpent	Gold	00:15:00	60
	Silver	00:25:00	50
	Bronze	00:45:00	40
Stormstout Brewery	Gold	00:12:30	60
	Silver	00:21:00	50
	Bronze	00:45:00	40
Gate of the Setting Sun	Gold	00:13:30	60
	Silver	00:22:00	50
	Bronze	00:45:00	40
Shado-Pan Monastery	Gold	00:21:00	60
	Silver	00:35:00	50
	Bronze	01:00:00	40
Siege of Niuzao Temple	Gold	00:19:00	60
	Silver	00:30:00	50
	Bronze	00:50:00	40
Mogu'shan Palace	Gold	00:14:00	60
	Silver	00:24:00	50
	Bronze	00:45:00	40
Scholomance	Gold	00:20:00	60
	Silver	00:33:00	50
	Bronze	00:55:00	40
Scarlet Halls	Gold	00:13:30	60
	Silver	00:22:00	50
	Bronze	00:45:00	40
Scarlet Monastery	Gold	00:13:30	60
	Silver	00:22:00	50
	Bronze	00:45:00	40

Patch changes[]

Patch 7.0.3 (2016-07-19): Merged into the new system for Mythic dungeons.
Hotfix (2014-11-13): Characters can switch specializations once more after the Challenge Mode has started.
Hotfix (2014-11-05): Once a Challenge Mode has started, characters can no longer change specializations, talents, or glyphs.
Patch 6.0.2 (2014-10-14):
- Mists of Pandaria challenge modes have been removed, with all associated rewards made unobtainable. New Warlords of Draenor challenge modes are available at level 100.
- The "Undaunted" title awarded for completing every Challenge Mode dungeon with a rating of Bronze or better is now account-wide.
- Characters that have completed every Challenge Mode dungeon with a rating of Silver or better now has access to all four Pandaren Phoenix variants (Crimson, Ashen, Emerald, and Violet), and the mounts are also account-wide.
- Realm Best Titles held by the players who had the best clear time for a given dungeon on a given server have been removed and will receive a new title of Mistwalker to commemorate the accomplishment.
Patch 5.4.0 (2013-09-10): Players who obtain a realm-best time in a Challenge Mode dungeon (group must contain at least 3 people from the same realm to qualify) will receive a temporary title specific to each dungeon (e.g. <Siegebreaker (title)> for Siege of Niuzao Temple, <Darkmaster> for Scholomance, etc.). This title will persist for as long as a player retains the top time on the realm. Holding a realm-best time at any point will also confer a permanent Feat of Strength to record the accomplishment.
Hotfix (2013-06-21): Resetting a Challenge Mode will now reset the cooldowns for Invisibility and Lesser Invisibility Potions.
Patch 5.1.0 (2012-11-27): Cooldown timers greater than 5 minutes will now reset between attempts on Challenge Mode dungeons.
Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28): Added.