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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Top Five Instances
by David Nelson 
Oct 26th 2006 at 8:00AM
I have been in and out of the Wailing Caverns, Molten Core and Ahn'Qiraj a lot. And I am sure most of you folks have too. Some of the instances I like more than others, and some really stand out. But which are the five best? How would you rank them? For me it goes something like this:5. Scarlet Monastery It isn't too hard, it has a bunch of different wings and it has some fairly decent loot for the level. I had a hard time deciding between SM or Deadmines for my #5 spot, as I really like the big battleship in the cave thing. But in the end, SM has a little more going for it, even if it is a little played out.
4. Live Stratholme I find this instance annoying for the most part, however, I enjoy a little bit of theater in my instance runs, and when Balnazzar is revealed at the end, well...that is pretty awesome.
3. Blackwing Lair When I first entered BWL, I hated it. The Razorgore fight was too hard for my noob self, and then Vael just destroyed my guild for over a week. But then we beat Vael, got through the hectic suppression room, and took down challenging boss after challenging boss. It was a far cry from the straight on Molten Core fights, and I enjoyed the challenge an awful lot.
2. Upper Blackrock Spire I like this instance for two reasons. First, even with the 10 person cap, it seems to go by fairly quickly. Second, the boss fights, while not fabulous, are a nice preview of the skills you will need to progress in the Molten Core. Dealing with adds, fear and controlling aggro all come into play. Yes, the Father Flame event is not the best, but at least it keeps you on your toes.
1. Zul'Gurub Kind of an odd choice, but I just really like the instance. There is a nice progression in difficulty, as a newbie guild can down the Snake and Bat bosses, but it takes some skill to defeat Hakkar or Jin'Do. The loot is pretty good, and it is a very nice step up from UBRS gear. Finally, the instance itself is very well designed from a layout standpoint, more so since they reduced some of the trash mobs.
Sorry, I got a little wordy, but that is my top five. What's yours?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Jakob Oct 26th 2006 11:44AM
1. SFK - I love the feel of the whole place, it has some sexy drops, I just wish there were more quests there for alliance.
2. 45 min UD strath - I love the challenge, I love that you get extra loot for doing it, also strath is a pretty cool looking place, I mean fighting your way through a burining town? fun.
3. BWL - The Nef fight is just way too fun, It keeps everyone on their toes without going overboard. The other fights are nice fun too, I just wish the suppression rooms weren't so effing long.
4. Scholo - I love UD instances, what can I say, It might have something to do with me playin a paly. But this instance is really fun too, and I like the school aspect.
5. Naxxramas - It looks cool, the loot rocks, the bosses are interesting, but...
WORST Instances:
1. Naxxramas - I hate this place, last week we kill raz and anub with ease. This week the gods of randomness were not on our side. MCs broke early left and right in raz, and we barely got him down. Anub's locust swarm is on a random timer, and the casting animation didn't alway go off killing our MT multiple times, the corpse scarabs running and killing the MT's Aspect of the pack dude was also bothersome, but that's more preventable. I hate how random this place, and simple luck is is your biggest friend here.
AQ40 - The encounters are fun, but the loot sucks, and the rep grind is crazy. We've taken down half the bosses (only stalled by our lack of NR for Huhu) and I'm no where near getting out of hated rep. I suspect we'll have to farm the place to get the nice ring, sounds like it's going to turn into another...
MC - This place is too damn boring, the whole place is bland to look at, most of the fights are boring, and the loot is so so. I ended up passing on almost all of my T1 set as my random blues were better. The only interesting fight is Domo, other than that it pretty stratiforward with maybe a little bump in the middle of the fight. Furthermore, We've been runing it for a year, and have never gotten the binding from garr to make a thunderfury, or an eye for sulfurus, basically this place hates my guild.
Mauradon - This place looks pretty sometimes, but other times it has an MC thing going... except the princess, I think all the fights are tank and spank too... which makes for boredom.
BRD - This place is way too big for it's own good, it should have been modularized better.
Clementure Oct 26th 2006 11:27AM
5. Gnomer
Gnomer is where my first blue dropped. The high-tech look is a nice change from all the other gloom and doom instances.
4. Scholo
Scholo is great eye candy. The burning, ruined town is great to look at from any angle. There’s depth and details in every direction. There’s good loot in there for non-raiders.
3. Zul’Gurrub
Another instance that scores well for eye candy. Its fun to run around in there. (You can’t kill too many trolls. Die, troll, die!) In this instance the loot is based on XP and those idol and coin thingies, so its not as frustrating as trying to get your tier 0 stuff out of Strat.
2. Dire Maul
The loot isn’t so great in here. Dire Maul does look great, though, and as a Warlock I’m worth more here than in Strat and Scholo, due to there being so many elementals in here.
1. Dead Mines
The dead mines are just fun. They look great, the most non-Blizzard look in the game.
Worst:
1. Molten Core
I love the loot in MC, but the lava and cave motif is ugly. It takes forever to run it. You gotta go in here for your tier 1 gear. It’d be nice if they put in a chorus line of dancing succubi or something to relive the industrial monotony.
2. Oxy
Never been there. That’s why it sucks! Plus having to do that quest line to get in sucks.
3. BWL
See # 2 above.
4. Strat
Just try to get your tier 0 gear. It’s practically a rule: stuff will drop for whatever class isn’t in your party. Go buy the BOE tier 0 gear for your class in the auction house, and skip over to raiding.
5. Naxx
Get your rep up to revered with Argent Dawn, grind away in Scholo to get the righteous orb, get all the other crap you need in the AH. Then wait until your guild can handle it!
Samidare Oct 26th 2006 1:01PM
1. Deadmines (reminds me of goonies for some reason)
2. Scarlet Monistary -
3. Zg - a really fun and easy place. Short of Jin, he is a pimp and don't want you messin with his girls...
4. Uldaman - The opening of the vault always reminds me of Indiana Jones for some reason. And the final fight reminds of RZ fight from eq with all the adds popping on you and you have to kill him as fast as possible. Most people hate the place, but I love it.
5. ZF - The temple fight is always fun. And where else can you fight a monster like Ghaz'rilla
Dave Oct 26th 2006 5:03PM
Hmm...
A lot of Molten Core hate; I think the bosses are actually fairly interesting. Just too much trash mobs to go through. Come on Blizzard if we can kill one group of 'em we can kill all of 'em.
5. Strat Dead - Because killing undead is fun! Also a very fun final fight.
4. Blackwing Lair - We haven't gone in too far yet, but it's fast and doesn't have so much trash as Molten Core, and the bosses so far really put you on your toes.
3. Onyxia
Because slaying dragons is fun! There's the WOW factor whenever someone gets their first Onyxia kill.
2. Zul'Gurub
Well thought out bosses that vary in different ways make it a very exciting raid instance. Furthermore, no slacking!
1. Deadmines
There's an immediacy to the story, and great setup, or foreplay if you will. Unlike other dungeons where you just get dumped with the quests.
Gog Oct 26th 2006 12:52PM
5) ZG: Fun, colorful, offers a good challenge for great rewards. Always a good time.
4) RFD: Not enough alliance run this instance. It's quick, easy, and has some of the best loot you can get for that level. The skeleton fight is hilarious and worth the price of admission alone. The only difficult part is finding a group of alliance willing to go the Barrens.
3) Scholomance: Plenty of bosses and great loot. Very fun instance.
2) Deadmines: Good ol' VC. Tons of fun at any level. Still the most interesting boss fights I've seen.
1) UBRS: Fantastic loot, fun fights, interesting lore, and a very cool setting. What I love best is the number of people that get to go in. Ten is a perfect number for this instance, and I hope that there's new content in BC that features ten person dungeons. Best reason to get to 60 is UBRS.
Trudie Oct 26th 2006 2:04PM
1. Zul'Gurub — My guildies and friends and I have had the most fun here. The boss fights are interesting... the mobs have personality, and Hakkar is one of the most fun end-boss fights I've experienced so far(having never tackled Nefarian, C'Thun or Kel'Thuzad as of yet).
2. Scarlet Stratholme - Some things in this instance are brutally unfair (like a patrol sneaking up right as you engage the end boss)... but it's really one of the best ways to get rich quick in the whole game. The sellable loot here is amazing, so that's why I've continued to keep going there long after my quests were completed.
3. Scarlet Monastery - Hands down... running this place repeatedly is the best way to level between 35 and 41.
4. Zul'Farrak - I ran this place 15 times with my warlock to get Zum'rah's Vexing Cane... I should be sick of it, but I'm not.
5. Deadmines - For all of the reasons everyone has already said.
I HATE Blackrock Depths because it's way too big, and it's virtually impossible to ever finish the whole thing in one sitting. I also hate it because no matter how far you get into the endgame, there always seems to be a reason why you have to go back there (smelting, armorsmithing, coffer runs, tier 0.5 quests, etc.). It seems like you can never completely swear off the place. Also, LBRS sucks because it's way too long and boring. The rest of the instances are so-so.
Gog Oct 26th 2006 5:10PM
If I could add a quick bottom five since a few other people are doing so...
5) Stocks: Terrible drops, very uneventful. Shouldn't even count as an instance.
4) Live Strat: I don't like this based on class. There are no good drops for a mage. So I'm bit biased...
3) LowBRS: Way too long, and too many trash mobs. How many people are still on the Mother's Milk quest?
2) Gnomer: Dull scenery, confusing instance that doesn't seem worth the trouble.
1) Uldaman: What is good about this instace? Why is the boss level 48 elite when the mobs at the beginning are 35? Long, bland, poorly designed, easily my least favorite of the game.
Druid dide Oct 26th 2006 5:48PM
Favorite instances eh? Great subject!
5) Razorfen Downs.
Challenging at the correct level. The skelly pile event is cool, so is the spider gong thing. Also, it was the first instance that I went back to try soloing on my first 60. Still like to blast through there solo on my Fury warrior when bored.
4) Scarlet Monastery
Multiple wings, strightforward but fun encounters. I still go back there to farm for repair bills, consumables, etc.
3) BRD.
That place is just huge. That one area all the way downstairs with the super rapid respawning guys was my first taste of a suppression room sort of encounter. There are so many bosses and events in there, it really stands out to me.
2) AQ20
Awesome challenging events. First times through there, only the instance I put at number 1 made a stronger impression. Maybe I'm wacked, but I love the Rajaxx fight, and Ossirian too.
1) MC!
Now wait a second, don't lynch me! Nowadays, I loathe the place, and would rather stick hot pokers in my eyes than go there on a main. An alt can be fun for a little while though.
The reason I put this as number one is the impression it left on me the first time I went there. No other instance has ever made that powerful of a first impression on me, before or since.
Think about it, what was your reaction the first time you went in there? The very first pull was like HOLY @#$! THOSE GUYS ARE HUGE!!! Then the first encounter with a Core Hound was just incredible.
Now come on gang, admit it! MC made a stronger first impression on you than any other instance! I would bet that I am not the only one who's peak of excitement in this game was the first few MC runs!
Worst:
AQ40. Horrible trash mobs, way too many per boss. Has killed more guilds than anything else in WoW.
Scholo. That place seems to take FOREVER to get through, and none of the boss fights are really all that cool. I would expect them to be a little more involved at that level, less tank-n-spank-ish.
Asspigeon Oct 26th 2006 6:56PM
Best - ZG
Worst - AQ20
ZG is by far the best instance in the game, the loot is EXCELLENT and all of the bosses are memorable. Also, the trash isn't all that annoying and you can go back dozens of times and not run out of things to do. I am exalted with Zandalar and I still go back occasionally in hopes of seeing the tiger mount drop! On the flip side, AQ20 is a complete waste of time. Most of the bosses only drop blues and the instance is super easy (and boring) up until Ossi. He is so much harder than the rest of the bosses that you feel that you have been transported to a more difficult instance. Also, the "trash" pulls before Ossi are the most boring in the entire game, period.
ed dugan Oct 26th 2006 6:54PM
5) Wailing Caverns (WC)- For my friends, guildies, and I, this was the first instance we ran. We each got our first blues. Working together to ensure success through our first instance is a feeling that you don't get in any other instance after it.
4) Black Fathom Depths (BFD) - Besides the run to the portal in Sunken Temple (ST), and the Croc in Mauradon, there is not another underwater instance. The feel, the look, the environment, and having to swim around the place is unlike any other.
3) Zul Farrak (ZF) - Fun PvP just trying to get into the place on the run from Gadgetzhan. You get your Carrot Trinket from Gahzrilla for the speed increase, and some other decent loot. PLUS who can forget the first time you saw the rush of mobs come up the temple and everyone chats, "OMG... oh %$#@!!!" And figuring out how to use your allies for the temple portion was great too.
2) Stratholme (All sides) - I could remember doing Baron run after Baron run for the drops, the Banchee with everyone's back to the door was fun to figure out initially, the environment is unlike any other, and is just great fun sweeping through the streets.
1) Zul Garrub (ZG) - The place is just magnificent. The bosses get progessively more difficult as you progress, loot is great, idols are important for upgrades, plus classes are pushed to their limits. It's an easy run with a good guild, quick in and out, wipes are almost non-existent. Perfection.
Valdria Oct 26th 2006 9:18PM
1. Shadowfang Keep : Great instance, well layed out. The entire feel of this instance is great. Amazing loot for the level range too if you're a caster.
2. Deadmines : Misses this the first time around when I leveled my Horde Hunter to 60, but a friend of mine asked me run him through and was just amazed by it. However, it was a little more fun when I went back on my Human Warlock, as I didn't just blow through all the mobs/bosses and actually had more time to take it all in.
3. Strathome, Undead Side : I love this place. As soon as you walk in you just have a feeling of chaos. The scenery is great and the pulls need to be planned out and timed due to the many patrols and the chance that you could be feared at a moments notice.
4. Upper Blackrock Spire : What can I say? I just think this instance is great, well thought out, and requires a good party to successfully complete it. I've personally never witness much of the Drak fight though, as a hunter it was generally my responcibility to kite him over to the beasts room while the adds were handled. But, I always loved having that little bit of extra responcibility there.
5. Zul Farak : Great bosses here, and a well thought out instance overall. First time I was ever there I ran down the stairs right into the huge group that is suppose to be coming up them. Good times.
Shaz Oct 26th 2006 9:40PM
top 5 instances?
5. SFK - woo werewolves!
4. Scholo - loads of bosses and great loot.
3. BD Strat - Mmm baron run. Tons of great loot and easy to do in an hour.
2. Naxx - Havent played it yet, but all the vids i se make it look really cool and epic.
1. BRS - mostly UBRS since thats the only instance i run there. Huge looming mountain, lava and the a lot of the color black. Hellish. cant wait to get to MC. :P
Envinyatar Oct 26th 2006 11:55PM
/agree Raynia.
It'd take me way too long to decide my other four, so let me just put in a ginormous plug for Blackwing Lair.
When you think of adventure and fantasy, of great quests and heroic deeds, what is perhaps the ultimate challenge? To fight a dragon. To defeat the evil monster who is nonetheless just so damn cool you can't help but like him. And in BWL it's not just one dragon, but SIX. And these fights are such a departure from everything you've encountered previously. Sure, they might not be as technically demanding as TAQ or Naxx, but by god they're a huge departure from you had been used to. And it fits the persona of dragons: that each boss has his own weaknesses and his own method of battle. The Razor fight will school a noob real quick. The first time you see Nefarian, let alone fell him, it's a very, VERY epic, heady experience. And the environment is fantastic: the old castle feeling, the walls and the cluttered chairs and steps. It's just the perfect ideal of a dungeon, with the majestic, cunning enemy you've come to love through years of novels and movies and card games and TV.
Fighting in BWL is like you're 15 again, and staying at a friend's house for 36 hours playing D&D. Only you've stepped into the boardgame. Blackwing Lair is fantasy personified.
Vaelin Oct 27th 2006 12:46AM
5. Stratholme - Maybe because my main is a Paladin and I can do better-than-normal DPS in here, coupled with its place in Warcraft lore. I enjoy wandering through this once great city, cleansing it of unholy filth and dispensing justice. Like Lordaeron before it became infested with Forsaken, I find myself lamenting the loss of a once grand city and wondering what it would have been like to walk the streets during the reign of the Lordaeron kings.
4. Shadowfang Keep - Alas, I did not really experience this until I was nearly 60 and went to try it out. The Paladin mace quest only takes you as far as the stables in the courtyard past the magic-locked door. There are no Alliance quests beyond that point to my knowledge. Architecture and overall feel are unlike anything else in Azeroth.
3. Dire Maul - Any of the wings are fun and challenging for a 5-man group of lvl 60's. After you experience all the different wings, you find yourself wishing Darnassus had been designed more like this place taken as a whole - with a massive and imposing crescent front facade to greet you, the experience is rounded out by an architectural feel that hints at a once-great past, and leaves you wishing you could go back in time to the height of the Highborne civilization and its original glory.
2. The Deadmines - Ah, my first epic raiding experience. I recall playing this in the stress tests and open beta, and finding it more intense than anything I had experienced up until then (where you would gather 2 or at most 3 people together to tackle the more difficult quests). The Goonies homage at the end is both the icing on top and the cream filling.
1. Scarlet Monastery - One of the most beautiful and well-designed areas in the game. The architecture and artwork are unsurpassed by anything else to date. Contrast this with Molten Core - a giant hole in the ground with much lava. Even Ragnaros's chamber needs some sprucing up - perhaps with geode crystal formations or something.
Lance Oct 27th 2006 7:39AM
So i am only a 37 and this is my first toon so i have only been to 5 instances but here they are from best to worst.
5. RageFire Chasm not terribly hard but when you have a PUG that is lame it is hard.
4. Razor Fen Kraul i had some quests in there so i got into a PUG and they just wanted to run through for XP so it kinda sucked as well.
3. Wailing Caverns not bad just a horrible layout.
2. Shadow Fang Keep pretty fun decent drops as well.
1. Black Fathom Depths wow is this place pretty also it is my fave because the one run i made through it all the drops were of the Mail type armor and i was there will several clothies so i got all the good stuff.