Dungeons
layers will come across two types of dungeons while playing World of Warcraft: micro dungeons and world dungeons. There are more than a hundred micro dungeons throughout the world of Azeroth, ranging in relative size from small to quite big. Micro-dungeon locations will include tombs, haunted mines, ice caves, and sunken ships to name a few. The transition into and out of these dungeons will be seamless, and you'll be able to run into other players anywhere along the way.
World dungeons, such as Medivh's Tower, the Westfall Deadmines, and the Scarlet Monastery, are grander in scale than micro dungeons and are specifically designed for more epic encounters. All these locations have common areas where players can meet up and fight together. But, deeper in the dungeons are areas set up specifically for more private group (or sometimes guild) adventures. These areas, called "instanced zones," allow you and a group of friends to have a more personal experience, exploring, adventuring, or completing quests in your own private dungeon. You also have the ability to invite others into your instanced zone to join you. This relieves many of the camping, kill-stealing, and farming issues that MMORPGs sometimes face. The monsters in instanced zones are typically more powerful, so groups of players will have to work together to defeat them, but with greater dangers come greater rewards!
Lower level instances can be soloed by a higher level character. While an interesting challenge, most drops will not be particularly useful anymore. However if wearing a tabard, a great deal of reputation can still be earned, as can the achievements for passing the instance. Keep in mind that soloing an instance usually requires a player to be about 25-30 levels higher than the minimum requirement, with high-quality equipment.
The Deadmines
World Dungeon - Westfall
Allegedly, the Deadmines are a network of tunnels and caverns that have been taken over by the Defias Brotherhood and transformed into a complex base of operations. No one knows if the underground complex really even exists, and if it does, specifically what is contained there, but rumor has it that the way into the Deadmines lies through Moonbrook.
Instancing
nstance zones allow you and a group of friends to have a more personal experience exploring, adventuring, or completing quests in your own private dungeon. You also have the ability to invite others into your instance zone to join you. This relieves many of the camping, kill-stealing, and farming issues that MMORPGs sometimes face. The monsters in instance zones are typically more powerful, so groups of players will have to work together to defeat them, but with greater dangers come greater rewards!
An instance is a special copy of the dungeon for you and your party. The only players in this instance will be yourself and members in your party. No one else can enter this copy of the dungeon. This allows you your own personal dungeon without other outside interference. The dungeon is fully spawned and it is balanced and designed specifically for you and your party.
Example:
- Party Group #1: Enters Deadmines, an Instance dungeon. They enter copy A of the dungeon.
- Party Group #2: Comes along 20 minutes later and enters the Deadmines. They enter copy B of the dungeon, their own version. They do not come in contact with Party Group #1, except perhaps if they both meet outside the instance.
- Party Group #3: Comes along an hour later. They enter copy C of the dungeon.
Further groups can come along and enter their own copies (example: D, E, F) of the dungeon at any time without having any negative effect on each other. That way everyone gets to benefit from a dungeon experience rather than having to take turns for the same monsters. The terms copy A, copy B, etc., are only used for illustration purposes. The actual copy name is not shown to the player.
Additional Information
- When a player logs out in an instance dungeon and that instance resets, the player will be moved to the zone-in area they used to enter the dungeon.
- Warlocks should cast Soulstone on their allies before things go wrong. They also shouldn't forget to renew the offer after the players die. If Warlocks are unable to create Soulstones because they don't have enough Soul Shards, then they should at least try to cast any remaining Soulstone on a class that can resurrect allies.
- Most Instance Areas are linked to Elite Quests. Try to activate as many related quests as possible before entering the Instance Area. Ensure you and your party have enough potions, food, etc., and also try to have enough free inventory space before beginning the area. You may be forced to destroy items if you don't have enough room. You should also ensure you have enough time to play before entering a challenging Instance Area, because usually the related Elite Quests are much longer than the regular ones.
Common Questions:
How can I Identify an Instance Area?
You can recognize an instance area by the swirling blue portals of energy. If you pass through these doors you will see a loading screen.
Are only world dungeons instanced?
There are other instances besides dungeons such as the Stormwind Stockades. We may continue to add instance areas as needed.
What if someone is in copy A and wants to be in copy B?
They must leave their first group and then exit the instance. The group in copy B must then invite that person outside the instance. The person can then "zone in" (enter) the instance and be in copy B.
What happens if everyone in the instance dies?
That copy of the instance is left intact for several minutes. Players should return to the instance to make sure it doesn't reset. If you wait too long, the instance is reset.
How do I tell if the instance is reset/fresh?
You will have to use your own experience/knowledge of the monster spawns to determine if the area is a new one or one that has already been played in. You can typically tell this by noticing how many monsters are there. Often, not all monsters respawn after being killed.
How do I get a new copy of an instance when I'm done playing in my current one?
Leave the current instance. The party leader can reset a dungeon instance from the interface. If the party has recently been inside an instance but is now outside of the instance, the party leader will have a right-click option from their own portrait (where you select the loot UI preference) that is "Reset all Instances". If this is selected all non raid instances will be reset for the party.
What happens if I die? How do I get my body back?
When a player enters the instance as a ghost, they return to their body on the other side. They do not have to go through the instance looking for their body. The best way to handle death in an instance is to be resurrected to get back to the same spot.
Do the monsters respawn?
It depends on the dungeon. In some cases only some of the monsters respawn. The bosses don't respawn because killing them without their minions' help would be too easy.
Instances
Visit a detailed page about instances!
Visit our detailed page about all the instances in the world of Azeroth, Outland and Northrend.
You can read some quick information about the instances, where it is located at and what bosses can be found inside the dungeon. You can also see all the raid instances aswell!