[Necro][WoW] Best/Worst Instance?

[Tenjin]

We got into a conversation about this over guildchat last night (on BL). I'm curious about people's answers.

What's your favorite and least favorite instance?

My least favorite: Uldaman - I hate it. I hate it like poison. I'd rather get stabbed in the foot then go back there.

My favorite: Zul'Farrak - That temple event is about the coolest thing in the game.

[JustJo]

Awww, the indiana jones bit in Uldaman with the rod is really funky, I thought.

My fave instance is the Scarlet Monastery. I love how there are 4 bits you can do easily in about an hour each. Every time I have created an alt, I've always seen getting to SM levels as a huge goal because I like it so much. And the bit in Razorfen Kraul (ie. the one no one goes to) with the skeleton orator speechifying to a crowd of skellies.

My least fave is the Stockades. So dull. And I never much liked Gnomeregan.

[bubbles]

Stockades is barely worth calling an instance (ok so it has the portal but otherwise it could just as easily be non-instanced)... favourite so far is probably Blackfathom Deeps (I love the atmosphere), followed by Uldaman/Zul'Farrak tied for the boss fights in each. Haven't done Sunken Temple yet but liking the look of it :)

[Pakratula]

Worst: Wailing Caverns. Every time I go in there, it seems to take forever. Maybe it's the groups I've been with... but I hate that place.

Best: I haven't been to many... but I like Shadowfang Keep for some reason... it seems, just sinister. I'm looking forward to doing some of the higher level instances someday. :)

[d s addison]

Pre-endgame (of which i've seen very little) I think the Scarlet Monastery is the best instance. It's niether too short nor overly long, also being broken into wings means you can do the whole thing over multiple runs without having to redo areas previously missed.

Worst; the Stockades. Too short, very boring with lots of quickly fleeing mobs, packed in tight together. It requires more crowd control than the average group entering it can bring to bear, and will probably punish them for the lack at some point.

[EndlessChase]

Pre-endgame (of which i've seen very little) I think the Scarlet Monastery is the best instance. It's niether too short nor overly long, also being broken into wings means you can do the whole thing over multiple runs without having to redo areas previously missed.

Worst; the Stockades. Too short, very boring with lots of quickly fleeing mobs, packed in tight together. It requires more crowd control than the average group entering it can bring to bear, and will probably punish them for the lack at some point.


I agree with the Stockades being lame, but I plan to use it alot once I hit 40 or so. It's fast enough that just a couple people can churn through it, and there really isn't anyone all that powerful in it, so it's a good place to go to try and find blue items. Hell, the first time through it the group I was with found on on the fourth mob we killed.

[J'Dai]

I haven't seen any end-game instances yet. Not sure I ever will. That's OK. :)
I don't like Uldamen. Period.
TIE - I really like Zul'Farrak and The Sunken Temple.
The rest of them sort somewhere along a spectrum, rangling from "Nearly as fun as the best" (SM) to "Gads, I'm glad that is OVER!" (Gnome.)

I've developed an unnatural desire to shoot birds after repeated Dead Mines runs. :p

[JustJo]

I agree with the Stockades being lame, but I plan to use it alot once I hit 40 or so. It's fast enough that just a couple people can churn through it, and there really isn't anyone all that powerful in it, so it's a good place to go to try and find blue items. Hell, the first time through it the group I was with found on on the fourth mob we killed.

I think you might be better to grab a friend and go do the graveyard in the Scarlet Monastery, although Stockades is so much more convenient to get to (for alliance).

[Murglor]

Favorites: the Deadmines, Scarlet Monastery, Zul'Farrak, Molten Core
Hate List: Wailing Caverns, Blackrock Spire, Jailbreak

I would quite like Blackrock Depths if I hadn't spent literally days in there at this point.

[Final Excalibur]

I like sunken temple myself. It's also crazy good for skinners. Possibly tied with zul'farrak. UBRS (15man raid instance) is also quite fun, on par with sunken temple. SM has been extremely convinient for me as a hordie.

Stuff i absolutely abhor: Gnomeregan (and they had to use the music for Everlook! WHYYY. I never stayed in town much in winterspring), Uldaman (i am hoping to skip it COMPLETELY with Salrene) and Blackrock Depths, although BRD not so much. It's just quite boring and very big and sprawling. getting to the emperor is x10 harder than the emperor himself. Gnomer and Uldaman are probably tied for this title.

Stuff that annoys me include stratholme and scholomance done with 5 people. Okay, i need a perfect party and if i make one itty bitty mistake i wipe? no thanks. Oh look, the sheep wandered too far. Again. *rolls eyes* Once i get the warblade of Caer Darrow I am never stepping in scholomance ever again.

[Seroster]

Worst: Maraudon. It's just waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too freaking long! Even with the back door, it feels like a drag. And you have to do front door stuff too, and the distances and numbers of creatures involved is just draining. Bloody plants!

Best: Um... I don't know. I think the most fun I've had was doing the end-boss fight in Uldaman right. The freeing the mercenaries bit in Zul'Farak (is that "Jailbreak" or is Jailbreak something else?) was pretty good too.

[freshie]

I haven't done the end-game instances... but they'd have to be pretty bad in order to top Gnomeregan.

Above and beyond the cruddy settings and awful mobs you have to battle, this instance has the single worst mechanism in the game i've come accross.

"We'll have this mob that if you don't kill it within 3 secondsd, will summon a group of MOBS, that will result in an almost instant team-wipe, even if you have a level 60 in the group." It sucks that an "alarm" will actually create mobs out of thin-air, and not actually just alert the mobs in the area to attack you.

On the upside, I loved the Scarlet Monastery Cathedral map. I had a such a blast in that instance.

[Jeffrey Moore]

Least favorite I'll have to go with Gnomeregan. Favorite might be a tie between SM and BFD. SM is just so nicely compartmentalized, but BFD is pretty and nicely different.

Haven't done all the high end stuff, I like the way ST is set up but I did it 6 times in a row recently so I'm less enamoured with it at the moment. I love the temple part of ZF, but the rest is pretty blah.

[Des]

Worst for me: LBRS. Mainly because if you ever want to do Onyxia you have to five man it all the way through, which takes an ungodly amount of time. Couple this with the fact that the respawn timer is somewhere around 2 hours and you can be faced with the real delight of having to reclear half the instance if you wipe and have to run. Longest I spent there was something like 5 hours to help some guildies with the quest. I loathe that place.

Best: I agree with the scarlet monastery bits. I'm also very fond of zul'gurub now that they've cut down the number of mobs you have to clear by a decent chunk. its less tedious now, and better to appreciate the beauty of the place. AQ 20 man I've also been liking, but that may be the novelty factor; we'll see in a couple months if I still like it.

[ducklingsmith]

The worst: Gnomeregan, hands down. In addition to the alarm-bots, there's the lovely section with the Dark Iron Dwarves immediately before Thermaplugg, where the Dark Iron Mines can result in a party wipe with very, very little room for ever. Even a level 60 group can be blown to smithereens by those wretched mines.

The best: Hmm, my experience is limited, but I do have soft spots for both Shadowfang Keep (very atmospheric) and the Deadmines (which Blizzard consider some of their best work; a varied instance with lots to do, and the fight with the Defias pirates and Mr Smite is worth the price of admission alone).

[nonsense]

I like:

Huh.. I LOVE Gnomeregan. It's probably the most challenging of the early instances (bombs and mines and more bombs, oh my!), and the mecha-gnomes are adorably ludicrous opponents.

I like WC for the scenery, but it's bloody long.

I'm not particularly familiar with SM, as my jaunts there with Blacksky have in fact been my first - I always sorta passed it by prior, and that's a shame... it's groovy! I love the winged structure, and there's a great variety of mobs to deal with. I like the epic mookfests in some of the instances - like ZF's stairs - so the Herod fight makes me happy too.

I love Shadowfang Keep. It's short and sweet, and I've found myself using some of the loot from there (rings in particular) for more levels than I care to admit. I also like the "SURPRISE!" factor of the last stretch. Easy, easy, easy, easy, Wolfmaster Nandos? WTF? AAAUGH!

RFK is crazy dull, but RFD is fantastic. Between the Crypt Fiends, Ammenar and the Skele-concert, there's never a dull moment.



I dislike:

RFC. Yes, it's short. Yes, it's a nice introduction to instancing. But damn, is it ever dull. And at that level, you can get for a pittance on the AH loot much better than will ever drop inside the instance. Barring guildie needs (I'll help out if you need an extra man), I'm just as happy never going back there again.

RFK. It's sorta scenic (I like the quillboar thornitecture), but it's boring. There's very little variety in the fights, and it takes too long for something so underwhelming. It does score a couple of bonus points with me for the Snufflenose gophers, but that's it.

[Arawaen]

My reaction to Gnomeregan was pretty much, "Never doing that again." After Gnomer, Uldaman is my least favorite but mostly because of how the quests are laid out on the Horde side.

My favorite instance is probably Scaret Monestary, though I liked Razor Fen Downs and Wailing Caverans (though it is a tad long) too.

Ragefire Chasm was kind of meh.

I have yet to do Mauradon or Sunken Temple and have only done part of Zul'Farrak.

[Ikselam]

[the Stockades are] a good place to go to try and find blue items.

No... no, it's really not. It's a good place to farm wool. That's about it.

[Murglor]

No... no, it's really not. It's a good place to farm wool. That's about it.

It was a great place to grind up my level 60 warrior's unused weapon skills. Mmm... staves and daggers.

[SteppenRazer]

It was a great place to grind up my level 60 warrior's unused weapon skills. Mmm... staves and daggers.


My girlfriend's 60 mage farms it while waiting to do BG's, farming for mainly cloth and renegade defias rings. The rings sell for 3-4g on our server.

[Ikselam]

It was a great place to grind up my level 60 warrior's unused weapon skills. Mmm... staves and daggers.

Hah, I did that, too. I hope the people in my guild found my constant begging for int buffs to be as amusingly ironic as I did.

Took me like three run-throughs to get that last point of polearm skill, even with all my +int gear. But since I was wearing almost all cloth stuff, my repair bill was so low...

The most fun was probably when I was grinding up my unarmed skill; with my shield equipped, I felt like Captain America.

[AusJeb]

Y'all are making me feel better. In addition to scheduling problems, I have been reluctant to take on any of the instances beyond WC due to concerns that they were all as long, if not longer than WC.

Time for some instancing.

[Erik Sieurin]

I don't like instances much at all.

It is freaky; I do like playing with my guild pals, I quite like it when it all goes nice and smooth and we act as a well-oiled fighting machine...

...but instances are often so stressful that I have no clue where we are running or why we are doing it. "In here! Talk to him! Back off! Don't move! All touch that lever! fire at the elementals! Hurryhurryhurryhurry!"

Hence, my enjoyment of an instance run is very dependent on how my party fights that night, since the whole "danger room together experience" is what makes instances worth it for me. I never have time to notice the atmosphere and are far too stressed to repeat it until I get that raaaaaaare purple item, so it is the FIGHTS that makes it interesting.

I havent done Uldaman on my new account but I really liked fighting the giant in the mentioned Indiana Jones-scene. I also like the pirates in the Deadmines. We had three stupid TPKs there, one of them my fault (I mishandled my wolf som he aggroed the whole crew - best comment at after-instance party: "Is he a retriever?") but I still like Mr Smite, the captain, the ship, the insane parrots and the mad murloc cook.

VanCleef himself is an anticlimax.

Erik

[CrazyIvan]

Likes:

I really liked Scarlet Monastery, Sunken Temple and Zul'Ferrak. All of them seemed well designed, I felt like a hero, and had an interesting mix-and-match for boss fights.

Hates:

Gnomer. Never again. I'm the instance/raid officer for my guild and I still refuse to crawl down that damned hole again.

Scholomance. Mind blowingly hard as a 5-man, "zergs are us" as a raid. No real sense of...awesomeness. Sadly, I want my darned hat.

[Ikselam]

...but instances are often so stressful that I have no clue where we are running or why we are doing it. "In here! Talk to him! Back off! Don't move! All touch that lever! fire at the elementals! Hurryhurryhurryhurry!"

This is pretty much why I've never really gotten into doing endgame instances. They've all been mapped out and analyzed in such detail that going through them is less like a fun adventure, and more like a really weird game of Simon Says.

[wdarkk]

This is pretty much why I've never really gotten into doing endgame instances. They've all been mapped out and analyzed in such detail that going through them is less like a fun adventure, and more like a really weird game of Simon Says.

Well, not entirely. At least, not the ones beyond molten core.

[Abulia]

Fave: Zul'Farrak for the uniqueness of it. It's an outside instance (!) and the last stand on the Zig is great fun. Plus it's spread out and you don't feel cramped. Lots of fun, that one.

Honorable Mention: UBRS. I love this instance, the fights, and the bosses. It's just the right size/length too; you can pound it out in 2 hours without any problems. Plus, I geek out HARD when I hit the "Leeeeeroooooy Jenkins!" room. :D

HATE: Sunken Temple, hands down. The layout is confusing as all heck. There are class quests that require you to visit ST, it's harder than shit, and worse of all, no one wants to do ST! Finding a group for ST is like licking razor blades; you can do it but it's not worth the pain. The fact that it's out in the Swamp of Sorrows is another strike against it. ST is just plain a pain in the ass. Woe be to the person who has to do a ST run...it'll take 6 hours and you still won't finish and will have to try again with 3 other PUGs over the next week. :)

Honorable Mention to Uldaman. Who thought putting the enchanting trainer INSIDE an instance was a good idea? :eek:

[SteppenRazer]

Honorable Mention to Uldaman. Who thought putting the enchanting trainer INSIDE an instance was a good idea? :eek:


By the time you get to 225 enchanting, most of the good enchants no longer come from trainers, and I think the last one the trainer gives only requires 250 enchanting or something like that, so you don't need to go back there much for training. Also, a pair of 60s can get there easy, so long as you don't go after any of the bosses.

[Abulia]

By the time you get to 225 enchanting, most of the good enchants no longer come from trainers, and I think the last one the trainer gives only requires 250 enchanting or something like that, so you don't need to go back there much for training. Also, a pair of 60s can get there easy, so long as you don't go after any of the bosses.Oh, I know. I pounded out my enchanting and had to visit once for all the training, but it was still damn annoying.

[Lautrec]

Love: Maraudon. Prettiest instance by far, and with an interesting backstory as well. Some nice drops, too.


Hate: Uldaman. Mostly because every group I've been there with has consisted of 95% assmuppets that think they can solo Archaedas.



-L

[Ikselam]

Well, not entirely. At least, not the ones beyond molten core.

Well, yeah, but the only way I'd get l33t enough to handle BWL or whatever would be to run ZG and the various Blackrock dungeons until my eyes fall out.

Pretty much the only reason AQ interests me is that it'd be something that no one knows down to the last pixel yet. It's also not a generic dungeon or lava-filled hellscape, that's a plus too.

[Spectrum]

Love:
Dire Maul - 5-man, short, and requires a modicum of skill on the parts of your team members. What's not to like?
5-man Stratholme (SM) - I believe that I'm alone in this regard, but I loved 5-manning it (hunter, pld, mage, priest, rogue), especially just to shut people in my guild up that it was impossible to do. In fact, right after a UBRS run where someone kept whining about the difficult, we went straight to it. ;X
5-man Stratholme (Undead) - Okay, this I liked rather less, specifically the Baron and the banshee fight, but it was still enjoyable, all things considered.

Ambivalent:
Mauradon - Nothing spectacular about it, for me, but it doesn't make me cry.

Hate:
Uldaman - Way too many pugs just to get the items I wanted because I kept losing rolls to first-timers.
LBRS - Need to shoot whoever decided to make the UBRS key rare drop off the bosses, make the damn thing so long, designed the spider encounter, and the ogre head encounter. 5-manning it was less than enjoyable.
UBRS - Run it far, far too many times for my liking, especially with bad groups. Really makes me cry when a team of two hunters takes out a mob faster than the entire rest of the 15-man does.
Scholomance - Too long, pathing used to be too stupid, etc etc etc. Didn't particularly enjoy it, but I would have been willing to 5-man it anyway for a challenge, admittedly.
Gnomeregan - Mechanicals = immune to pet taunt = makes hunters cry. 'nuff said.
Molten Core - Never had a good enough guild to do consistent runs without an excess of pugs to fill spots, so time spent vs. chance of gain was god awful. That and paladin loot always dropped. -_-

[ascendance]

Faves:
DM West - Great loot, interesting mobs, moderately challenging, and... I STILL NEED MY PANTS!
Onyxia's Lair - Whenever we get her on farm, it'll be 45 mins for 2 epics, and other assorted loot. What's not to like? Also the location of my Most Epic Battle Evar, where the guild reduced her to 1% and wiped with 33 people.

Hate: LBRS 5-man (never done it 10 man). Long, boring, and if you're stuck in a rut, it means you'll be wiping a lot.
Strat Dead 10-man (never done it 5 man). Short, but incredibly tedious. Must have done this a dozen times now, and still no Kilt of Elements. Should do it, though, since I have nearly all the other Elements bits (except for the terrible, terrible boots).

[Peter LaCara]

I. Love. Zul'Gurub. Exploding batriders? The boss fight where you keep getting ressurected, but the guy gets stronger every time someone dies? It's so much fun. I know people bitch because it's hard, but I like doing the endgame instances more for the challenge than the loot anyway. It's why I just about fall asleep in 15 man UBRS, or 10 man BRD. Too easy. Booooring.

I'm also rather fond of Wailing Caverns. I've been through it a hojillion times, but it's cool because I still find something new every time I go in. Verdan is the hugest boss you're going to fight for a long, long time. I can't think of anything that matches his size prior to Uldamon (which I also kind of like, simply because I challenge myself to make a new Indiana Jones joke every time I go in there).

On the other hand, I have an intense hate-on for Scholomance because it's somehow managed to fall exactly in the middle where it's just too hard for a 5 man group, but once you get 10 it becomes a snooze-fest. I'm also not too fond of either of the Razorfen instances. They take too damn long to get back to if the party wipes. I know we had one run where we had to reclear the entrance twice just because we'd died so much, and it was a ten minute run back to the instance.

[Copernicu]

Worst: Molten Core, Scholomance

Molten Core is just boring. There's only 6 creature types in the instance, no background widgets or anything, and no sense that the instance is anything but a loot pinata. You have random monsters standing around in random locations waiting to be killed. Only Domo and Ragnaros feel like they actually exist for a reason.

Scholomance I just have bad memories of it back before it was nerfed into the ground.


Best: Dire Maul, Blackwing Lair

Dire Maul is fun. A five man instance is always interesting because you get to try out less than optimal groups. Sneaking around groups of mobs is fun. And the wnged design is great. Now if only they upped the drop rate of Librams.

Blackwing Lair, after all the bugs were worked out, is a great deal of fun. The fights are fun, the trash pulls are fun, and Nefarian is one of the most complicated encounters in the game. Plus I like hitting Mobs for 10K before Ignite. :)

[Peter LaCara]

Man, how could I forget Dire Maul? Tribute runs are like, the most fun thing in WoW.

[Elbast]

Lets see... I'm currently not playing, and undeceided about going back but...

Favourite: Dire Maul - 3 distinct flavours (4 if distinguishing kill runs and tribute runs in DM:North), nice scenery, good challenge and great pre-raid loot. Kinda wish I'd done DM more, actually.

Least favourite: Scholomance, for length... it goes on forever. Uldaman is a close second and only one of my characters has ever gone there, despite my having (somehow) manages to get 4 characters to/past a suitable level.

I'm discounting those I "don't" (didn't) do, like MC - which I went to once and hated.

The whole LBRS thing - I quite like it. I've never had to face respawns when doing the whole thing (yes it can take time, but with a half-decent group it really shouldn't). It's a pain though because you can guaruntee no-one wants to do it when you need it, and everyone wants to when you don't. Same pretty much goes for BRD, loved it to start with, still think it's well done but due to it's necessity for MC-related reasons and the time people spend there for that the incentives for people to actually quest there are few and far between.

[Spectrum]

Same pretty much goes for BRD, loved it to start with, still think it's well done but due to it's necessity for MC-related reasons and the time people spend there for that the incentives for people to actually quest there are few and far between.
I was annoyed at BRD at the start, because we had rogues and people with keys and skipped alot of content on the way to quests, since the first time I did it, I 5-manned it. When I took a group through the long way through, I cried when it was all finished. Way, way, waaaaaay too long.

[Elbast]

I was annoyed at BRD at the start, because we had rogues and people with keys and skipped alot of content on the way to quests, since the first time I did it, I 5-manned it. When I took a group through the long way through, I cried when it was all finished. Way, way, waaaaaay too long.
Well, it's not one to be done in entirity in one sitting, but it's possible to 5-man to the Emperor in under 2 hours.

All in all, it's pretty well balanced, just too many different things to do at once for those hoping to clear instances in one run (leaving aside the necessity of return trips anyway).

[Spectrum]

Well, it's not one to be done in entirity in one sitting, but it's possible to 5-man to the Emperor in under 2 hours.
This is true.
All in all, it's pretty well balanced, just too many different things to do at once for those hoping to clear instances in one run (leaving aside the necessity of return trips anyway).
It's a bit jarring from the instances below it, where you can run through the entire thing in, say, 4 hours and complete very quest, with maybe a couple requiring a return trip of sorts. BRD, especially first time through without an experienced guide, is quite a bit different, IME.

[Naxuul]

Favorites: Razorfen Down. Awesome layout and atmosphere with cool bosses and actually good drops for it's level. No one wants to do it for some reason, despite it being easier to get to, shorter and with better drops than your average Scarlet Monastery run.

Maraudon: The three parts make it feel essentially like three different instances, it has some really damn good drops and it includes fights with alot of enemy types you rarely see, like dryads, plants, dinos and giants.

Instances I hate with a passion:

Uldaman: LONG LONG LONG. And like maybe three worthwhile drops in the place. All of which are rare drops. Oh and it's enemies spread out over like a 10+ level range so the first half will be grey by the time you can kill Archimedes.. for items that frankly would of only been good back when the first half was still giving XP.

Wailing Caverns: Yet again LONG LONG LONG. And ugly. Really the ugliest instance in the game. With the boringest boss fights. It's like the sucky cousin to the Deadmines.

-Naxuul

[Elbast]

(didn't quote Spectrum, perhaps I should have)

Yeah, that's true enough.

BRD is the first "end game" instance - insofar as you'll return to it many times for a variety of reasons. These are, mostly thanks to this necessity to return, massively different to those that come before.

I think this is one of the reasons I like Dire Maul so much, actually... it manages not to feel like an "end game" instance and harks back to instance runs on the way up, and while it's easy for an ideally structured 5-man of 60s - especially well geared ones - it provides a few genuine challenges for groups that aren't "ideal."

[L. Ron Paul]

Still missing out on a number of end-game instances...but prior to that I think Sunken Temple is a gem in terms of events. I think it's the first time I felt like I was really doing something epic- esp. with the upper level stuff (not giving it away).

[nonsense]

Still missing out on a number of end-game instances...but prior to that I think Sunken Temple is a gem in terms of events. I think it's the first time I felt like I was really doing something epic- esp. with the upper level stuff (not giving it away).


Damn you! Damn you and your playing off my curiosity!

Must... level...

[wdarkk]

Favorite: Zul Gurub, Blackwing Lair, AQ20(and presumably 40 as well), Dire Maul
You have to actually play your class. I use many more abilities in these instances than in others. They also look pretty nifty, even BWL rises above it's ubrs-like nature with all the cool technogadgets.

Least Favorite: Molten Core (unless I'm a warlock, and excepting Ragnaros and Domo), UBRS, LBRS, Stockades
Most of these I don't use much more than flash heal, and could perform the tasks required with merely a mod that auto-heals whoever is lowest and some kind of turbo controller.

[adamsmith]

I really like:
Scarlet Monastery - it's in chunks, so I can do parts in a reasonable timeframe without using up a whole afternoon; the Catrhedral is a blast.
ShadowFang Keep - Great atmosphere, better than average loot for level, reasonable size and layout
Sunken Temple - Lots to do, variety of critters, interesting quests.

I dislike:
BRD - the fucking Lyceum is a joke compared to the rest of the instance; in my view you should be able to 5 man an area without an 'optimised' party.

Honourable mention to Mauradon; even though I like it it's a pain in the arse to get to, which makes it a place that I didn't really get to visit as much as I wanted.

[MadDogMike]

Least Favorite: LBRS as Horde - 5 manning that place is just long and obnoxious, and God HELP you if you lack wipe protection. Just truly unfun in my experience, yet *sigh* I keep doing it because I remember how I suffered trying to find a group there for Warlord's Command and want to help others out. Trying to help a hunter tame a wolf for the max skill there is also a lesson in pain.

Favorite: Dire Maul - fun wings, a chance to actually be CLEVER and help yourself out instead of just slaying your way through (i.e. sneaking through to avoid many trash encounters, and tribute run is a thing of beauty), and I tend to wind up going with skilled people there.
Upper Blackrock Spire - good loot, interesting pace throughout, and Rend is an awesome experience (for extra fun yell back at him and Nefarion). And our guild has a tradition that UBRS newbies must go "pet the cute puppy" and get punted by the Beast to start that fight :D . About the only thing I hate in there is how Conflagration when fighting Drak makes you run around for, say, forever.

[PMAvers]

I. Love. Zul'Gurub. Exploding batriders? The boss fight where you keep getting ressurected, but the guy gets stronger every time someone dies? It's so much fun. I know people bitch because it's hard, but I like doing the endgame instances more for the challenge than the loot anyway. It's why I just about fall asleep in 15 man UBRS, or 10 man BRD. Too easy. Booooring.

Hell yes.

It's taken us about two months of running weekly, but it's such fun that it doesn't seem like work. Plus, we killed Hakkar for the first time about a half-hour ago. Woo!

[CrazyIvan]

Also, as much as I like the instance (and I really do), Sunken Temple could easily have come in two parts.

[Murglor]

Also, as much as I like the instance (and I really do), Sunken Temple could easily have come in two parts.

If Sunken Temple were less hideously inaccessible, it would probably be treated as having two different parts. People will advertise in Ironforge that they are looking to do BRD - Emperor/Attunement, as opposed to BRD - Jailbreak. Sunken Temple has a lower area where you clear the six snake idols and open the secret stash, which is distinct from the rest of the instance. The upper area has Jamma'lan the Prophet's six minions, said bad guy, the spirit of Hakkar, paired dragons, and Eranikus. The upper run is actually just about the right length for a demanding pre-raid instance - it's a pity that nobody will ever want to make the trip for just the lower run, and so it gets shoe-horned in and makes the whole thing a rather grueling ordeal.

[brucesloose]

Well, it seems everyone else dissagrees but...

Favorite: BRD, its not meant to be one run so anyone whos complaining about length should keep that in mind. I like it because it's so massive really and the loot is very nice. I also enjoyed the all the quests, even Jailbreak. I've been to this instance I dont even know how many times, and every run is uniquely different based on the path each group chooses to take. On my pally i practically got a full suit of armor out of this instance from the sheer number of bosses.


Least Favorite: Gnomeregan. Other than the quest to kill the final boss I have yet to get a single piece of decent loot out of this instance on any character. This instance used to bug and agro like 50 mobs at once for no reason and that has also contributed to me not liking it. Mostly i just like to go in the back, kill the final boss, and not come back.

Over all:

BRD: Good
Gnomer: Bad

[Lautrec]

Over all:

BRD: Good
Gnomer: Bad


Not to sound rude or anything, but did you really need to resurrect a thread more than a year old just to tell us that?

-L

[Safid]

Best, Shadowfang Keep.

Worst, Molten Core. If that doesn't count, then Uldaman.

[bubbles]

Not to sound rude or anything, but did you really need to resurrect a thread more than a year old just to tell us that?

-L
Oh the terrible angst... http://www.mediashakers.nl/images/smile/rolleyes.gif

[Fenris]

Well, since it's ressed, and there are new instances now...

Best(Azeroth):
Shadowfang Keep, for it's atmosphere

Scarlet Monastary, for it's well-designed levels, and the fact that you can ''pop in'' to a wing and clear it without setting aside 4 hours

Dire Maul-Another well designed instance that no one really wants to go to. Winged instances get me. :)

Worst(Azeroth):

I found Gnomer rather annoying. It had some cool aspects, but it was too damned long and drawn out.

I'm one of the first people in this thread that's going to say ZF. It's not that I dislike ZF in and of itself, as i think it's well designed...but I've ran it SO MANY freaking times im just sick of it. Besides myself, ive boosted several buddies through it. No more. :p

Best(Outland)

Mechnar-Short, sweet, and fun. Pretty nice loot. Everything i need in an instance.

Steamvaults-Same reason. That, and i love the underwater thing. Sort of like a BFD+++.

Worst(Outland)-

Botanica. This place annoyed the hell out of me. I can't quite put my finger on it, but IMO, they could have divided it up into two instances compared to the to-the-pointness of the Mechnar. Perhaps my PuG just wasn't totally up to snuff, but even though we didnt even wipe often it took forever to do. By the time we got to Treebeard or whatever i was falling asleep at the keyboard.

In the Middle(both Azeroth and Outland)

Shadow Labs. I like the setup, and it's got some awesome atmosphere IMO...but it's divided up in a way that the first half is a royal pain in the ass, and the second half is(usually) cake.

ST. I love the atmosphere, and i like the setup too...but it's A. Too hard to find a group for, if you aren't all guilded up and B. It's loooooooooong if you do the whole thing. Unecessarily long.

[Naxuul]

ST. I love the atmosphere, and i like the setup too...but it's A. Too hard to find a group for, if you aren't all guilded up and B. It's loooooooooong if you do the whole thing. Unecessarily long.
The problem with ST is that you require over a hour of trashsmashing before you can get anywhere. Upper or lower level. And if you do both upper and lower level, it's twice the trashsmashing. All it's loot droppers are contained at the end. And if you can't do Hakkar, it's not even a good amount of loot dropped for the amount put into it.

Comparable, Maraudon and Dire Maul make sure that you'll always hit a loot dropper within a comfortable amount of time and with good intervals between each lootdropper after that.

-Naxuul

[Ikselam]

Worst: Molten Core
Best: Deeprun Tram ;)