Just because I'm bored at work and in the WoW mindset, I got to thinking about my favorite dungeons I've been through. So I was curious how my favorites aligns with all of your guys. Take into consideration everything... layout, architecture, bosses, lore, trash... whatever it is that makes a dungeon good for you..
My top 5:
5. Blackrock Depths - Insanely long, I 100% agree... but that's why it was so great. It had more wings and bosses than any other dungeon in game. The downside to this dungeon was that because it was so long, no one ever wanted to run it... or you would get 3-4 bosses deep and everyone would start bailing... but when you had 2-3 hours to kill and 4 dedicated friends, there was nothing more epic and fun than finishing this dungeon all the way through at level. It was truly a 5 main raid dungeon.
4. Halls of Lightning - Now I may be completely alone on this one.. but for some reason this dungeon just stuck with me. I really enjoyed the Storm Peaks / Halls of Lightning / Ulduar storyline, and after completing the SP zone, HoL and Loken's quotes at the end really got me interested in Ulduar as a raid.. and then of course we all know how Ulduar turned out. The rest of HoL prior to Loken wasn't the funnest.. but it also wasn't bad at all. The bosses on heroic had a slight challenge, and most of them looked pretty cool. For sure a memorable one for me.
3. Shadowfang Keep - Call me Nostalgic.... actually don't. This has nothing to do with that. This place is freaking awesome.. period. What's more iconic in fantasy than storming an evil castle?? Bizzard did a great job with this place in terms of layout (although towards the end I would have done things a bit differently), and I loved that it felt like a single contained structure.. not a bunch of rooms and halls in the middle of no where that never connect to each other (Like so many dungeons and raids are). From the gatehouse to the courtyard, to the dining hall and turrets, it was fun to roam around this place even after the place was cleared. I liked both versions of it as well, the original and the Cata version. The lore of both had me intrigued. If I had to choose.. I think I enjoyed the remake a little more. Godfrey was a pretty sick character and heroic Springvale was a pretty decent challenge.
2. Black Morass - I like Caverns of Time. Hyjal was iffy as a raid since it made no sense whatsoever lore wise in BC and only served as nostalgia for WC3 fans (which is something I suppose... but at least the 5 mans have the infinite dragonflight messing things up, Hyjal had no mention of it....), but the 5 mans have all been pretty fun. Of these, BM is king. It was the first speed dungeon with constant waves of mobs and bosses instead of groups that just stand in one place until you come kill them. They had a purpose to being there and proposed a good challenge to players... specifically pick up your pace, kill faster and more efficiently or you're going to get quickly overwhelmed. The bosses were all pretty cool looking, especially the final. I've always been a big fan of the infinite DF skin. Heroic was also a great challenge.. and the fact it was required to enter Kara made it that much better (I love raid-keys). All in all, BM was a heroic dungeon you did not bring just anyone to. You entered only with the people you KNEW were solid players who could keep up. That is what I feel a heroic dungeon is supposed to be.. which brings me to #1.....
1. Shattered Halls - As stated above, when I think heroic dungeon, I think SH. Hell.. I think Burning Crusade. BC was the pinnacle of heroic dungeon difficulty and if you disagree.. sorry, but you probably just weren't very good at them. Blizzard did not give players CC spells for pvp only.. they were meant to be used in dungeons and raids... an art which is just not as common anymore. SH had pack after pack of difficult pulls.. groups that if done wrong, were instant wipes, or required some heroic actions in order to keep controlled. As a tank, I loved it. All of the bosses presented some sort of challenge, especially the Bladefist. He was one tough SoB in the beginnings of heroics and bringing him down was truly a relief moment. I remember wipe after wipe and altering strategies slightly each time based on who I was with in order to finally get him down. A true final heroic dungeon boss. Though the layout was not the most imaginative (understatement), but I give it a pass based on the trash and bosses. I would love to see heroics go back to this kind of difficulty.
Honorable Mentions:
-Scholomance: The original was a blast. So many bosses and the final room with the 6 mini bosses was always fun. I haven't done the remake yet, so I can't comment, but from what I've heard and read, it was well done and I'm looking forward to getting the time to run it.
- Stonecore: Not sure why.. I just really enjoyed this place. Bosses were all pretty cool. And the return of Millhouse always made me laugh. Plus a rare mount is always a nice addition in a heroic.
- Blacrock Spire: Upper and Lower. Both were fantastic and alot of fun. But as far as I'm concerned.. at correct level they were considered raids. They've been turned into 5mans and by the time they were, lost all their appeal as epic dungeons. Still thought.. alot of good memories here.
So.. give me your opinions!!
My top 5:
5. Blackrock Depths - Insanely long, I 100% agree... but that's why it was so great. It had more wings and bosses than any other dungeon in game. The downside to this dungeon was that because it was so long, no one ever wanted to run it... or you would get 3-4 bosses deep and everyone would start bailing... but when you had 2-3 hours to kill and 4 dedicated friends, there was nothing more epic and fun than finishing this dungeon all the way through at level. It was truly a 5 main raid dungeon.
4. Halls of Lightning - Now I may be completely alone on this one.. but for some reason this dungeon just stuck with me. I really enjoyed the Storm Peaks / Halls of Lightning / Ulduar storyline, and after completing the SP zone, HoL and Loken's quotes at the end really got me interested in Ulduar as a raid.. and then of course we all know how Ulduar turned out. The rest of HoL prior to Loken wasn't the funnest.. but it also wasn't bad at all. The bosses on heroic had a slight challenge, and most of them looked pretty cool. For sure a memorable one for me.
3. Shadowfang Keep - Call me Nostalgic.... actually don't. This has nothing to do with that. This place is freaking awesome.. period. What's more iconic in fantasy than storming an evil castle?? Bizzard did a great job with this place in terms of layout (although towards the end I would have done things a bit differently), and I loved that it felt like a single contained structure.. not a bunch of rooms and halls in the middle of no where that never connect to each other (Like so many dungeons and raids are). From the gatehouse to the courtyard, to the dining hall and turrets, it was fun to roam around this place even after the place was cleared. I liked both versions of it as well, the original and the Cata version. The lore of both had me intrigued. If I had to choose.. I think I enjoyed the remake a little more. Godfrey was a pretty sick character and heroic Springvale was a pretty decent challenge.
2. Black Morass - I like Caverns of Time. Hyjal was iffy as a raid since it made no sense whatsoever lore wise in BC and only served as nostalgia for WC3 fans (which is something I suppose... but at least the 5 mans have the infinite dragonflight messing things up, Hyjal had no mention of it....), but the 5 mans have all been pretty fun. Of these, BM is king. It was the first speed dungeon with constant waves of mobs and bosses instead of groups that just stand in one place until you come kill them. They had a purpose to being there and proposed a good challenge to players... specifically pick up your pace, kill faster and more efficiently or you're going to get quickly overwhelmed. The bosses were all pretty cool looking, especially the final. I've always been a big fan of the infinite DF skin. Heroic was also a great challenge.. and the fact it was required to enter Kara made it that much better (I love raid-keys). All in all, BM was a heroic dungeon you did not bring just anyone to. You entered only with the people you KNEW were solid players who could keep up. That is what I feel a heroic dungeon is supposed to be.. which brings me to #1.....
1. Shattered Halls - As stated above, when I think heroic dungeon, I think SH. Hell.. I think Burning Crusade. BC was the pinnacle of heroic dungeon difficulty and if you disagree.. sorry, but you probably just weren't very good at them. Blizzard did not give players CC spells for pvp only.. they were meant to be used in dungeons and raids... an art which is just not as common anymore. SH had pack after pack of difficult pulls.. groups that if done wrong, were instant wipes, or required some heroic actions in order to keep controlled. As a tank, I loved it. All of the bosses presented some sort of challenge, especially the Bladefist. He was one tough SoB in the beginnings of heroics and bringing him down was truly a relief moment. I remember wipe after wipe and altering strategies slightly each time based on who I was with in order to finally get him down. A true final heroic dungeon boss. Though the layout was not the most imaginative (understatement), but I give it a pass based on the trash and bosses. I would love to see heroics go back to this kind of difficulty.
Honorable Mentions:
-Scholomance: The original was a blast. So many bosses and the final room with the 6 mini bosses was always fun. I haven't done the remake yet, so I can't comment, but from what I've heard and read, it was well done and I'm looking forward to getting the time to run it.
- Stonecore: Not sure why.. I just really enjoyed this place. Bosses were all pretty cool. And the return of Millhouse always made me laugh. Plus a rare mount is always a nice addition in a heroic.
- Blacrock Spire: Upper and Lower. Both were fantastic and alot of fun. But as far as I'm concerned.. at correct level they were considered raids. They've been turned into 5mans and by the time they were, lost all their appeal as epic dungeons. Still thought.. alot of good memories here.
So.. give me your opinions!!