Saw some lamentations in a different forum, waxing rosey over dungeon experiences when they first played WoW and suggesting modern dungeon design just wasn’t as good. One comment specifically argued that Dragonflight dungeons sucked in terms of theme and art. I started thinking about individual Dragonflight dungeons one at a time, and decided I could not agree. The art team, as usual, has been on-point (imho). The dungeons all have good stories behind them, for those who pay attention to that stuff. But that’s my opinion. I’m interested in hearing yours.
Score 1-10 , with 10 being up there with your favorites of all time, and 1 being the worst.
Suggested Criteria (no criteria police, but this gives us some common basis for our ratings):
- Art (visuals, music, voice actors)
- Story (lore, character development)
- Theme (how well do the encounters represent the theme of the place, e.g., time-themed fights in Dawn of the Infinite)
- Gameplay (is it fun to play?)
My personal scores:
- Algeth’ar Academy: A10 + S10 + T10 + G9 = 39/40 = 9.75
It’s Hogwarts for dragons! What’s not to love? The voice-overs (script) and voice acting are wonderful. There are meaningful options with pathing and pulls. The boss fights are both fun and challenging. 1 pt off gameplay because they could allow more options for counter-play on Vexamus, and the last boss could be more than just a victory lap. Overall one of Blizz’s best, and an instant classic. - The Azure Vault: A10 + S10 + T10 + G8 = 38/40 = 9.5
The simulacrum of Syndragosa is one of the best new characters they’ve introduced in DF. When some disaffected drachthyr break in looking for secrets they feel are being kept from them, she guides us in stopping them lest they do more harm than they expect. Her voice-overs add to the ambience. The instance is beautiful and we can imagine it when she and Malygos were alive. We race to get ahead of the drachthyr, but fail to prevent them breaking the seal on Syndragosa’s poor diseased son. The one she left in stasis till a cure could be found, but then she and Malygos both died so no one came back for him. Another instant classic, with points off because Blizz removed some of the creative pathing. - Dawn of the Infinite: Art 10 + Story 10 + Theme 10 + Gameplay 7 = 37/40 = 9.25
I really love everything about this place, but it can be frustrating to play at times. The Morchi fight, in particular, has a lot of RNG in where the dragon and traps will spawn. - The Nokhud Offensive: A7 + S9 + T10 + G7 = 35/40 = 8.75
I always give bonus points for experimenting, and this one opened new horizons for future instances. The story of how the Nok’hud had all the clans on the defensive, and how we had to help them each turn their individual battles so we could assail the final boss, the huge elemental (healer test!) causing the zone-wide storm, the legendary ancestors mistaking us for bad guys - some recurring WoW themes, but well excuted, with plenty of options for pathing and pulls. Storm boss can be much harder for some healers than others, which isn’t fair to them, and last boss can likewise affect which comp you want to bring (leaving some players feeling left out). - Brackenhide Hollow: A7 + S10 + T10 +G5 = 32/40 = 8.0
Plague green has never been my favorite aesthetic, but if that’s the job the artiists were assigned, I suppose they did it well. The story appealed at several levels: the gnolls delving into the magic of decay was something that alarmed even a dragon aspect, but at a more basic level this was about our friends the Tuskar being kidnapped and eaten by gnolls. We go to save our friends. Totem mechanic on last boss can be annoying, and can restrict group comp on higher keys. - Uldaman: A7 + S8 + T8 + G9 = 32/40 = 8.0
As dungeon re-vamps go, I think they did a good job. Uldamann has a long-established place in lore, so it was a logical place to go for clues about Tyr. We fight our way past typical titan constructs to race Infinite Dragonflight to the prize. Lost Dwarves is a fun-silly fight (always crazy, but does anyone actually wipe on this?). Definitely some good challenges as the dungeon progresses. Options for skips. I enjoy this one, even when some of my friends don’t. - Ruby Life Pools: A7 + S8 + T8 + G6 = 29/40 = 7.25
The story of an idealistic band of primalists trying to ‘save’ the whelps from titan corruption, while we try to save them from the primalists… solid story, and the fights match the mood, but (especially before nerfs) the fights are unforgiving and can be difficult to coordinate without comms. One fun aspect of gameplay is opportunities for big pulls (if your group can handle it). - Halls of Infusion: A8 + S8 + T7 + G4 = 29/40 = 6.75
The lead-in is so-so, but if you’re paying attention we learn that Tyr really was putting something in the water. Raising the question of ethics regarding the alteration of sentient lifeforms. It’s yet another pretty titan facility, no less so because we’ve come to expect them. The fights make sense for what they are: we walk into a battle between primalists and the facility’s guardians, and have to fight our way through both to get to bottom of what’s happening. Several of the trash pulls are unforgiving compared to other dungeons, and there’s a fair bit of RNG in who gets sent with who in final boss fight (also where people die and whether you can b-rez). - Neltharus: A6 + S6 + T7 + G4 = 23/40 = 5.75
My least-favorite DF dungeon. The fire giants have gotten into the Black Dragon HQ and are looting the place. Wrathion and Sabellion ask us to stop them. It’s another fiery underground, well-done as far as that goes. The djaradin all have appropriate fire giant abilities. The chains mechanic is kind of silly, and Chargath bugs out too often in my experience. Also the RNG of where trinkets spawn on last boss can make or break keys.