Post by bellatrix on Sept 10, 2005 11:31:37 GMT -5
So why have instances at all when this is supposed to be an MMORPG where players are all playing together? There is a reason behind instanced zones and that is to make these unique areas manageable for players. With instanced areas harnessing special quests or tougher monsters, it means they don't become overcrowded with different parties all fighting for the same goal. This prevents players in a party having to hang around for monster respawns for example. Instances also prevent the dreaded kill stealing scenario, there is nothing worse than another player taking the kill credit after all your hard work.
Typically, most instances contain Elite quests, so it is advisable to form a group that has at least a healer and a tanker. Players should also try to gather all the quests related to a specific instanced dungeon before trying it otherwise they might have to return to it again at a later stage and repeat the whole dungeon. An average group instance (blue portal) takes between 1 to 3 hours to complete so make sure you have sufficient time. Additionally, players should make sure they have enough inventory space to store any loot that might drop before taking part.
Instances have their own zone chat. Most of the instances themselves are also considered Contested Territory (on the PvP server) but again, some are friendly to the Horde while some are friendly to the Alliance. Even so, which faction the instance belongs to bears no relevance completely. Both factions may enter and play the instances no matter which faction the instance belongs to, and since the 2 factions cannot group with each other, they will never enter the same instance. Still, this could lead to some possible group PvP encounters at the entrance area before the portal.
Every instance is "tied" to the party leader of the group on its creation. Should any player not in this person's group somehow end up being in the instance, he or she will be automatically teleported by the game servers to his Hearthstone bind point after 60 seconds. This can occur if a player leaves the party or the leader kicks someone out of the party. Many players use this mechanism as a "free teleport" at the end of an instance after killing the final boss by disbanding the group. This free teleport does not use the Hearthstone itself and hence does not activate its cooldown either.
Another rule on instances: A warlock cannot summon a player while inside an instance unless the target is already in the same instance (and partied). This means that the warlock will have to go outside the instance to summon a member of the group that is far away.
There are different types of instanced zones in World of Warcraft as we mentioned above, each different coloured portals represent a different kind of instance, blue for a group instance, green for a raid (multi-group) instance and finally red for a PvP Battlefield.
Group Instances
Group instances are identified by their blue swirling portal entrances and contain scripted events and quests that are designed to provide a more satisfying game experience tuned for a group of 5 players in a specific level range. To skip these instances would be to miss a lot of special content so everyone is encouraged to set aside some time to enjoy them. Of course, players can always enter and complete the instances at a much higher level than the recommended level range, but the dungeon would not be as challenging and the loot would similarly not be as useful to a player of higher level.
Group instances are not permanent, when everybody leaves the instance, the instance will be deleted after some time (Blizzard states 30 min). This means that if your entire party dies, there will be ample time for everyone to reenter the same instance you died in. Should you wish to replay that instance again then you have to reform a new party outside the instance so that the game treats your group as a new party and spawn a new instance. Also, if you log off in an instance for more than 15 minutes and the instance resets, you will log back on at the beginning of the instance.
The following is a list of group instances currently available in the game listed with the recommended level range they are suitable for:
Alliance
The Deadmines in Westfall (15-20)
The Stockades in Stormwind (23-26)
Gnomeregan in Dun Morogh (24-33)
Horde
Ragefire Chasm in Orgrimmar (13-15)
Wailing Caverns in The Barrens (15-21)
Shadowfang Keep in Silverpine Forest (18-25)
Razorfen Kraul in The Barrens (25-31)
Razorfen Downs in The Barrens (35-40)
Contested
Blackfathom Deeps in Ashenvale (20-27)
Scarlet Monastery in Tirisfal Glades (30-40)
Uldaman in Badlands (35-45)
Maraudon in Desolace (40-49)
Zul'Farruk in Tanaris (43-47)
The Sunken Temple in Swamp of Sorrows (44-50)
Dire Maul in Ferelas (47-56)
Blackrock Depths between Searing Gorge and Burning Steepes (48-56)
Blackrock Spires between Searing Gorge and Burning Steepes (53-60)
Strathome in Eastern Plaguelands (55-60)
Scholomance in Western Plaguelands (57-60)
Raid Groups
Raid groups are groups of more than 5 people and are typically used to defeat unique challenges at higher levels. In WoW, up to 8 seperate groups can be linked up to form a super-group of 40 players and such a group is called a raid group.
Raid group members cannot earn credit towards most non-raid difficulty quests, or more specifically, the ones involving killing creatures and collecting items. Raid groups also grant substantially less experience for defeating monsters than normal groups. However, raids allow players to overcome challenges that might otherwise be nearly impossible.
What this means is that most of the quests in the game including the ones involving group instances cannot be completed simply by zerging them with a huge number of players. To be more specific, quests involving group instances must be completed by no more than 5 players since raid groups do not earn quest credit and neither can players bring other players into their own instance if they are not grouped. (Players in the instance which are not in the instance creator's group are automatically teleported to their bind point after 60 seconds.) This is done so that the group instance quests would not be trivialised by numbers.
Raid Instances
Raid Instances are indicated by their red swirling portals at the entrance. These instances are designed for raid groups of anywhere between 20 players to 40 players.
The enemies in a raid instance are designed to be extremely difficult and require a raid group of experienced players to take down. Raid difficult quests with rare loot goes along with these instances and this prompts for a good amount of communication and cooperation among all the participating players.
In fact, some of these raid instances are so difficult that they require previous raid instances to be defeated allowing players to properly equip themselves for the next raid instance. Some of these instances also require "keys" to be obtained from various players and group instanced dungeons before players can even enter them.
When the final boss of an instance is defeated, the state of the raid instance along with the names all participating raid members are saved. For the next few days (length varies from raid instance to raid instance), these players would not be able to participate in the same raid instance again. Any attempt to enter the raid instance for these players will result in that player entering the copy of the raid instance in which the final boss was slain. Raid instances do not follow the rules of group instances which resets once 30 minutes have passed with nobody in it.
The following is a list of raid instances currently available in the game listed with the recommended level range and raid sizes they are suitable for:
Onyxia's Lair in Dustwallow Marsh (40-man level 60)
Molten Core in Blackrock Depths (40-man level 60)
Also: (Some may not yet be implimented)
Azurehos in Azshara
Lord Kazzak in Tainted Scar
Blackwing Lair
More raid instances will be added in the future such as the one involving Ragnaros, a gigantic Fire Elemental God, which will be located within Blackrock Depths.
Info based on www.worldofwar.net
Individual instance strategy guides willbe posted as time permits. Check out The Scarlet Monestary guide in this section of the message board.
Typically, most instances contain Elite quests, so it is advisable to form a group that has at least a healer and a tanker. Players should also try to gather all the quests related to a specific instanced dungeon before trying it otherwise they might have to return to it again at a later stage and repeat the whole dungeon. An average group instance (blue portal) takes between 1 to 3 hours to complete so make sure you have sufficient time. Additionally, players should make sure they have enough inventory space to store any loot that might drop before taking part.
Instances have their own zone chat. Most of the instances themselves are also considered Contested Territory (on the PvP server) but again, some are friendly to the Horde while some are friendly to the Alliance. Even so, which faction the instance belongs to bears no relevance completely. Both factions may enter and play the instances no matter which faction the instance belongs to, and since the 2 factions cannot group with each other, they will never enter the same instance. Still, this could lead to some possible group PvP encounters at the entrance area before the portal.
Every instance is "tied" to the party leader of the group on its creation. Should any player not in this person's group somehow end up being in the instance, he or she will be automatically teleported by the game servers to his Hearthstone bind point after 60 seconds. This can occur if a player leaves the party or the leader kicks someone out of the party. Many players use this mechanism as a "free teleport" at the end of an instance after killing the final boss by disbanding the group. This free teleport does not use the Hearthstone itself and hence does not activate its cooldown either.
Another rule on instances: A warlock cannot summon a player while inside an instance unless the target is already in the same instance (and partied). This means that the warlock will have to go outside the instance to summon a member of the group that is far away.
There are different types of instanced zones in World of Warcraft as we mentioned above, each different coloured portals represent a different kind of instance, blue for a group instance, green for a raid (multi-group) instance and finally red for a PvP Battlefield.
Group Instances
Group instances are identified by their blue swirling portal entrances and contain scripted events and quests that are designed to provide a more satisfying game experience tuned for a group of 5 players in a specific level range. To skip these instances would be to miss a lot of special content so everyone is encouraged to set aside some time to enjoy them. Of course, players can always enter and complete the instances at a much higher level than the recommended level range, but the dungeon would not be as challenging and the loot would similarly not be as useful to a player of higher level.
Group instances are not permanent, when everybody leaves the instance, the instance will be deleted after some time (Blizzard states 30 min). This means that if your entire party dies, there will be ample time for everyone to reenter the same instance you died in. Should you wish to replay that instance again then you have to reform a new party outside the instance so that the game treats your group as a new party and spawn a new instance. Also, if you log off in an instance for more than 15 minutes and the instance resets, you will log back on at the beginning of the instance.
The following is a list of group instances currently available in the game listed with the recommended level range they are suitable for:
Alliance
The Deadmines in Westfall (15-20)
The Stockades in Stormwind (23-26)
Gnomeregan in Dun Morogh (24-33)
Horde
Ragefire Chasm in Orgrimmar (13-15)
Wailing Caverns in The Barrens (15-21)
Shadowfang Keep in Silverpine Forest (18-25)
Razorfen Kraul in The Barrens (25-31)
Razorfen Downs in The Barrens (35-40)
Contested
Blackfathom Deeps in Ashenvale (20-27)
Scarlet Monastery in Tirisfal Glades (30-40)
Uldaman in Badlands (35-45)
Maraudon in Desolace (40-49)
Zul'Farruk in Tanaris (43-47)
The Sunken Temple in Swamp of Sorrows (44-50)
Dire Maul in Ferelas (47-56)
Blackrock Depths between Searing Gorge and Burning Steepes (48-56)
Blackrock Spires between Searing Gorge and Burning Steepes (53-60)
Strathome in Eastern Plaguelands (55-60)
Scholomance in Western Plaguelands (57-60)
Raid Groups
Raid groups are groups of more than 5 people and are typically used to defeat unique challenges at higher levels. In WoW, up to 8 seperate groups can be linked up to form a super-group of 40 players and such a group is called a raid group.
Raid group members cannot earn credit towards most non-raid difficulty quests, or more specifically, the ones involving killing creatures and collecting items. Raid groups also grant substantially less experience for defeating monsters than normal groups. However, raids allow players to overcome challenges that might otherwise be nearly impossible.
What this means is that most of the quests in the game including the ones involving group instances cannot be completed simply by zerging them with a huge number of players. To be more specific, quests involving group instances must be completed by no more than 5 players since raid groups do not earn quest credit and neither can players bring other players into their own instance if they are not grouped. (Players in the instance which are not in the instance creator's group are automatically teleported to their bind point after 60 seconds.) This is done so that the group instance quests would not be trivialised by numbers.
Raid Instances
Raid Instances are indicated by their red swirling portals at the entrance. These instances are designed for raid groups of anywhere between 20 players to 40 players.
The enemies in a raid instance are designed to be extremely difficult and require a raid group of experienced players to take down. Raid difficult quests with rare loot goes along with these instances and this prompts for a good amount of communication and cooperation among all the participating players.
In fact, some of these raid instances are so difficult that they require previous raid instances to be defeated allowing players to properly equip themselves for the next raid instance. Some of these instances also require "keys" to be obtained from various players and group instanced dungeons before players can even enter them.
When the final boss of an instance is defeated, the state of the raid instance along with the names all participating raid members are saved. For the next few days (length varies from raid instance to raid instance), these players would not be able to participate in the same raid instance again. Any attempt to enter the raid instance for these players will result in that player entering the copy of the raid instance in which the final boss was slain. Raid instances do not follow the rules of group instances which resets once 30 minutes have passed with nobody in it.
The following is a list of raid instances currently available in the game listed with the recommended level range and raid sizes they are suitable for:
Onyxia's Lair in Dustwallow Marsh (40-man level 60)
Molten Core in Blackrock Depths (40-man level 60)
Also: (Some may not yet be implimented)
Azurehos in Azshara
Lord Kazzak in Tainted Scar
Blackwing Lair
More raid instances will be added in the future such as the one involving Ragnaros, a gigantic Fire Elemental God, which will be located within Blackrock Depths.
Info based on www.worldofwar.net
Individual instance strategy guides willbe posted as time permits. Check out The Scarlet Monestary guide in this section of the message board.
