A new World of Warcraft expansion means new dungeons, and The War Within gave us eight solid ones to tackle.
Considering both Dragonflight and Shadowlands brought eight new dungeons to the game at launch as well, there’s no surprise with the amount of content we’re getting.
Though all eight of the new dungeons are pretty strong in their own right, there are some very clear winners… and some very clear losers.
So, let’s take a look at them in terms of their visuals, boss mechanics, trash mobs, and narrative significance to try and give them their deserved rankings.
8 The Stonevault
Can They Stop With The Fears?
Entrance Location | Ringing Deeps |
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Number of Bosses | 4 |
Final Boss | Void Speaker Eirich |
The Stonevault is the lowest ranked for a few key reasons:
- The general aesthetic is relatively bland, due to the focus on forges, machines, and the Void.
- Some of the trash mobs are incredibly annoying to deal with (namely the mass fears and unstoppable charges some of them have).
- Some boss mechanics are simply more annoying than fun (the Master Machinists boss, for example, has a bit too much going on in too tight a space).
At least you can choose which of the two middle bosses to deal with first, preventing the dungeon from being too linear on top of all that.
This is by no means a way of saying The Stonevault is bad. After all, it does have a saving grace: the narrative behind this dungeon fits right into the overarching plot of The War Within (killing Void Speaker Eirich is long overdue). However, it packs the weakest punch of the 8 dungeons for the listed reasons.
7 Ara-Kara, City of Echoes
Don’t Trip On Any Webs
Entrance Location | Azj-Kahet |
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Number of Bosses | 3 |
Final Boss | Ki-katal the Harvester |
Ara-Kara, City of Echoes barely comes ahead of The Stonevault. Its visuals, while also on the bland side, are slightly better. In particular, the view from the balcony in the last room is extremely creepy but equally cool.
Furthermore, there is one less boss to deal with, and the mechanics of the second and last bosses are a bit more interesting and not as annoying as those of The Stonevault bosses. Truth be told, the second boss carries this dungeon with the couple of dynamic mechanics it has.
Most of all though, the trash mobs in Ara’Kara aren’t as obnoxious. There are certainly a couple of annoying mobs to consider, but overall, it’s not as bad.
The platforms that are connected by bridges of webs that lead up to the first boss are reminiscent of those in the boss fight room of Elerethe Renferal in The Emerald Nightmare raid from Legion.
Lastly, the narrative aspect of this dungeon is pretty in line with The Stonevault, being equally significant to the main plot of The War Within. Just, instead of Earthen being the victims of Xal’atath’s temptations, it’s the Nerubians.
6 Cinderbrew Meadery
BEE.E.O.? Really?
Entrance Location | Isle of Dorn |
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Number of Bosses | 4 |
Final Boss | Goldie Baronbottom |
Cinderbrew Meadery is a cute and quick little dungeon that reminds us that the Venture Company is still up to no good.
The dungeon is straightforward, contained, and linear (though, like The Stonevault, you can choose which of the middle two bosses to tackle first).
The boss mechanics are not overly complex, yet each boss has its own specific gimmick (among their other basic mechanics) to be aware of, preventing them from being too boring and bringing a fair amount of life to them.
Although Cinderbrew Meadery is generally well-rounded and not massively unique, the aforementioned boss mechanics are what put it above the first two, along with the lovely fact that the trash mobs here are the least annoying of the bunch.
Also, from a narrative perspective, seeing the Venture Company be a threat again – however minor a threat they may be – is nice to see. Plus, it gives us a breather from the seriousness of the Void theme, making things a tad more lighthearted and goofy.
5 City of Threads
Spy Hunting And Bug Squashing
Entrance Location | Azj-Kahet |
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Number of Bosses | 4 |
Final Boss | Izo, the Grand Splicer |
The City of Threads is a very well-rounded dungeon on all fronts, not excelling at anything in particular, but also not lacking at anything. It is also a clear step above the other Nerubian dungeon, Ara-Kara, City of Echoes.
The creepy spider and Void-themed visuals are wonderful as always, the boss mechanics are intuitive but not earth-shatteringly unique, and its story and path are easy to follow.
That said, City of Threads is above the other “well-rounded” dungeons because of one main thing:
For once, the way from one boss to another isn’t just “kill all the trash here and avoid the trash we can avoid.” The way from the first to the second boss is quite refreshing, as instead of the former, you have to hunt down 4 spies and avoid getting caught in the process.
4 The Dawnbreaker
Where Should We Land?!
Entrance Location | Hallowfall |
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Number of Bosses | 3 |
Final Boss | Rasha’nan |
The Dawnbreaker should be higher on this list, but alas, a lens of practicality must be worn.
Make no mistake: the utilization of sky riding throughout this dungeon is absolutely brilliant… in theory. Unfortunately, with anything but a coordinated pre-made group, this dungeon becomes a bit of a nightmare on the approach to the second boss.
Using sky riding (Dragonflight’s greatest feature) to run away from the first boss’s void explosions and chasing the third boss in the middle of his fight can be reasoned as fun ways to spice up a boss fight.
However, making sure everyone lands in the same place each and every time for the second boss and all their generals leaves plenty of room for things to go terribly wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.
This was an issue back in Dragonflight’s Nokhud Offensive, though much less of one since Nokhud Offensive is wide-open space with spread-out mobs, and The Dawnbreaker is a clustered city with a great deal of mob-congestion.
Aside from that, the visuals and other mechanics of The Dawnbreaker are pretty great. You can never go wrong with having Beledar in the background, and retaking Mereldar, a city we have spent plenty of time in – and will continue to spend plenty of time in – in the open world, is excellent from a narrative perspective.
3 The Rookery
Save The Stormriders!
Entrance Location | Isle of Dorn |
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Number of Bosses | 3 |
Final Boss | Voidstone Monstrosity |
The Rookery has all the visual and mechanical strengths of The Dawnbreaker but doesn’t have the striking issue of sky riding.
Granted, said visuals are slightly different, leaning more toward lightning and void rather than light and void aesthetics. So, too, are the mechanics of the boss fights, but they still have enough to ensure they are not boring tank-and-spanks.
More than any of this, though, the narrative aspect of this dungeon is a simple tragedy. The entire order of stormriders has fallen to the Void’s temptation and corruption, and we have the solemn duty of culling it.
The Rookery is a very well-rounded dungeon. Its progression is clear, so there’s no confusion about where the group needs to go, and its mechanics are compelling enough to keep everyone engaged.
2 Priory of the Sacred Flame
Too Many Paladins
Entrance Location | Hallowfall |
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Number of Bosses | 3 |
Final Boss | Prioress Murrpray |
The Priory of the Sacred Flame is yet another step up from those that came before it. Like The Rookery, there is only one path forward, though there is a choice as to how you want to approach the trash leading up to the first boss, which is nice.
Speaking of the first boss, the “lure the lieutenants away from the boss to make the boss weaker” mechanic is taken directly from Court of Stars way back in Legion, specifically the second boss, Talixae Flamewreath.
The boss mechanics, while relatively standard, are just as good and fun as those in The Rookery (the intermission phase of the last boss can make or break some groups for sure).
It is also incredibly compelling on the story front, being the narrative conclusion to one of the best side quests The War Within has to offer.
But more than anything, the visuals of this dungeon are some of the strongest across the board, namely the final boss room. The back, open-concept wall that crowns Beledar is absolutely stunning, and there are few things – if any – that can top it aesthetically.
1 Darkflame Crest
You No Take Candle!
Entrance Location | Ringing Deeps |
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Number of Bosses | 4 |
Final Boss | The Darkness |
Darkflame Crest takes the cake here for two main reasons:
- Incredible boss fights with fun and unique mechanics.
- Kobolds.
There are two stand-out bosses. First, Ol’ Waxbeard, whose primary mechanic is to have players lure the hordes of tiny kobolds he summons into the oncoming mine carts he calls down the tracks. And second, The Darkness.
Before even getting to the boss itself, the trash that leads up to it gives us practice with the main mechanic The Darkness uses: keeping a candle lit to prevent us from being consumed by the dark. It’s fun, creepy, unique, and intuitive.
Then, the boss utilizes this very mechanic, there’s just a lot more to deal with… because it’s a boss fight. Can’t beat it.
Darkflame Crest gives some refreshing visuals to cleanse our pallets from the predominant void and light colors throughout the expansion. With a focus on fire, wax, and true darkness, this dungeon is a blast to play and brings new meaning to the age-old “you no take candle!”
The kobold aren’t just kidding around. The Darkness is real and very scary.
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