Instances, also known as instance dungeons or simply “dungeons”, are special areas in World of Warcraft of which many copies can exist at once. “Instance” can also refer to a particular copy of such an area. These areas allow many groups of players to traverse the same geography and battle the same enemies at the same time, without interfering with each other. All instances are accessible by a swirling portal, sometimes blocked by a locked door (and thus requiring a key). The Naxxramas Necropolis provides a small exception to the swirling portal rule by not having one, instead you simply step on a platform located in the Eastern Plaguelands to automatically teleport into the instance.

Instances were first proposed by Richard Garriott in the late 1990s as a way to solve a set of related problems which had become obvious in Ultima Online. The problem is simple to state: everyone wants to be “The Hero” and slay “The Monster”, rescue “The Princess” and obtain “The Magic Sword”. When there are 2,000 and more players all playing the same game, clearly not everyone can be the hero. The problem of everyone wanting to kill the same monster and gain the best treasure was terribly obvious in the game EverQuest. The creation of instances largely solves this set of problems. There are few examples of boss camping and kill stealing in World of Warcraft – because a copy of the dungeon (instance) is always created on demand for a character or their party.

Instance Name Maximum People Suggested Level Range Location Faction (Quests)
Ragefire Chasm 10 13-18 Orgrimmar Horde (Instance located in Horde city)
The Deadmines 5 (10 Max) 17-24 Westfall Alliance (But accessible to Horde, no quests)
Wailing Caverns 5 (10 Max) 17-24 The Barrens Both (Horde specific quests; Alliance shared quests)
Shadowfang Keep 10 22-30 Silverpine Forest Both (Horde general quests; Alliance Class-specific quests)
The Stockade 10 24-32 Stormwind Alliance (Instance located in Alliance city)
Blackfathom Deeps 10 24-32 Ashenvale Both
Gnomeregan 10 29-38 Dun Morogh Both
Razorfen Kraul 10 29-38 The Barrens Both
The Scarlet Monastery 10 34-45 Tirisfal Glades Both
Razorfen Downs 10 37-46 The Barrens Both
Uldaman 10 41-51 Badlands Both
Zul’Farrak 10 44-54 Tanaris Both
The Sunken Temple 10 44-60 Swamp of Sorrows Both
Maraudon 10 46-55 Desolace Both
Blackrock Depths 10 54-60 Blackrock Mountain Both
Lower Blackrock Spire 5 (10 Max) 54-61 Blackrock Mountain Both
Dire Maul 5 55-63 Feralas Both
Stratholme 5 58-63 Eastern Plaguelands Both
Scholomance 5 58-63 Western Plaguelands Both
Raids
Upper Blackrock Spire 10 55-62 Blackrock Mountain Both
Zul’Gurub 20 60+ Stranglethorn Vale Both
Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj 20 60+ Silithus Both
Onyxia’s Lair 40 60+ Dustwallow Marsh Both
Molten Core 40 60+ Blackrock Mountain Both
Blackwing Lair 40 60+ Blackrock Mountain Both
Temple of Ahn’Qiraj 40 60+ Silithus Both
Naxxramas 40 60+ Eastern Plaguelands Both
Battlegrounds
Warsong Gulch 10 10-70, in brackets (10-19, 20-29, etc.) Ashenvale & The Barrens Both
Arathi Basin 15 20-70, in brackets (20-29, 30-39, etc.) Arathi Highlands Both
Alterac Valley 40 51-70, in brackets (51-60, 61-70) Alterac Mountains Both