Why Blackrock Depths is the Greatest MMORPG Dungeon of all time

dungeons have always been a staple of the MMORPG genre the idea of exploring ancient caverns slaying mythical beasts and looting weapons of legend is epic fantasy at its finest and from a gameplay perspective dungeons have always been a convenient mechanism to drive group oriented content but among the thousands of dungeons the genre has seen over the past two decades one particular dungeon still remains a cut above the rest I'm of course referring to World of Warcraft's Blackrock depths an underground city home to the Dark Iron dwarves BRD is a masterpiece of game design whose standards have yet to be met even 15 years later in this video we'll be analyzing the genius behind the dark iron city and why many players myself included consider it to be the greatest MMO dungeon of all time before we can understand the brilliance behind BR DS design we must first examine vanilla dungeon philosophy as a whole the original World of Warcraft dungeons were vastly different to the 5 Mane's of today the old instances felt like actual places in the world and could draw players in with more than just flashy mechanics they often included hidden encounters epic quests and special loot drops that gave them a unique identity but even by vanilla standards Blackrock depths was a dungeon like no other boasting nearly 20 bosses across 18 different rooms BRD was simply massive in both scope and scale while most dungeons had around 6 or 7 quests BRD had 41 more impressively the zones content spanned a whopping twelve levels from 48 to 60 this means that Blackrock depths was relevant content for virtually half the game just that point alone is enough to make BRD one of the grandest dungeon experiences in gaming but its size is just the beginning behind this monolithic beast of an instance was a plethora of secret bosses extravagant events brilliant level design epic lore and juicy juicy gear let's start with BR Dee's famous level design you've probably seen the famous BRD map showcasing the dungeons layout as impressive as the map is it pales in comparison to the awe-inspiring details on the ground floor upon zoning into the instance players will immediately notice a metal door on the left side of the starting room the door is obviously locked by placing an obstacle at the entrance of the dungeon the designers have deliberately created a sense of wonder in your mind what's behind the door is there a chest a quest objective perhaps a secret boss I don't know but I can't wait to find out and unlike many games that grab your attention only to let it slip away with poor world design BRD continues to deliver as you venture deeper into the twisting labyrinth the mystique of the dark iron capital begins to reveal itself beyond the first trash pack is a detention center where prisoners are left to hang from the ceiling around the corner is the infamous ring of law where judgment is passed upon the enemies of the dark iron clan and if you escape judgment you'll stumble upon the grim guzzler part of the city and dormitory to the merciless jailers that surround you the various rooms and corridors of BRD are so immersive that the dungeon doesn't even feel like a dungeon it feels like an entire leveling zone packed full of interesting characters evolving storylines and most importantly secret passageways remember that door I showed you it can be opened using the shadow Forge key a quest reward obtainable only through death there are several other keys that unlock secret routes throughout the dungeon such as the grim guzzler key which is acquired by pick pocketing the guzzlers barkeeper by incorporating these secret doors and keys into the zones layout the original designers had made BRD one of the most replayable dungeons in history as with each visit a player could unlock more and more of the dungeons content additionally the keys granted players a heightened sense of agency as certain keys could be used to bypass undesirable areas this brilliant design philosophy keeps players coming back for more while still delivering fresh exciting gameplay I could talk about BRT level design for hours but I think you get the point before I move on though I do want to recognize the genius behind BR DS layout and that would be John stats John was the first 3d level designer employed by the WoW team back in the early 2000s and he's designed legendary zones such as Blackrock Spire a scholomance Blackwing Lair Warsong Gulch and even Kara's am the guy knows level design and if you hadn't heard he recently published a book called the world of warcraft diary which details the development cycle of an Wow I've personally read the diary and I can tell you it is an absolute must-read for any gamer yeah just a quick shout out to John for crafting some of the most epic experiences in gaming history now let's get back to business level design wasn't the only standout feature of the depths the boss encounters were great too while most bosses in vanilla were straightforward tank and spanks BRD pushed the boundaries of encounter design by adding several unique mechanics examples of these mechanics would be the fire traps deployed in the Magnus fight the cleverly narrow bridge used in the Incendia fight and the creeping lava spawn mechanic in the flame lash fight these mechanics might seem elementary today but back in 2005 utilizing a bosses room layout as a weapon was unprecedented in the MMO genre and the innovation didn't stop there BRD also expanded on the concept of event based encounters which were used to break up the monotony of traditional boss fights we already mentioned the ring of law this Colosseum style wave encounter was one of the first randomly selected boss fights in the game a mechanic we would eventually see more of over the course of Laos history the Lyceum event was also groundbreaking the event is a callback to the mines of Moria sequence and Lord of the Rings it's just epic on a whole nother level and showed the potential of what dungeon events could actually be but my absolute favorite event in BRD would have to be the barroom brawl at the grim guzzler upon destroying the kegs and this small secluded corridor players will be immediately attacked by several dark iron drunks turning an innocent room inspection into an all-out bar fight bear in mind nothing in the game tells you to break these kegs there are no arrows or menu prompts that direct you to do so this is a completely hidden encounter designed to reward observant players who took the time to explore their surroundings and these bosses weren't just nameless and pcs in Blackrock depths almost every boss in the dungeon came with a unique backstory ambassador flame lash who we mentioned before is the servant of sulphur and Harbinger one of the bosses in the molten core and the first of many flame walkers to be encountered in world of warcraft bale gar inspired by the Tolkien Balrog was a molten giant pulled from the Firelands by Ragnaros himself to guard an ancient doorway the purpose of which remains unknown and how could we forget the story of emperor dagger and Thoresen rule the dark iron clan who kidnapped princess Moira Bronzebeard as a hostage before falling in love with her and dying by her side all epic storylines that concluded within the dungeon in fact Blackrock depths was so rich with lore that most of Vanilla's raids were also connected to the city why do you think the portal to the molten core was originally placed in BRD because Ragnaros was summoned to Azeroth by Thoresen why did the Onyxia tomb inquest require so many visits to the depths because well I don't want to spoil it the point is BRD wasn't just a randomly generated dungeon crawl it was a storied expedition into the depths of Hell itself and into the lives of various characters who are just trying to do the right thing if you want to learn more about the lore behind the dungeon you can check out novels story video on Blackrock Mountain which I've linked in the description below it's actually really cool so at this point in the video we've discussed the genius behind vr DS immersive level design progressive and counter design and epic lore design but we haven't talked about the most important aspect of any dungeon friggin loo loot rewards are the biggest incentive to pursue content Blizzard has even said as much and when it comes to rewards Blackrock depths has some of the best in the game the hand of justice a trinket that drops off of Thoris and is so good for some classes that it doesn't get replaced until a queue or knacks iron foe is pre-raid best in slot for fury warriors and is also purple so bonus points and the mantle have lost hope one of the best healing pre red shoulders in the game also drops in BRD off of Lourdes or car so many good items drop in this dungeon that BRD remains relevant even after your first molten core clear and not just because of the boss drops but also because of the repre wards you may have heard of the thorium Brotherhood reputation and vanilla but what you may not know is that locked o stark bargainer the factions quartermaster is the only quartermaster to ever be placed inside a vanilla dungeon the factions repre wards are also completely mandatory for Raiders as many epic fire-resistant Xand plans are purchased from lock tous plans for the epic two-handed nightfall acts a high priority debuff weapon can also be purchased from lock dose the guy sells some good stuff but beyond all these tangible power based rewards is one that is intangible the privilege of sitting on Thoris thrown upon completing the dungeon the throne itself is not lootable nor does it grant you above but there's something special about claiming a powerful seed after conquering your enemies there's something special about sitting on that throne Blackrock depths is an absolute masterpiece of game design to this day it's still considered among many to be the greatest dungeon the MMORPG genre has ever seen and I've got to say I have to agree the dungeon even has its own special Forge for God's sakes where you can crap the soul fear in hammer part of sulfuric and of Ragnaros it's truly a unique place shaped by brilliant level design innovative encounters and some of the best lore vanilla Wow has to offer of all the adjectives I could use to describe BRD only one comes to mind genius but thanks for watching the video guys if you liked what you saw sub it up and stick around because we got more coming a quick shout out to all of my friends on patreon who helped make videos like this possible if you'd like to support these videos as well I've left the patreon link in the description for you and for more classic Wow and vanilla content you can check me out live on twitch at twitch.tv slash tips out baby have a wonderful day fellas I'll see you guys on Twitch and as always tips out baby [Music] you

Channel: Tips Out

Views: 509,335

Keywords: blackrock depths, blackrock depths guide, best vanilla wow dungeons, best mmo dungeons, best mmorpg dungeon, best dungeon of all time, best dungeon game of all time, classic wow dungeons, classic wow blackrock depths, vanilla brd, classic wow brd, brd, blackrock depths design, why brd is the best dungeon ever, best dungeons ever, best warcraft dungeons, best wow dungeons, top wow dungeons, top dungeons of all time

Id: 3a43GUqzOLs

Length: 10min 28sec (628 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 26 2018