Instance


 * For a list of instances in World of Warcraft, see Instances by continent or Instances by level.

Dungeons, keeps, and other confined areas can have sub-areas called instances (aka instance dungeons). These instances are special areas in the World of Warcraft where your group or raid party is able to interact with a dungeon privately; that is, without interference from other parties or raids. It is also a respite from the global PvP environment on a PvP server. The term instance is often conflated and interchanged with the term dungeon.

Instance dungeons tend to feature the most difficult and rewarding content, both in terms of enemies and items, but also in terms of level design. Most mobs inside the instance are elite, with the exception of some mobs, and perform well above their level. Instances usually feature multiple bosses, all with special abilities and immunities. Getting through an instance normally requires a well-trained and well-balanced group of players who are of an appropriate level for the challenge.

Lower level instances can be soloed by a higher level character. While an interesting challenge, the drops will not be particularly useful anymore. (although you could just sell the items you get, or trade the non-soulbound ones to players who need them and have gold to pay for it)

Farming for gear
Instances are often farmed for gear by having a high level character take a low level character through the instance; either a friend or for a fee. Boss drops typically BoP, so the lowbie has to be present.

The lower character is going to get a lot of XP in the instance. If building a twink you will need to plan for this; start farming as soon as you are able and be selective which instances you farm. XP is not your friend (twinks); you want as little as possible so that you can continue to farm without dinging past your goal level. You should focus on specific gear and bypass kills you don't need. Note, however, that this is less of an issue since patch 3.2 and the ability to turn off experience completely. Whereas formerly creating a twink took careful planning of gear attainment and experience gain, the main limiting factor now is initial experience gain to the desired level.

Game mechanics
Because instances are in effect separate from the actual main World of Warcraft maps such as Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, Outland, and Northrend, much like the Battlegrounds, players too are literally moved from one part of the map to an artificial creation of the main map sections. However this is not to suggest that Blizzard did not go to the effort of re-creating instance geography and terrain within the main maps. Areas like Zul'Farrak are fully constructed within Tanaris though it is impossible for players to enter this area without any way to climb over the hills. This is a rarity since in order to save processing power and make the world smoother to run without rendering useless features that no one would ever see, Blizzard creates a "false" portrayal of the instances such as Shadowfang Keep where only what the player sees is worth rendering. Another difference worth noting is that within instances, the corpses of boss characters will remain intact for 1 hour to ensure that players do not miss out on loot.

Hosting
Instances are hosted on realm servers. For load balancing purposes, an instance's server will often be that of a realm that isn't home to anyone in the group, as indicated by the server time zone. If too many members of a raid have high latency, resetting the instance may help by moving it to a different server.

Behind the entrance
The overworld includes a small area behind the instance entrance. For some 5-player dungeons, such as the ones in Icecrown Citadel, this is a copy of the first hallway except that it dead-ends after the first turn (if one pays attention, nearly all instances have a turn or obstruction near the instance for this reason). Crossing the instance entrance (even with an ability such as Blink) automatically attempts to transfer you to the instance, but the attempt can fail -- placing you in this area -- in the following situations:


 * You try to enter a raid instance when you're not in a raid.
 * The instance has a minimum level that you don't meet. Note that for dungeons, this minimum will generally be more lenient than that imposed by the Dungeon Finder.
 * A member of your party or raid is in a copy of the instance that you can't enter because of an instance lock.
 * Entering the instance would reset it for the sixth time in less than an hour.
 * You entered the instance using the Dungeon Finder, it's hosted on a different server than your realm, and that server goes down while you're a ghost.

Ragefire Chasm and Stormwind Stockade
These are instances located in the capital city for each faction (Ragefire Chasm in Orgrimmar and Stormwind Stockade in Stormwind), and as such it used to be very difficult for opposite faction characters to get to the entrance at an instance-appropriate level (about level 15 for Ragefire Chasm and level 25 for Stormwind Stockade) without the help of other max level characters. However, if they get there, they can enter through the portal. Since Patch 3.3.0 appropriate level characters can use the Dungeon Finder feature to gain access to these dungeons, regardless of faction.

There is an achievement called which requires doing both of these. Unless the character used the opportunity to complete them at the appropriate level through the Dungeon Finder, this would typically be done at near max level or with the help of others at max level. While the instance will be trivial, getting in will not be. A group of max level characters can race past the guards. Fighting your way in is an option, but you are then essentially raiding the opposing capital, so be prepared. Rogues or druids can stealth in; and there are summoning stones near the entrance, so a small stealthed group can summon others.

See also other Dungeons & Raids achievements