Your Dark Place In The World
Posted by 
Bastosa on Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 57 Comments Tags: Instances, never again, shadow labyrinth, slabs
Bastosa on Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 57 Comments Tags: Instances, never again, shadow labyrinth, slabs 
Not too long ago I wrote about my experiences in Mount Hyjal and gave everyone the opportunity to share our favorite places to play. I really enjoyed reading through your comments, and you definitely brought back some good memories of leveling in Duskwood and my first steps into Nagrand.Today I want to flip that. I will tell you right now there is an instance I flat out REFUSE to step foot in. Ask anyone in my guild, you can't pay me to go in there. The instance I'm talking about is Slabs (or The Shadow Labyrinth, if you prefer).
There are several reasons I hate this place, but you can pretty much chalk it up to two really bad experiences. For quite a while I skated along running it every so often, no major issues to speak of. Then I had the run that will live in infamy.
I was just killing some time one random afternoon, so I gathered up a group of friends (including DrDark, who now loves Slabs about as much as I do) and decided to knock out a quick instance run. Things started okay, then it happened. We wiped no less that 15 times on Grandmaster Vorpil. Chalk it up to inexperience, flawed strat, or whatever. The point is it was utterly painful! Four hours later we finally made our way to Murmur. Another 8-10 wipes and we just called it. This group was fairly skilled, and stubborn as all hell, but we finally just had to cut our losses and move on with our lives. You can finish Kara in less time!
I was at a bit of a loss for why the run was so bad, but It was at that moment I swore off Slabs, I felt like I didn't really need to put myself through that again...
Alas, probably 4 months later I was starting to get pretty well geared and was working on my TK attunement quests. Guess where it sends me? Heroic Slabs. Oh Joy.
I thought about this for a while, Slabs couldn't be near as bad as I remember right? What the hell, lets do this thing! So we did. I was a much better player, and put together a pretty impressive group.
So in we go, thinks were going smooth until Blackheart the Inciter. Then all hell breaks loose. 6-7 wipes on Blackheart, at least 10 on Vorpil, and 5 on Murmur. I don't know if we were having an off day, but it was another 4 hour run from hell. It was that point I swore to myself, and meant it, no more Slabs, NEVER AGAIN.
This time I've stuck to it, and I never see myself going back. In fact it's become the big joke in the guild whenever Slabs pops up as the heroic daily. "Bast will tank! He loves Slabs!" Har har, my response has become canned "never again."
I'm hoping I'm not the only one who has this strong of feelings against an instance. There is no other instance in the game I mind running, and I rarely wipe in heroics at all, but something about Slabs just sends chills down my spine. Do you guys have any hellish experiences to share, or any instances that you flat refuse to run? I completely understand if you do, trust me.
Reader Comments (57)
I dont like Slabs either, one of the worst places in World of Warcraft... I also dislike both Mana-Tombs and Sethekk halls but the worst Place is AC. Auchenai Crypts first boss is one of the hardest bosses i have ever met!
He just increases cast time on everything!
He is even harder then most bosses in kara!
I've done the whole instance one time and then we had a Resto Druid (with Hots) and Rogue, Enh Shaman, Hunter and Tankadin! We had no cast times so it wasnt hard... that time!
Mine is Norm MgT, have yet to find a grp with a healer who has enuf +heals, a tank who can tank, and the right amount of DPS for the Priestess and her goons. Gone in with pally heals, pally tank, mage, rogue, resto shaman, warrior, huntard, resto drood, etc. Needless to say I have tried nearly every combo and have yet to finish. My first run was with my former guild of which we could clear Kara np, but MgT, LOL. So now I only go in and give 3 tries on the priestess and if we can't clear her, I move on to dailies, or workin on grp quests for attunements that are no longer required.
I'm surprised so many people hate MagT. It's one of my favorites, not just because of the challenges, but because the fights are fun (if you're not wiping). Well, okay, I hate doing the second boss because if your group is even slightly clueless or undergeared, they're going to fail on him. But the third boss fight is just like 5v5s, which is incredibly fun, and Kael is like a mini-version of the fight with him in the Eye (without the ridiculously obnoxious adds).
I guess it all depends on your gear level/server/guild, since I wouldn't dare try to pug it on normal or heroic on my main's server, but I think I could find a solid group with one of my chars on another server.
As a general rule, I hate running the Auchindoun instances on heroic, mostly from past experiences. I've had good runs in all of them before, but I still am not a huge fan (especially since slabs refuses to drop the stupid idol for my druid, grr). My overall least favorite is Sethekk Halls. I don't like either of the two boss fights, cause they hurt like hell, and Anzu is obnoxious about dropping his mount.
I think the best places are BIG raids... i loved MC and BWL... Gruul is great... mage tank ahaa... (1230 hp unbuff)
The Eye is great too, beating up other mages and magicall mightyness
The worste place i think was Terokkar Forrest... just a small bump in the road between Zangarmarsh and Nagrand
btw Nagrand is the best zone ever, especcially coz i get my lovely gass clouds out of Nagrand and i make 10.000g a week
So I have seen a few posts about Gnomer..., gots to say that Gnomer was one of my favorite instances bcause of the mere fact that I could (on my ally hunter) wipe a 5 man lvl 60 group with just 1 shot :-) . The places I love the most are the places people rarely visit. MC, BWL, AQ, and Nax... Nax esp. was one of the best instances I have ever stepped foot in. For those that didnt get to experience it, your missing out, as well as for those who missed MC BWL AW and Nax, your just kidding yourself on not getting a group together and enjoying the "roots" and in my mind the pinicle of end game raiding. Though I am kind of bias, I have yet to experience TK BT Sunwell or anything really beyond Mags and Grulls.
Ok so enough of my soap box dancing, on to what the post was actually about. An instance I hate. Well thats actually easier than I thought to answer, Underbog (heroic). Absolutely hate how long that stupid place is and the fact that even some of the best players (game play and gear wise) I know wont step foot in that silly freaking instance. I really cant put my thumb on it but after 6 wipes before even reaching a boss, is usually where I say "ok, wtf is going on?". Maybe it was group make up maybe it was lack of concentration seeing as it was 2am. But that wasnt the only time I had what long long long night in the bog of stench. After the last time I was there, I have swarn to never return to the Bog of stench and for all those that enjoy that place, I hearby proclaim you to be prince (or princes as the case may be) of the Bog of stench from hence forth making you the smelliest person in all the land.
The Blueduck
~This duck shoots back~
Uldaman and Gnome i will never go there again or run someone for less than 5000g and if someone can pay that i doubt i would run them because they are morons
I hated and still hate Blasted Lands, and I won't go back there. I am a skinner, and there's lots to farm there----except for one small problem.....you see, there's this big dragon from hell that lives there---Teremus the Destroyer! You might have heard of him? :) No lie-----every single time that I land in Blasted Lands, I get on my horse and within 5 minutes, that dragon has found me. It doesn't matter what part of the stupid map I am on--if I'm in BL, he finds me. /end rant