I’m not sure if you were aware, but I’m actually part of two static groups nowadays. The adventures of the Shortiez are, of course, legendary. Or at least, well documented. Ahem. The other group, though a more recent addition to my MMO gaming, is shaping up to be legendary as well. Monday nights the ‘Fists of Ham’ get together to take on the instances offered up by World of Warcraft. Our group is a podcaster’s value-pack: Brent, Adam, Darren, Brendan, and myself.

We’re only in our mid 30s, so the number of instances we’ve hit is still on the low-side. Still, a big chunk of the xp we’ve earned over the course of our adventuring careers has been from these dungeons. We’re trying to play outside of our group as little as possible, but it’s been rough. At the lower levels where we are the instances don’t quite overlap enough to keep us on one fixed path. Even still … it’s been a great time working from the bottom to the top of WoW’s content.

Ragefire Chasm -

I didn’t actually run this one with the ‘Fists, but I did manage to get my lil’ troll priest run through there. I was leveling hard to catch up with the other players and made it a point to tag along in a PUG to get some early greens. I’m really glad I did, because RFC is one of the most interesting instances in the game. It’s aimed so low, and the difficulty is so specifically tuned, that you get a really deep peek at the designers mindset.

Shadowfang Keep -

My first run with the ‘Fists, we ran this instance twice before we successfully completed it. The first time they had no priest, and the second time there were only four of us. Third time’s the charm, and we brought down Arugal hardcore. That instance is easily one of the unsung gems of World of Warcraft. It’s at sort of a weird level in an unpopular zone, and it is relatively inaccessible for Alliance players. Every element in there is great, though. So many times in WoW instances I feel like I need the quests to tell the dungeon’s backstory. The progression from ruined keep and undead haunts to werewolf-swarmed hallways all the way to Fenrus and Arugal tells a story all its own. This dungeon is one of those amazing jewels that the greater Azerothian experience has moved past.

Blackfathom Deeps -

Freaking Naga. This is another fantastic story dungeon, though obviously a lot more popular than SFK. The only possible weak part with that dungeon is neatly overcome in BFD: bosses. SFK has a lot of bosses, but they’re mostly generic and same-y. BFD, on the other hand, has a great stock of unique and interesting villains. A murloc, a special Naga, a giant tortoise(!?!). Awesome. We had a lot of freak-out moments in here just because of that last room. The half-sunken area lead to some weird aggro management … wacky times. The final confrontation went just fine, and man alive is a great moment. One of the few scripted moments in early-WoW, a preview of the fantastic content to come in higher levels.

Razorfen Kraul -

This and the Downs are probably the weirdest instances in the game. Pig-men + zombies? WTF? We did just fine moving through here, with the exception that the Blue Leaf Tubers quest is a lot less amusing when you’ve done it for the hundredth time. To be honest I don’t really get these instances. I mean, I get them as endcaps for the quillboar quests but - was that really a storyline that needed fleshing out in instance form? And while the undead/pigmen thing is funny, it’s kind of an uncomfortable mashup.

Scarlet Monastery -

We’re really only halfway through SM at this point - we did Graveyard and Library, with Armory and Cathedral to come this week and in the future. I’m really looking forward to Cathedral. That scripted scene at the very end of the instance is one of the most powerful story moments in the original game, I think. Absolutely fantastic. If I can, I really hope that I’ll have the Morgraine/Whitemane fight as a Friday Film sometime down the line.

I’m really enjoying working through these instances with the podder folks, and it is my fervent hope that we go all the way. I don’t know why I didn’t fully understand this, but the sheer amount of five-man oriented content at the 60 and higher levels is thrilling. The Caverns of Time instances are mostly entirely 5-mans, almost all of the dungeons between 60 and 70 are aimed at 5-man groups … really looking forward to that content. I’ve been enjoying WoW for three years now, but never in this particular way.

Thanks to the other ‘casters for the fun.