Cataclysm Dungeon Location Gallery (Where is the Entrance to…)

Update: As of Patch 4.0.6, players will no longer be required to find a dungeon’s location in order to queue for it. Why? Take a look at our analysis of the subject for more. Until then, scroll on for our handy dandy dungeon location guide.

In the latest expansion of World of Warcraft, Blizzard changed how queuing up for dungeons work. You have to discover the entrance to be able to queue up from anywhere using the Looking For Dungeon tool. This threw many people for a loop, not knowing where an instance entrance is. That’s where Lore Hound plays their helping hand. Below is a compiled list of the new Cataclysm 5-mans with screen-shots of the location, the level range, and a short description of the instance.

Hope this helps!

Blackrock Caverns (80-83)

• Location: Blackrock Mountain, Searing Gorge/Burning Steppes. Head towards the Blackrock Spire entrance portal, and take a right. Follow the hallway and take the first left. Follow this path until there’s a fork going left down a walkway, and straight upwards. Take a right down the path (or jump, for those daredevils out there) and take another right. Voila. Alternatively, take the Mole Machine from Finkle.
• Description: It is a series of tunnels created by Twilight’s Hammer clan in order to gather the remaining Ragnaros’ minions and transport them back and forth to Mount Hyjal, as well as to perform horrific experiments conducted by the nihilistic cult in order to use the essence of the dragon in order to transform the worthy into dragonspawn.

Throne of the Tides (80-83)

• Location: Abyssal Breach, Abyssal Depths, Vashj’ir. Swim towards the vast whirlpool to be sucked in and dropped into the entrance. It is kinda of hard to miss a giant whirlpool, especially since it dominates the entire zone.
• Description: Tides is heavy with Naga, as one might expect given its watery nature. The zone follows Blizzard’s favorite trope of having you rescue people from being enslaved or that have gone loopy against their wishes. You save the local quest giver first and in the end you help free Neptulon, who then helps you tackle the “Old God” Ozumat.

The Stonecore (82-84)

• Location: Deepholm. West side of of the Temple of Earth. Then the hard part, the z-axis. The entrance is about two-thirds of the way up the central pillar. There’s a distinct landing platform once you get to that level or higher.
• Description: Within the Temple of Earth, locked in the heart of Deepholm, lies the Stonecore. It was inside this mysterious domain that the Twilight’s Hammer toiled over Deathwing, hammering elementium plates to the Dragon Aspect’s skin to hold his tormented body together. It was also here that Deathwing began his ascent into Azeroth, shattering the fabled World Pillar and destabilizing the entire region of Deepholm.

Vortex Pinnacle (82-84)

• Location: Uldum. Southeast corner of the zone. It’s one of the most out of the way dungeons. Not only is it tucked in the absolute bottom corner of the world but the dungeon is up in the clouds – think Tempest Keep.
• Description: Here the armies of Al’Akir reside, and will not take kindly to any intruders in his elemental plane. The air elementals have entered an unholy alliance with the Worldbreaker, Deathwing and now threaten the denizens of Uldum. It is up to the adventurers to stop the elemental incursion to the ancient land, and the task is uneasy as they have to face the most powerful lieutenants of the Windlord.

Halls of Origination (85)

• Location: Uldum. North of Vortex Pinnacle. Entrance to the pyramid is on the eastern side. It’s likely that you’ll discover this dungeon on your map while questing since it’s smack in the middle of early Harrison Jones quests.
• Description: Hidden deep within its halls lies an ancient treasure that, if placed in the wrong hands, could endanger all life on Azeroth. Should players survive the perils of Uldum, they will be called to help Brann Bronzebeard unlock the mysteries within these treacherous titan halls and protect the titans’ ancient secrets.

The Lost City of Tol’vir (85)

• Location: Uldum (it’s a busy zone). West of both Vortex Pinnacle and Halls of Origination in the south portion of the river that bisects the zone. The entrance to the Lost City is at the far northern part of the subzone.
• Description: Having allied themselves with Al’Akir and Deathwing in exchange for regaining their stone bodies lost in effect of the Curse of Flesh, they now pose a serious threat to the races of Uldum as well as the whole world of Azeroth that must be eliminated at all costs. The forces of Neferset here are led by the mighty djinni – Siamat, Lord of the South Wind.

Grim Batol (85)

• Location: Twilight Highlands. Northwestern portion, north of the Bastion of Twilight and south of the Vermillion Redoubt. It’s exactly where it was before the Shattering, just now designated as part of the Twilight Highlands instead of Wetlands.
• Description: During a bloody civil war among the three dwarven factions of Ironforge, the Bronzebeards ousted the Wildhammer and the Dark Iron clans from the ancient corridors of the mountain city. In the wake of the defeat, the Wildhammers ventured north and forged a new home, Grim Batol, in the mountains of what is now the Twilight Highlands. However, although they worked tirelessly to create a better future for themselves, the Dark Irons, who established the city of Thaurissan in the Redridge Mountains, could not move beyond the memory of their defeat. Consumed by the desire for revenge and desperate to control the entire dwarven region of Khaz Modan, the Dark Irons led a two-pronged assault on the Bronzebeards in Ironforge and the Wildhammers in Grim Batol. Despite their past differences, these two embattled rivals joined forces and drove the Dark Irons out of Khaz Modan, decimating the armies of the treacherous clan’s sorcerer-thane, Thaurissan. Yet victory carried grave consequences. Although Thaurissan’s wife and queen, Modgud, was slain during the attack on Grim Batol, her death tainted the mountain fortress. While the Bronzebeards rebuilt their glorious city of Ironforge, the Wildhammers felt forever changed by the horrors they witnessed at Grim Batol. They fled their cursed home and never returned.

Heroic Deadmines (85)

• Location: Westfall. Entrance to the mine is in the southwestern barn in Moonbrook. Keep right without taking dead-ends and you’ll reach it, eventually.
• Description: The Deadmines once were the center of the Defias operation, led by the ambitious Edwin VanCleef, who was constructing a juggernaut at the bottom of the mines with the aid of the goblins. His plans have been stopped by the Alliance militia and Edwin himself was killed and beheaded. It wasn’t the end of the Brotherhood, however as his daughter, Vanessa witnessed his death and several years after began to slowly rebuild the organization, waiting for a proper moment to strike back against the Kingdom of Stormwind.

Heroic Shadowfang Keep (85)

• Location: Silverpine Forest. Southwestern portion, north of The Greymane Wall.
• Description: It is the former base of operations for the demented archmage Arugal, who wrested the keep from Baron Silverlaine with his worgen “children” and held it until he was defeated by agents of the Horde. The keep is now occupied by the followers of renegade Gilnean nobleman Vincent Godfrey, traitor to both his homeland and to the Forsaken who returned him from death.

Editor’s Note: Descriptions are taken from the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Features page.