Your Favourite Dungeon

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Originally Posted by Reinha

The best athmosphere: Snowcloak, The Dusk Vigil (the glowing wolf add would make a gorgeous mount)

Gameplay: The Aurum Vale, The Vault (I want hard/extreme modes of these!)

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Aurum Vale yes, would be very nice still an active dungeon, but AV/Totorak/Darkhold will never have HM/EX versions, as they are 1.x dungeons; so it's not practical. The Vault could have HM/EX but it wont, because it was story critical and Ishgard is peaceful.

Bardam's Mettle, Shisui, and Sirensong could all have relevant HMs in the context of their stories and the current Doman focus. Doma Castle too.

A lot else you could do but that'd be stretching it, would be pretty out there, like the Fractal HM dungeon.

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Originally Posted by Luin

Aurum Vale yes, would be very nice still an active dungeon, but AV/Totorak/Darkhold will never have HM/EX versions, as they are 1.x dungeons; so it's not practical. The Vault could have HM/EX but it wont, because it was story critical and Ishgard is peaceful.

Bardam's Mettle, Shisui, and Sirensong could all have relevant HMs in the context of their stories and the current Doman focus. Doma Castle too.

A lot else you could do but that'd be stretching it, would be pretty out there, like the Fractal HM dungeon.

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Though linearized further in ARR, Toto-rak, Sastasha, and Copperbell Mines were also 1.x contents, and yet have Hard modes...

Every single Extreme and Savage fight is, by lore, fake -- either a simulation or an overembellished tale. That Ishgard is peaceful now has no impact on a tale from when it was not. Were this a deciding factor, Shisui and Doma Castle could not have a Ex Mode, either, as its threat has already been purged from each (the latter utterly destroyed, even), and it is unlikely that Bartam or Sirensong would take on a new trial or a new ancient, ominous inhabitant, respectively. Hard Modes, on the other hand, need only share a lore location and a modicum of art assets; you could as easily have a dungeon made out of a new form of a trial by Halone in the Vault as a new threat (e.g. Imperial) arriving around the sunken ruins of Doma Castle that are gradually being rebuilt.

I like anything creepy, so Haukke NM/HM, Sirensong, Tam-Tara Hard, etc.

Sastasha

It's all I get in the DF, so it must be my favorite.

My favorite dungeon hmmm I don't know....let me Gubal that for you

I'll have to say the original Amdapor Keep. I remember trying to sneak past certain enemies by either hugging corners or waiting until the giant suits of armors had turned their backs. I remember the second stretch, pulling trash into the boss room in an effort to avoid them. And who remembers sacrificing the tank in the last stretch to the boss room, hiding in the bushes, and raising them from afar to negate fighting most of the trash?

The first boss was so intense when you got to the last phase with the huge golem, having to hide behind pillars, deal with adds, and yet still focus on the boss. I remember there was a bug where you could climb a tree on the right and be safe throughout the whole battle. Was especially nice for ranged/casters, haha.

Demon Wall (nostalgia! ♥) was also crazy, because it was my first experience with the "ring out" or "fall off" mechanic and those bees were a real pain. Final boss was also intense having to position it correctly, cleanse the tank, deal with the adds, drop your aoe orbs away from the party, hide from the center blast, etc. It technically had an enrage because if all the statues came to life, you'd have nowhere to hide--though I think I only saw this happen maybe once or twice. Before all the nerfs and overgearing, I thought it was one of the most challenging dungeons.

Runner-up definitely goes to Pharos Sirius for reasons already mentioned in this thread.

Not one, but many. Gubal (N+HM), Sohm Al, Sohr Khai, Sirensong, Shisui, Bardam. Music, thematics, design. Yes, these hit the marks for me :P Would be cool if we could get HMs for like Shisui and most 61-69 dungeons for the next level cap raise. I used to like The Vault too but recent events smothered it, so it's off the list.

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Originally Posted by Shurrikhan

Though linearized further in ARR, Toto-rak, Sastasha, and Copperbell Mines were also 1.x contents, and yet have Hard modes....

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Technically yes, but those three were never instanced dungeons in 1.0, they were 'open' dungeons, basically glorified zone maps that just happened to be underground (Sastasha wasn't even really in 1.0 in the first place, the ARR dungeon is an amalgamation of three separate, differently named 1.0 areas - Shposhae, Cassiopeia Hollow and Mistbeard Cove, and both Tam-Tara and Copperbell feature similar amalgamations of 1.0 areas as well). So the 'ARR dungeons' for them are pretty much new anyway but reusing elements of 1.0 areas, hence they have 'hard modes', where as Toto-Rak, Cutter's Cry, Dzemael Darkhold and Aurum Vale do not.

Having said that, maybe SE could bring back a re-enactment of the 1.0 versions of those above dungeons (as far as ARR can allow), but I have no idea how lore-wise that could be accomplished, as the ARR versions clearly reference the first time they were infiltrated (specifically Toto-Rak with the ruined open treasure chests scattered around in the exact locations actual treasure chests were in 1.0). Maybe like the 'Minstrel's Ballad' trials maybe have it as a 'retelling' of those dungeons via stories Yoshi-P's minstrel alter-ego spins at the Seventh Heaven. ;) In fact, I would love to see that happen. :D

Anyway, I'm sorry for kind of derailing the thread again. Getting back on track, another favourite dungeon of mine is Keeper of the Lake - the music, the atmosphere, and just being able to climb the wreck of the Agrius was something I wanted since I first saw it crash into Silvertear Lake in 1.0's opening movie. To me it also had the right balance of challenge and simplicity.

And of course, the scene after... you-know-who awakened from his twenty-something-year-slumber.... with it's bitter aftermath, would ultimately set into motion a tragic-chain of events that would result in the loss of several much-loved npcs. ; ;

As far as bosses go I think The Vault.
For music Pharos Sirius.
For aesthetics the Antitower
Overall I think Kugane Castle is my favorite it’s a shame it’s not part of expert.

The Vault is definitely the most memorable for me mainly for the aesthetic and the memorable bosses also it's context to the HW story itself. It reminded me of the final area from Suikoden 2.

Plus I always thought hearing the bosses yell crazy lines in those distorted voices was badass for some reason.

FILTHY RATS! SICKNESS MUST BE PURGED!! YOU DISGUST ME!