Uldaman is located in the Badlands, an out of the way zone in the southern part of Eastern Kingdoms. The dungeon follows a tunnel system as it intersects with parts of a dilapidated old structure that was once a place of great importance engineered by the titans.

The Halls of Origination are located in Uldum, a Cataclysm questing zone located to the west of Tanaris in Kalimdor. Another ancient construct of the Titans', the Halls are better preserved. They also house a dangerous artifact that your faction desperately needs to get their hands on first.

Uldaman and the Halls of Origination are both ancient repositories of knowledge and treasure. But why do we enter these dungeons NOW, at this moment in time? Extensive lore exists outside the game to explain this, but neither dungeon does a great job of telling this story within the dungeon itself.

In Uldaman, you fight Troggs and Dark Iron Dwarves because they could theoretically take the treasure. But the way they interact with the environment and the randomness with which they are dispersed in the dungeon causes them not to feel like that much of a threat. In the Halls of Origination, you fight timeless guardians who have been here for eons. They've been waiting for such a long time, and it doesn't seem it would make much difference if we showed up in a thousand years. They would all be in the same place, waiting for us.

As is revealed in a really extensive and overly verbose monolog at the end of Uldaman, which honestly feels like someone trolling you, Troggs and Dwarves descended from Earthen to be radically different from each other. Troggs are irrational and impulsive, whereas Dwarves possess more reason and temperance. However, there's no apparent difference in tunnels one or the other dug, and they are both posed around expedition props, such as tents, and they don't really interact with them differently. Or much at all. This makes them feel interchangeable.

Halls of Origination is supposed to be filled with wondrous treasure. You will read this stated repeatedly on the wiki. But it's almost devoid of any objects, let alone treasure, besides the mobs you have to fight to get clear the dungeon. Seriously, not even a chair. The treasure room at the end of Uldaman does a better job of conveying the idea of mysterious riches hidden away out of sight, despite being lower res.

Final Verdict

Uldaman: C
Halls of Origination: C

свернуть