World of Warcraft’s upcoming Labyrinths promise to turn Delves into sprawling, multi-session adventures that channel the magic of Classic-era megadungeons—think fewer timers, more exploration, bigger stakes, and a whole lot of “we’ll pick this up tomorrow.” If Blizzard lands the balance between modern convenience and old-school wonder, Labyrinths could become the perfect low-pressure alternative to Mythic+, a cozy home for explorers, completionists, and small-group storytellers alike.
From Delves to Delving Deeper Delves showed there’s real energy behind short-form, role-agnostic content. They give you a dungeon-y experience on your terms: hop in, flex your class, grab some loot, log off happy. Labyrinths look like the next logical step—stretching that snackable formula into a full meal. Fewer straight hallways, more sprawling wings. Fewer three-boss sprints, more choose-your-own-route expeditions. The pitch feels clear: shift the spotlight from speed to discovery.
Why Megadungeons Mattered Ask any long-time WoW player about their formative dungeon memories and you’ll hear the same beats:
- Getting lost with friends but loving every minute of it
- Figuring out which wing to tackle first and which keys you still needed
- Stumbling into a secret boss or a tucked-away quest chain
- Having a story to tell at the end, even if you didn’t finish everything
Classic-era behemoths weren’t just content—they were places. They felt like ecosystems with their own logic, factions, and mysteries. Modern dungeons excel at clarity and pacing, but that also means we rarely feel surprised. Labyrinths sound like an opportunity to bring surprise back.
What “Bigger Delves” Could Mean in Practice We’ll have to see the final implementation, but here’s a vision that fits the vibe and would make Labyrinths sing:
- Multi-wing Structure: A central hub that branches into thematic sub-areas, each with its own hazards and payoff. You decide your route.
- Soft Progression: Persistent shortcuts, opened locks, and activated elevators that carry over between sessions for your group or character.
- Role-Agnostic Challenge: Scaling encounters that accommodate solo players and small parties without strict tank/healer requirements—but reward coordination.
- Exploration-First Design: Optional bosses, puzzle rooms, secret caches, and ambient lore that paints the broader picture without a quest tracker hand-holding your every step.
- Light Pressure, Real Stakes: No timers breathing down your neck. Instead, expect attrition: resource management, patrols that matter, and fights you might choose to skip until you’re better prepared.
- Checkpoints You Care About: Safe rooms, craft tables, and map updates that feel like progress. Reaching a campfire at the end of a push should be its own mini-celebration.
The Modern Fit: A Third Pillar Beside Raids and Mythic+ Labyrinths could slot in as a bridge between comfort and challenge:
- Complementing Mythic+: Where M+ celebrates mastery under pressure, Labyrinths highlight creativity and pathing under uncertainty.
- Serving All Play Sessions: Great for two-hour windows, perfect for “let’s finish that wing tomorrow” weekends.
- Rewarding Skill in Different Ways: Kiting, crowd control, route planning, and split-second decision-making still matter—just without a stopwatch.
- A Home for Cosmetic Chasers: Secret pets, toys, titles, and transmogs practically beg to be hidden behind curious corners and tricky puzzles.
Potential Pitfalls—and How to Dodge Them Any system this ambitious needs careful guardrails. Here are the dragons to slay:
- Chore-ification: If Labyrinths become another weekly checkbox, the magic fizzles. Make them enticing, not mandatory.
- Over-Randomization: A little procedural spice is fun; too much and you can’t plan. Blend static landmarks with rotating wrinkles.
- Loot That Disrespects Time: Multi-evening runs need meaningful endcaps. Offer tradable currency, deterministic upgrades, and cosmetics you can chase without spreadsheets.
- Map Spoilers: Maps are useful, but full visibility ruins discovery. Consider fog-of-war that lifts as you explore or craft map fragments that unlock hints.
A Wish List for Feature Flavor
- Breadcrumb Keys and Shortcuts: Find a fallen explorer’s journal that hints at a back entrance. Kick down a ladder to create a future shortcut.
- Environmental Storytelling: Evolving hub areas that reflect your long-term progress—barricades moved, camps expanded, factions responding.
- Optional Apex Bosses: Gate a few serious fights behind optional objectives so the ambitious can push deeper while casual groups still feel complete after a wing or two.
- Skill-Based Puzzles: Plate stepping, rune matching, torch relays—simple enough to learn, satisfying to master, and never blocking core progression entirely.
- Group Tools, Solo Friendly: Summoning stones inside, repair bots, lockboxes for rogues, shortcuts that reward class utility without making any class mandatory.
- Rotating Incentives: Weekly spotlight wings, bonus caches for first clears, and seasonal cosmetics that refresh motivations without invalidating previous rewards.
Tips for Day-One Delvers
- Build for Sustain: Hybrid defenses and self-healing can matter more than raw burst when the run stretches on.
- Pack Utility: Dispel, interrupt, slows, stuns, and crowd control can save more time than pure damage ever will.
- Scout Before You Commit: Peek around corners, mark patrol paths, and identify choke points before pulling.
- Celebrate Checkpoints: Treat safe rooms like mini-goals—refuel, respec if needed, and regroup mentally.
- Bring Curiosity: If a corridor looks optional, it’s probably interesting. The memories are often off the golden path.
What Success Would Look Like If Labyrinths succeed, you’ll hear conversations that sound different from “we timed a +18.”
- “We unlocked the eastern lift; next time we’re beelining to the fungus caverns.”
- “Found a sealed door we couldn’t open—came back with lockpicking and there was a whole mini-boss behind it.”
- “We wiped, laughed, and decided that was enough for the night. Honestly? One of our best sessions all month.”
Those stories—about routes chosen, secrets uncovered, and moments shared—are the heart of MMO dungeon nostalgia. Not every night needs to be a tournament run. Sometimes, the win is getting wonderfully, deliberately lost.
Why This Matters Now WoW has spent years refining competitive loops. They’re polished, watchable, and rewarding. But the same polish can sand off the rough edges that once made dungeons feel like places. Labyrinths are a chance to bring that texture back without discarding modern quality-of-life improvements. Keep the accessibility, ditch the stopwatch, and let players write their own mini-epics across multiple evenings.
If the feature leans into exploration, soft persistence, and player-driven routing, we might be on the cusp of a third great pillar for WoW’s endgame. One built not on speed, but on stories—and that’s a kind of power progression every MMO could use a little more of.
