The Wailing Caverns (WC) are located in the center of the Barrens, just south of the Crossroads Horde town along the coast. It is a medium sized instance for both Alliance and Horde players, however it is more easily accessible to Horde players.

Time

The Wailing Caverns take approximately 90 minutes to 2 hours, depending on party level and skill.

Levels

The Wailing Caverns are meant for characters level 15-20ish. You can continue to make loot and experience runs through WC to about level 24, but after that the experience gains are not worth the effort.

The MOBs in Wailing Caverns range from 15 elite to 20 elite. The quest MOBs are up to 22 elite.

Map

We have put together a map that shows the layout of the Wailing Caverns and marks the location of all the key named MOBs and the key locations. The map can be found here.

Screen Shots

We have a gallery for screen shots from the Wailing Caverns that can be found here.

Tactics

Since it a fairly long Instance to run through, and there are various quests and special mobs to kill, it is obvious that there are certain tactics that need to be followed in order to succeed in the Wailing Caverns.

The MOBs in WC range from 15-20 elite and are generally found in groups of 3, with the occasional group of 3 or 4. Some of the enemies (the Druids mostly) will flee when brought low enough, which can be deadly to a group if there is another enemy group nearby.

Being a level 15-20 instance, with the MOBs being 15-20 elite you will HAVE to work together as a team, especially if you are at the low end of the level scale. Most players in the correct level range will not be able to handle an elite MOB of their level or higher on their own. The best tactic to deal with this is to designate a single player to pull MOBs and be careful to not pull anything other than what is planned. If you are the puller always plan the pull carefully. This means, watching for patrols, movement of MOBs, and party health and mana. If you do these things even a party of all 15-18 characters stands an excellent chance at finishing the instance.

There are several key tactical issues to keep in mind for this specific instance.

In WC it is critical to control MOBs from fleeing combat. The Druids all flee combat at roughly 1/5th heath. Allowing them to flee when another MOB is nearby can be a quick death sentence for your group. A safe fight can quickly turn into being outnumbered if a MOB pulls in two to 3 additional MOBs.

The other key is to make sure that you are able to deal with all the Fanglords present in the Instance. Aside from the quest which involves collecting their gems, once all of the Fanglords are killed you will be able to do a final boss in the Instance which will lead you to a new quest line. The order of their deaths does not matter, only that they all die.

Party Composition

As this is still a low level instance, party composition does not play a huge factor. The bigger factor will be player levels. You need to ensure that you have at least a one player at the upper end of the level range to help out against the named MOBs, preferably the Tank (or warrior) of the group.

As in any group you will want someone in the party that can heal (even an alt-healer, although without a main you will likely want two alts) and someone who can tank. Other than that though, unless you are very low on the level scale you should be ok with almost anything. Tactics and player ability with their characters come into play far more at this early stage in the game that party composition does in the late game (55+).

Quests
There are 2 faction specific quests for the Horde in Wailing Caverns and 3 quests that are accessible for both factions.

Horde Faction Quests

Serpentbloom
Faction: Horde
Starting + End NPC Location: Apothecary Zamah / Thunder Bluff
Level Obtained: 14
Quest Level: 18
Objectives: Apothecary Zamah in Thunder Bluff wants you to collect 10 Serpentbloom.

Notes: Serpentbloom is located all over the Instance. Herbalists will be able to see the substance when they are actively searching for herbs.

Leaders of the Fang
Faction: Horde
Start + End NPC / Location: Nara Wildmane / Thunder Bluff
Level Obtained: 18
Quest Level: 22
XP Reward: 2200xp
Item Reward: Crescent Staff (Rare Staff), or Wingblade (Rare Sword)
Objectives: Bring the Gems of Cobrahn, Anacondra, Pythas and Serpentis to Nara Wildmane in Thunder Bluff.

Notes: These gems drop off of the 4 Fanglords of WC. Make sure to loot them after killing the mobs, as they are physical items that must be collected.

Dual Faction Quests

Deviate Hides
Faction: Alliance and Horde
Start + End NPC / Location: Nalpak / Wailing Caverns.
Level Obtained: 13
Quest Level: 17
XP Reward: 160-341
Item Reward: Deviate Hide Pack (10 Slot Bag), or Slick Deviate Leggings (Leather Legs)
Objectives: Nalpak in the Wailing Caverns wants 20 Deviate Hides.

Notes: These hides drop off some of the Deviate Raptors in the Instance. If everyone in the group has this quest, you may need to run this Instance several times to get all 20 hides, as they are not an assured drop.

Smart Drinks
Faction: Alliance and Horde
Start + End NPC / Location: Mebok Mizzyrix / Ratchet.
Level Obtained: 13
Quest Level: 18
XP Reward: 140-1350
Objectives: Bring 6 portions of Wailing Essence to Mebok Mizzyrix in Ratchet.

Notes: Wailing Essence drops of the Ectoplasms of the Wailing Caverns (the Oozes).

Trouble at the Docks
Faction: Alliance and Horde
Start + End NPC / Location: Crane Operator Bigglefuzz / Ratchet.
Level Obtained: 14
Quest Level: 18
XP Reward: 140-550
Objectives: Crane Operator Bigglefuzz in Ratchet wants you to retrieve the bottle of 99-Year-Old Port from Mad Magglish who is hiding in the Wailing Caverns.

Notes: Mad Magglish is located in the Wailing Caverns but before the Instance Portal. He is a goblin that spawns near the Entrance of the Caverns before the Portal.