Dungeon difficulty " " has brought a new dungeon system which incorporates a dungeon difficulty setting . The simple concept of the dungeon difficulty spans across two levels . Firstly there is the Normal setting , in which players will experience average loot as would be expected in any World of Warcraft 5 - man dungeon . Heroic , however , is a little different . Although the raid difficulty system is similar , it only applies to raid s and may have slightly different options . Difficulty modes for all instances . Difficulty for instances affects boss fight difficulty and loot drops . In decreasing level of difficulty : Official info . From Frank Pearce ' s Interview for the Official EU ( en ) site : Q : Dungeon difficulty setting ? The differences between Heroic and Normal . It should first be noted that , before Cataclysm , heroic mode dungeons were not available for Classic dungeons . Upon the release of Cataclysm , however , Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep have heroic settings . Initially , the only dungeons available with a heroic setting were those in Outland , the Caverns of Time , Magisters ' Terrace and Northrend . In heroic dungeons , the enemies that you encounter will not just be of increased level , but also an increased difficulty far greater than their level would indicate . All enemies in heroic dungeons will be in the range of levels from the level cap to three levels above . However , heroic dungeons are substantially more difficult than the normal dungeons like the Steamvault or Utgarde Keep . Expect the trash mobs to hit well - geared plate tanks pretty hard for some particularly strong mobs . Also , expect bosses to hit harder , use their abilities more frequently , and often have new abilities . In Burning Crusade . Gaining access to Burning Crusade heroic dungeons . To be able to access an heroic dungeon as a party , each member of the group must have unlocked the heroic difficulty . This is typically done by obtaining a key from the appropriate faction but the heroic difficulty for the Magisters ' Terrace is simply unlocked by completing the quest that involves killing the final boss on normal difficulty . If all party member have unlocked the heroic difficulty , the party leader can set the dungeon ' s difficulty to normal or heroic via menu options available by right clicking his or her own portrait . Rewards . Each boss drops a loot on par with or better than loot from normal level 70 dungeons . End bosses are guaranteed to drop one item from their loot table in addition to a second , , item . . They also usually drop a . Badge of Justice . As well as increased loot quality , and the guaranteed epic , there is also a which drops from each boss in heroic dungeons — for each member of the party . They are used in exchange for epic quality items in Shattrath City . In Wrath of the Lich King . Gaining access to Wrath of the Lich King heroic dungeons . In order to access Northrend ' s dungeons in heroic mode , each member of the group must reach the level 80 . Rewards . Each boss drops a loot on par with or better than loot from normal level 80 dungeons . End bosses are guaranteed to drop one item from their loot table in addition to a second , , item . They also drop a . Emblem of Heroism . Each boss drops an , which can be used in exchange for epic quality items in Dalaran . In Patch 3 . 2 . Patch 3 . 2 . 0 brought the use of normal / heroic difficulty for 10 and 25 - man raids in the Crusaders ' Coliseum . Players will find new options when right clicking on their own portrait . " Note : If an heroic raid mode is selected , the previous raids which did not use this new feature will be launched in the selected mode ( 10 or 25 - man ) . " In Patch 3 . 3 . Patch 3 . 3 . 0 will bring new changes to dungeon difficulty settings . In Legion . For dungeons new scaling difficulty modes were added :