Oculus

The Oculus is a 5-man wing of the Nexus in Coldarra (a subregion of Borean Tundra in Northrend) designed for level 80 players. The Oculus is a tower of "magical rings" that float above the ground and the first instance to allow players the use of certain flying mounts. The gate of the oculus is located directly above the nexus gate, requiring the rampway to reach.

In response to the blue dragons' offensive, the Kirin Tor, the elite magi of Dalaran, have allied themselves with the red dragonflight, who are charged with the preservation of life. Their combined forces are subverting the blue Aspect's offensive, but time is running out. The only question that remains now is... can Malygos be stopped before his crusade reaches its cataclysmic finale?

''Now Malygos uses the Arcanomicon to locate and tap into the ley lines, diverting the magical powers that course beneath the earth to his home base in Northrend, the Nexus. Once harnessed, the energies are focused through the Nexus' ascending rings and blasted into the Twisting Nether. Malygos' redirection of the ley lines has carried disastrous consequences, however – splintering the world's crust and opening unstable rifts: tears in the very fabric of the magical dimension.''

During the Burning Legion's third invasion, the area was invaded by the demons. The Tirisgarde led by their lead Conjuror, launched an attack in order to free Archmage Vargoth held prisoner here as well as get rid of the Legion. Their effort was successful, and they also captured Kathra'natir.

''In order to reestablish his dominance over magic, the blue Dragon Aspect, Malygos, has launched a ruthless campaign to sever the link between mortals and the arcane energies coursing through Azeroth. To this end, his blue dragonflight is redirecting the ley lines of the world to the Nexus, Malygos' towering lair.''

The entrance to the Oculus is located one level above the Nexus portal in Coldarra. Players must be at least level 75 to enter.

• Arcane guardians
• Blood elves
• Blue dragon (one, Ley-Guardian Eregos)
• Azure dragonspawn
• Azure dragon whelps
• Azure drakes
• Blue drakonid (one, Varos Cloudstrider)
• Bronze dragon (one, Eternos)
• Bronze drakes
• Green dragon (one, Verdisa)
• Green drakes
• High elves
• Humans
• Red dragon (one, Belgaristrasz)
• Red drakes
• Sparks

• Drakos the Interrogator
• Varos Cloudstrider
• Mage-Lord Urom
• Ley-Guardian Eregos

Players start by fighting around the rings and then teleport up a short distance in order to choose a drake. These drakes allow you to fight in the air while progressing through the instance. There are three different drakes, each with its own special abilities. Which drake you choose is independent of your character, for example: a healer may choose to use a tanking drake.

• Ruby Drake - Tank. Summoned by.
• Amber Drake - DPS. Summoned by.
• Emerald Drake - Healer. Summoned by.

• The Oculus (achievement)
• Heroic: The Oculus
• Heroic: The Oculus Guild Run
• Experienced Drake Rider
• Make It Count
• Amber Void
• Emerald Void
• Ruby Void

• Oculus has in general seen low popularity in the WoW playerbase. During Wrath of the Lich King, when the Oculus' Heroic version was part of WoW's endgame content, it was not uncommon for players to immediately leave Random Heroic Dungeon Finder groups if being sent there despite the Dungeon Deserter debuff. The lack of appeal stemmed from the Oculus' novel design of having players move and partially fight by using dragon vehicles - an approach many players found confusing and awkward - as well as the dungeon's confusing aerial layout. Not helping was the fact that, , and are mutually exclusive per run. In 2010, a hotfix attempted to make Oculus more inviting by doubling the Random Dungeon reward players would get when completing it. This is why the Cache of the Ley-Guardian exists.