Difference between Underworld and Fissure of Woe

I know that you get to them at the Temple of Ages, it costs 1k,your country has to have favor, there are quests, and there are really hard monsters. Besides those similarities, what are the actual differences between the two?

I just finished the game, and this was mainly for me to decide which one to try to first. Any recommendations?

In my experience, UW has fewer, harder monsters that require great care to best (a trapper or two is invaluable here). Fissure has more monsters, they're easier to defeat but they move fast and have wide-ranging patrols, so you can quickly find yourself swamped with multiple mobs.

Either way, just go with people who know what they're doing and have done it before, or you'll be dead inside of a minute.

Of the two, Fissure is more similar to the rest of the game, and the strategies you used to complete the PvE are applicible there as well. The mobs are tough, but are of class compositions and use skill combinations that you should be familiar with. Well rounded groups are the norm, and if you play tight you shouldn't encounter any real problems.

Underworld is a completely different beast. Large swaths of the map are populated by extremely deadly, but very narrow mobs, and your success or failure here will depend heavily upon having the right counters for the various threats you'll see.

So if you just want to pop into one of the WaW maps with your character, Fissure is the way to go. Play Underworld when you're willing to put the time into figuring out the strategies needed to beat it.

Peace,
-CxE

Thanks for the responses all.

my opinion fissure is easier with a PUG......I have completed at least once of all fissure quest(s)....cant say the same for UW

Note: UW drops are crap lately

To look and see why UW is different, you only need to really look at the first type of monster. A bad, unprepared group will get shredded by two in seconds. A prepared group can take on three without anyone dying with ease. It's similar for the other guys, in my opinion