Some time ago I replayed the first few levels of the original Tomb Raider, and while I was asking myself questions like was the camera always that far behind Lara? and did she always run this slowly? something unexpected happened - I got lost.
I needed to find my way out of the valley I was in and there was no indication of where I had to go. This isn't something that happens as often in games now as it did back in the '90s, and it's even less common in MMOs. In this genre most dungeons are essentially straight lines from start to finish, and while it may twist and turn to give the illusion of a more complex layout an illusion is all that it is.
Some games take this approach even further, with movement in the open world being heavily restricted by the use of impassable terrain (if the devs are trying) or invisible walls (if they're not.) World of Warcraft is fond of doing this, which is perhaps why Blizzard, having introduced flying mounts in The Burning Crusade, have now spent over a decade making up excuses why those flying mounts can't be used in new content.
The instances in Dungeons & Dragons Online tend to be far less on-rails than in most other MMOs. It's not unusual to enter an area and be presented with multiple paths that can be followed. There's still a final objective to be reached but there are often interesting detours that can be taken along the way - secret areas, optional bosses (and treasure chests) and multiple ways to approach key locations.
This can create some peculiar narrative problems, as in the case of a recent quest where I completed every objective on the map before finding the quest-givers that would ask me to do so. That could have been an awkward conversation...
"I need you to kill the three leaders of the bands of monsters roaming this jungle."
"Yup. Done that."
"Also retrieve this valuable artifact..."
"Got it right here."
"...and the personal effects of my fallen companions."
"These ones here?"
"Um... yes. I suppose all that's left to do now is to meet with my secret contact. I can't tell you who he is but..."
"I met him already."
So there are good reasons for linearity in the design of instances. It's one of the reasons why the classic dungeon crawl has always been so popular in pen and paper RPGs. Put a party in a corridor (10 feet wide, of course) and they can only go forward or back, rather than wandering off on a whim into something too dangerous for them to handle or (worse yet) something the DM hasn't prepped for. Linearity offers control over the experience, and a straight line dungeon in an MMO can ensure that each threat is encountered as part of a balanced sequence building to the climactic final boss fight. Similarly any instance with a heavy focus on story needs to ensure that events happen in the correct order.
On the other hand things can get dull when there's nothing to do but run straight ahead until the next group of mobs shows up, and locations can feel unduly contrived, no matter how many locked doors and inexplicably unclimbable barriers the art team adds to the scenery.
DDO strikes a nice balance between the playability of linear instances and the openness of old school level design. There's always somewhere to go off the beaten path, and having given the player characters access to a plethora of skills uncommon to MMOs - like climbing, picking locks and dismantling traps - the game provides ample opportunities to use them. It's never just about running forward and killing mobs, and that's one reason why the instance design in this game is some of the best in the genre.
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