After the acclaimed success of Warcraft III-The Frozen throne, the series took a discernable turn. The original release of World of Warcraft in 2004, was much of a hype; pushing a huge crowd into the new MMORPG. Although the title wasn’t the first game in the genre, it brought in kind of elements that weren’t akin to the previous MMORPG games. Blizzard focused more on providing a new style to the MMORPG genre and turned out to be successful. That’s the reason why we will be shedding light on the world of warcraft expansions list.
In a split second or years (doesn’t matter), the game became a new spotlight for future MMORPG games. Just because of that, the fan base kept on increasing, forcing the developers to pitch in new titles with the passage of time. To date, around 7 wow games in order exist. In my opinion, the majority of the entities have clone elements but differ greatly in campaign and skirmish mode. You take on different misfits, and monsters, and go through a series of hurdles to unravel their stories. Surprisingly, the number of titles in the future is unknown as the hype keeps on increasing. To be honest, there’s no stopping it. You can expect future expansions as well!
Now we will be shifting towards a summarized overview of each world of the warcraft expansion pack. Without any further ado, let’s begin!
WOW Expansions in Order
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Release date: January 16th, 2007
The first expansion pack is groundbreaking in terms of carrying forward the elements and stats of the original title. The burning Crusade brings in the additional lore and narratives into role play. Not only this, but the expansion pack heavily relies on its predecessor in terms of mechanics and strategy. The expansion pack introduces two new races: The Draenei and Blood Elves. These two races are added in the sequential narrative of the world of Azeroth, making the game more inducive and engrossing. On top of that, the game ensures that there’s a bulk of content to pique the player’s interest. You get to explore worlds, and their mysteries through the eyes of new playable characters. It’s surprising to see that the burning crusade makes available a few characters from Frozen throne; thus, making the game expand its arsenal from one title to another.
Speaking of expanding horizons, the burning crusade is one of the expansion packs that made the game more inclined towards canon narrative. Basically, the additional content is no more considered “Extra” Or non-canon. You get to explore new narratives and plotlines which are equally important for unraveling the original storyline.
For the mechanism addition, you get hold of flying mounts, which is a commendable and interesting option for the players who love to battle in the skies. With this addition, the existing ground-mounts were deliberately made cheaper so they become accessible to a considerably large number of players. In addition to that, the game increases the overall level cap from 60 to 70, which means now you can check in for new weapons and skills. It’s worth mentioning, that a couple of features that were exclusive in the original title were no more there. Well, now you get to make use of jewel crafting, stat boosts, and different potions and edibles to meddle within the game.
For combat, a new fighting stat and system were introduced so the players can have a more aggressive on-foot battle. Perhaps, the burning crusade is one of those expansion makes which gave PvP a new face.
World of Warcraft: The Wrath of the Lich king
Release date: November 13, 2008
The wrath of the lich king, the second expansion to the marvelous series, expands the narrative of Arthas, an antihero, who was crowned as the new “Lich King” at the end of Frozen throne. Well, the first two expansion packs take on different characters from Frozen throne which is quite amazing, in my opinion. Consequently, this expansion pack adds a new continent of Northrend to Azeroth which is way more diversified in terms of sprawling creatures and monsters.
The game ensured that all the outdated snowy landmarks be replaced with something entertaining and worth a while. Not to mention, the wrath of the Lich King didn’t add any new races, which means you would have to meander around with all the previously added races. To our surprise, the game did add a new “Hero” which takes on attire and attributes of a “Death Knight”. For gamers, it was a feast, because with the concept of a death knight, now you can forage new weaponry, have fun filling tanking and DPS roles.
In addition to that, the wrath of the Lich king ensured that the maximum capped level be increased to 80, which sort of adds more elements of upgrading, and elixir cloning in the latter stages of the title. Now you can have new abilities and refined adjustments for intense battlegrounds and single-hand combats. On top of that, you get to traverse dungeons and enemy-filled zones for camping and gathering resources for proceeding with the narrative. As a result, new PvP arenas came into being with more dedicated warfare between your character and your friends.
Last but not least, the addition of a new glyph system ensured that you can inscribe and all the logos for enhanced abilities and scrolls. In my opinion, this new system helped a lot of players’ frenzy zones in the game. Well, now you can have fun with all the temporary grants, and buffs by simply paying a visit to a nearby alter.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Release date: November 7, 2010
I remember downloading the game under complete darkness of night, and I was so happy with the concept of “Deathwing” being another character to play with. Well, the Cataclysm is a third expansion pack to the series and brings in the face of the world of Azeroth in a completely different manner. Not only with the game, the mechanics changed, but also the ever-expanding community. This time, the blizzard brought in Deathwing as a real danger, because in the previous two expansion packs, the main villains from the Frozen throne were ripped off completely.
Surprisingly, Cataclysm focuses on two new arrivals (read: races): Worgen and Goblins. These two have their discrete abilities and sets of attributes that you can tweak for winning new arenas, PVP systems, and battlegrounds. Not to mention, because of the addition of two new races, the face of the zones and how the world of Azeroth used to function, changed completely. Even the battlegrounds and all the enemy-filled zones now have maximized potential to behead you on spot. I’m not even kidding!
To be honest, at this point, the maximum capped levels increment is not even surprising. With each expansion pack, the developers added two new level systems, which is no different for Cataclysm. This time, it was only incremented from 80 to 85 but brought in astounding abilities, stats, and attributes. Now you can meddle with all revamped versions of classes, talent systems, redesigning, rebalancing, and different race combinations. I know that’s something I’m happy about because cataclysm brought in the concept of cross-breeding which gives in the idea of hybrid heroes.
For the professional system, only archaeology was added for finding different ruins and artifacts and used them for your personal gain. Although the majority of the time, the artifacts were only valuable to vendors, at times you can get new rides, mounts, pets, and different edible items.
Last but not least, a series of options like tweaking your stats, dismantling weapons, building guilds, and using extra perks were introduced for the first time. Not to mention, now you can fly high (Pun intended), with the help of flying creatures.
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
Release date: September 25, 2012
Well, mists of Pandaria were not supposed to be a DLC. But to our surprise, the ridiculous joke turned out to be a bitter truth. It was absolutely a disconnected expansion pack, with its elements going haywire. In sheer disdain, a large number of fans pitched in negative reviews about how the mists of Pandaria was a ripped-off version of a race in the Frozen throne. The game takes on the world of Pandaria, which is a mystical and enigmatic island where the pandas-looking creatures roam freely. Not to mention, the game also brings to light the never-ending battle between Alliance and the Horde.
Just like any other expansion pack, the level cap was increased to 90 (by an increment of 5), which ensured that the players make use of new abilities, stats, and attributes. To our surprise, the Mists of Pandaria introduced the race “Pandaren” as neutrals of the game. Like the ultimate choice was left on the players. You can either join the Alliance or the Horde depending on your personal vendetta and interest.
In addition to that, a new class introduced “Monks” who were highly skilled individuals and have the ability to tank, heal and DPS for a considerably longer period of time. With this new class, you can now use light armor and weapons of your choice. Not to mention, the mists of Pandaria tweaked the previously introduced talent system where now you can stash all the unlocked quests, make use of passive bonuses and personal scrapping materials. On top of that, the expansion pack introduced new dungeons, battlegrounds, and arenas for more insightful and deadly battles. Last but not least, a new set of the 5-man dungeon was added for challenging modes and skill refinement. To be honest, although the game failed to gather the needed positive reviews, it still catered to a considerable large number of people in a positive light. Yes, the pet battle system was something that repelled the majority of the community out of the game.
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
Release date: November 13th, 2014
Here’s the twist. Warlords of Draenor makes use of time traveling for a better narrative. But unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned. It’s true that narratives and plotlines tend to lose their credibility when different time loops, dimensions, and time-traveling are introduced. It sorts of opens a new door to exhaustion where people are left with nothing but to grind for a couple of more months. That’s exactly what happened with the Warlords of Draenor. This time, the expansion pack takes on an alternative timeline, bringing us back to the fate of the Orcish horde. Well, the faction used to live World of Draenor, thus summoning a completely different game. There’s this perpetual conflict between the factions in an alternative timeline, and you have been sent in to resolve the matter at the earliest.
Well, the cap level is again increased to 100, which means now you have the option of expanding your horizons in terms of weaponry, armor, clothing, and different attributes. Unfortunately, the system of stats has been purged out this time and brings in the “Group finder” as the main source of increasing attributes and personal statistics. Not to mention, the battleground, PVP, and PVE were all refined with a more manageable inventory.
On top of that, the game also did better in terms of introducing a garrison system and refurbished graphics. Now the scenario and walkthrough look more realistic and enjoyable. Last but not least, the game added a new world for PVP known as “Ashran” and a concept of skirmishes into role play.
World of Warcraft: Legion
Release date: August 30, 2016
After the death of Gul’dan, the narrative went downhill. Although, everything sort of died in the Tomb of Sargeras, the legion sort of rekindling the dying spark. Legion follows the events of Draenor, which sort of adds spice to the whole texture and system because having something in chronological order piques the player’s interest. Surprisingly, the Legion introduces a new continent to Azeroth known as “Broken isles”. The isle was also apparent in the Frozen throne after the Dalaran changed his course.
This time, the game increased the level cap to 110, which is appreciative in every way because with each DLC there’s a whole load of new weapons, equipment, levels, and abilities that a player can perceive. To our surprise, the game again introduced a new hero class known as “Demon hunters” who excel in close-field combat and slashing out guts entirely. Not to mention, the same class has the ability to tank and DPS with its own style. But here’s the twist. To change into “Demon hunters” you will be in a dire to make use of either Night Elves or Blood Elves. The conversion is only possible through the two mentioned hero classes. It’s worth mentioning, that the expansion pack introduced customizable weaponry through the artifacts. It’s amazing because now you can increase your weapon’s overall attack power, and stats with the help of valuable artifacts. Last but not least, the battleground, arenas, and PVP were given a whole new face.
World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth
Release date: August 18, 2018
The last expansion pack greatly focuses on remedying the past PVP and PVE systems, with new perks and attributes added for player’s ease. Not only this, but the battle for Azeroth brings in the most-wanted villains of all the narratives into role play. It’s true that the battle for Azeroth heavily relies on the new PVP system, but this doesn’t mean that there’s no storyline or narrative to give a follow. This time a huge battle takes place between Horde and the Alliance in a multi-campaign storyline. The game introduces a whopping eight new races and four new factions. To our dismay, these so-called “New races” are just a redesign of the older races with new name tags. It isn’t completely disappointing because there are new abilities and attributes given to these newly arrived races.
It’s worth mentioning, that two new landmasses were introduced: Islands of Kul Tiras and Zandalar. These two regions are nothing but the extended version of Azeroth for a more complex and intriguing narrative. This time the level cap was increased from 110 to 120, making the game more engrossing and ever-expanding. In addition to that, the skirmishes, battlegrounds, Arenas were given a new look with enhanced systems. Perhaps, Battle for Azeroth really brought World of Warcraft as par today’s standards.
In Conclusion
There’s good news for you, and it’s about the coming expansion pack “The world of warcraft: Shadowlands” which will be talking on a different plotline and world. To be honest, considering how expansion packs are expanding the original title, there might not be any end to it. It will just go on and on, until its downfall because of paced-up narrative, and messed-up mechanics (Hopefully, it will never happen). Until then, do play these DLCs because they are 120 levels worth.
If you think I missed something while describing the titles, do let me in the comments so the mistakes can be rectified at the earliest.
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Hey, I’m Muhammad Bilal. I’m a tech fanatic (also read: Gamer), who loves scrutinizing fine details. I aim to strive hard in my respective fields (as a writer and software programmer). Before pursuing my majors in a university (right now in A-levels), I want to spend time exploring and reviewing the latest technology.