Check out the complete WoW Expansion Packs List!
About World of Warcraft
Almost any gamer is familiar with the popularly known “WoW” World of Warcraft or Vanilla, classic or pre BC. It is the fourth game set under the warcraft universe. Released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment, it has ruled the minds of gamers worldwide with its continuous development and additional features with every pack. It reached 12 million subscribers in 2010, achieving significant success. The game is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game, i.e., MMORPG.
After the success of Warcraft III- The Frozen Theme, World of Warcraft got fame worldwide, bringing the MMORPG category into highlight after four years of previous game series announced in 2001. Many MMORPG came earlier, but this one was creatively made and marketed intelligently. The users of both Microsoft Windows and macOS can take advantage of this brilliantly made game. It comes with a whole lot of customizations with different character skins and pets they can have. Each expansion released has unique themes and opportunities. The evolution in the game has made it more fine with fierce roles to play for the gamer. The players are allowed to create character avatars to explore the game in the third or first person. A player has to select a server or realm as referred to in the game. There are two types of realms available, namely – “Normal” and “Roleplay”. The domains are supported by language availability.
- A normal is a regular realm type where the game focuses on defeating the monsters and covering the quests indulging in player versus player fights.
- Roleplay concentrates on roleplaying in character and works similarly to the normal realm.
Earlier, the game had to be purchased, and then a monthly subscription value of $14.99 had to be paid to play with other players and get control of the server. Each expansion had to be paid separately. But with the evolution in the game, there is no need to buy the game and pay per expansion. You need to purchase a subscription. The payment can be made by debit or credit card, Blizzard prepaid game cards or WoW token purchased in-game. The exception here is the expansion pack “The battle of Azeroth,” which needs payment separately.
WoW Expansion List in Order
It is challenging to say which one is the best; talking about the expansion packs,? As each player has different opinions, experiences, and benefits in return. The WoW expansion packs have been evolving with a gap of two years. WoW, it has so far released eight major expansion packs. The list is as follows in the given order of their release date:
1. The Burning Crusade
The first expansion pack of World of Warcraft was released on January 16, 2007. This expansion holds a special place in the hearts of many gamers. The Blood Elves for the Horde and The Draenei of the Alliance were introduced as two new races. One of the notable features of this expansion is the Illidan Stormrage and the weapons of Warglaive. The players have to defeat the large army of demons and their allies, who are the main enemy in the “Burning Crusade.” The Outland and areas of Azeroth are the areas controlled by the Burning legions and other powerful beings. The black temple, the God of Zul’Aman, and Fury of the Sunwell are the places to be raided. Illidan had a stronghold on the black temple, Draenei citadel. Regular players consider this to be one of the profitable and happening expansion packs at one time. It was the time when the MMORPG genre was in a complete form and innovative.
2 Wrath of the Lich King
Wrath of the Lich King is the second in line but very famous among the players. The expansion pack was released on November 13, 2008. The players have to defeat the Lich King Arthas Menethil. The level cap was increased from 70 to 80 against the previous expansion from 60 to 70. There are non-stop actions and high-quality voice acting which interests game players and bring them back to this expansion. A lot of PvP content, two new battlegrounds ( Isle of Conquest and Strand of the Ancients), a new continent of Northrend as the home of the Lich King, undead minions, new fire effects, death knight voices modulation, and realistic shadows are introduced. The game presented other options to change the character resolution to improve the performance.
The expansion brought in two new arenas Orgrimmar And Dalaran Arena.
3. Cataclysm
Environmental redesigns, high-level dungeons, and flying mounts are additions to these expansion packs. The third expansion in order is the cataclysm released on December 7, 2010. The player level has increased to 85 in this expansion pack. The Worgen of Gilneas for the Alliance and the goblins of the Bilgewater Cartel for the Horde are two new player races introduced. The new leveling zones for these two races include Gilneas, the Isle of Kezana, and the Lost Isles. The gameplay consists of six new high-level zones Mount Hyjal, Uldum in Kalimdor, Vashjir, and the Twilight Highlands in the Eastern kingdoms, Deepholm and Tol Barad. Critical reviews from regular players are more than newbies as the mechanical and technological weapon’s experience is compared with previous expansions.
4. Mists of the Pandaria
If you love pandas, you are going to get lured with this expansion pack. Mists of The Pandaria was released on September 25, 2012. The current cap level increased to 90. A new character, monk, and race, the Pandaren, we’re introduced to this list. The notable feature here is the pet battle system where you could set the pet against another or wild pets, and the winner could take both pets home. Defeating the wild pets is an added advantage for the owner—energy as the leading resource and the chi as a secondary resource by the monks. There are seven playable leveling zones, dungeon challenge modes, three raids, six dungeons, and faction capital areas.
5. Warlords of Draenor
The expansion tours gamers to Draenor. The fifth expansion pack in the list was released on November 13, 2014. A new feature of group finder to search players and form groups for 5-40 player activities. It came up with more power and more graphics that many gamers did not accept because it required upgrading the PCs. The classic player vs. player showed many changes and gave an altogether different storyline experience of the island. The expansion added upgrades in the scoreboards, the battleground systems, and the new PVP zone to this pack.
6. Legion
The seventh expansion announced on August 6, 2015, was released on August 30, 2016. It has some of the best technical points with artifact weapons. The level cap is increased to 110. Legion brought a new continent Broken Isles and a new hero – demon hunter. There is a lot to enjoy in this expansion and also much information to gain. There is a new social feature where friends join and allow you to queue with them. Pre-purchasing the Legion has granted players a bonus like a level 100 character boost and access to the demon hunter class at an early stage.
7. Battle for Azeroth
The Battle for Azeroth comes with two versions, namely, standard and deluxe. The deluxe includes;- the baby Tortollan pet, Gilded Ravasaur, Primal Flamesaber mounts, burning card pack and emotes, icons, etc. The Battle for Azeroth, released on August 13, 2018, had excellent reviews. The players can increase the level up to 120 from 110 in the previous expansion Legion. Kul Tiras and Zandalar are the two continents that have been added within the Great Sea. Ten new allied races start at level 20 – Lightford Draenei, Void elf, Dark Iron dwarf, Kul Tiran, Mechagnome, Highmountain Tauren, nightborne, Maghar orc, ZAndalari Troll, and Vulpera. The additional features also include two war fronts, three new arenas, 11 island locations in rotation, and many more.
8. Shadowlands
Shadowlands is the most recent eight expansion packs released on November 23, 2020. The day was the sixteen anniversary of the release of the original game.
Five significant zones of the shadowlands are Bastion, ARdenweald, Revendreth, Maldraxxus, and The Maw. Here Oribos is the center city similar to Shattrath city in the Outland in the Burning Crusade. The players can explore the realm of death for the first time in the World of Warcraft. The Shadowlands offer players the best and horror experiences of the afterlife. All the levels are meaningful. It’s about Sylvanas Windrunner, the leader of the Horde who got defeated.
Conclusion: World of Warcraft Expansion Packs
With many awards from critics like editors’ choice awards in its stride since its release, it has won several awards from the media as the best game in the roleplaying and MMORPG genres. Blizzard has been very cooperative and mindful in serving the gamers with different subscription and pricing models. As per reliable sources, the total revenue earned by the game is over $9.23billion in 2017 and over 100 million registered accounts in 2014. The players are allowed to choose usernames and passwords for creating the World of Warcraft accounts and also to maintain the users’ security.