Blizzard launched World of Warcraft on November 23rd, 2004, building upon the immense triumph of the initial three Warcraft games. This MMORPG allowed devoted Warcraft enthusiasts to embark on a new adventure, evolving their one-of-a-kind hero while traversing the virtual realm of Azeroth. Blizzard’s strategy proved to be a resounding success, as millions of players eagerly subscribed to the game, with many still actively engaged to this day.

WoW Expansions In Order: From TBC to Dragonflight

Since the release of WoW Vanilla, numerous events have taken place. Notably, the game has witnessed the introduction of a total of nine consecutive expansions, including the recently launched “Dragonflight.” In this article, we will explore the release dates of these expansions and the unique features they have introduced to the game.

1. The Burning Crusade

TBC, also known as The Burning Crusade, made its debut in 2007 as the inaugural major expansion for World of Warcraft. While Vanilla WoW confined players to Azeroth and Kalimdor, TBC expanded the horizons by introducing Outlands, the original homeland of the Draenai. This expansion also unlocked the playable races of Blood Elves, offering even more diverse options for players.

The lore of TBC primarily revolved around the main characters from Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne, including Lady Vashj, Prince Kael’Thas, and Illidan Stormgrimm, who were the final bosses of major raids. Additionally, TBC introduced flying mounts, heroic instances, jewel crafting, and the PvP arena, all of which were new features to the game. Furthermore, the level cap was increased from 60 to 70.

2. Wrath of the Lich King

Released in late 2008, Wrath of the Lich King, also known as WotLK, captivated the heroes of Azeroth and transported them to the icy realm of Northrend, where they could level up to 80. This expansion was renowned for introducing the Death Knight as a new hero class, offering a greater variety of quests that were more engaging and interactive. WotLK also featured stunning in-game cinematics and the unforgettable Ulduar raid, widely considered one of the game’s finest.

Arthas Menethil, the Lich King, was the primary driving force behind the plot of the game. Eventually, Blizzard introduced a Dungeon Group Tool, a feature that continues to be debated due to its ability to expedite the process of finding a group but also leads to reduced communication and increased toxicity. Regardless, the Wrath of the Lich King expansion was likely the most prosperous period in the game’s history, boasting up to 13 million subscribers. It comes as no surprise, then, that it received a classic re-release as well.

3. Cataclysm

In 2010, Blizzard made a significant change with Cataclysm by shifting their focus from creating a new world to revamping the existing world of Azeroth, Kalimdor, and the Eastern Kingdoms. This transformation was primarily carried out by the introduction of Deathwing, a new villain who completely redesigned these regions. As a result, many monotonous quests involving repetitive tasks like killing a certain number of enemies or collecting specific items were either revised or replaced with more thrilling alternatives. Additionally, World of Warcraft raised the level cap to 85 and introduced archeology as an additional secondary profession. However, despite its initial promise, archeology proved to be rather dull in practice.

Despite the excitement of witnessing the revitalization of the old world of Azeroth after six years, with the inclusion of Goblins and Worgen as playable races, a significant number of players were not particularly pleased with the expansion. In fact, the hype surrounding WoW never reached the same level as it did during TBC and WotLK, and subsequent add-ons failed to alter this trend.

4. Mists of Pandaria

Released in 2012, Mists of Pandaria, also known as MoP, emerged as a highly acclaimed expansion for World of Warcraft. It introduced the Pandarens as a fresh playable race and introduced the Monk class. Interestingly, the addition of Pandarens to the WoW lore started as a humorous April Fools’ joke by Blizzard.

The release of MoP brought several exciting updates to WoW. One notable addition was raising the level cap to 90, allowing players to further enhance their characters’ abilities. Another exciting feature was the introduction of pet battles, which brought back nostalgic memories of the first Pokémon games on Game Boy. Moreover, the latest raid in Orgrimmar, the capital city, proved to be quite intriguing as it marked the first time players had the opportunity to raid in such a significant location.

5. Warlords of Draenor

Blizzard took a new approach with the release of Warlords of Draenor (WoD) in 2014. This expansion ventured into uncharted territory by exploring an alternate universe on Draenor, the ancestral home of the orcs, but set 35 years in the past. For the first time, players were given the opportunity to construct their own personalized garrisons, marking the introduction of housing in the game. Additionally, raids became more challenging with the introduction of a tougher Mythic Mode, and the level cap was increased from 90 to 100.

Doesn’t seem too terrible, right? However, WoD ended up being a letdown for numerous players. While the housing feature was enjoyable initially, it didn’t take long for players to feel isolated in their small communities. Additionally, Blizzard only issued two raid patches throughout the almost two-year lifespan of WoD, which was quite limited.

6. Legion

Legion, released in August 2016, was seen as a positive shift for players following the underwhelming experience of Warlords of Draenor (WoD). The expansion raised the level cap to 110, introduced the Demon Hunter as a new heroic class, equipped players with legendary artifact weapons, and brought in exciting features like world quests and the Mythic+ dungeon mode, allowing individuals to ramp up the challenge of dungeons.

Furthermore, the lore of World of Warcraft shifted its attention back to original protagonists, resulting in the shocking fate of some of them, which left many players astounded. In summary, Legion breathed new life into the game, although Argus did not stand out prominently.

7. Battle for Azeroth

Released in August 2018, Battle for Azeroth (BfA) introduced players to the vast continents of Zandalar and Kul’Tiras, where they could level up to 120. This expansion brought exciting additions such as island expeditions, PvE battlegrounds known as “Warfronts,” and the opportunity to unlock new allied races like Lightforged Draenei or Highmountain Tauren. Additionally, Blizzard introduced a fresh currency called Azerite, which functioned similarly to the artifact power system found in Legion’s artifact weapons.

Doesn’t sound very thrilling, does it? Well, it truly wasn’t. Ultimately, for numerous gamers, BfA seemed like a poor imitation of Legion’s innovative elements, such as M+, world quests, and the pursuit of powerful items. However, in this iteration, the sought-after item was a necklace instead of a weapon.

8. Shadowlands

After seven expansions, a discernible pattern has emerged in World of Warcraft: for every successful expansion, there tends to be a letdown afterwards. However, Shadowlands deviates from this trend in a negative manner, as the previous expansion, BfA, was also deemed disappointing by the community. This is particularly disheartening because Shadowlands initially held promise, with its introduction of the realm of the dead and encounters with beloved WoW characters during our journey to level 60.

That’s correct, Shadowlands introduces a level squish where our powerful characters at level 120 now begin at level 50. Once you reach level 60, you gain access to Torghast, an endless tower reminiscent of games like Hades. The story revolves around Sylvanas Windrunner, who in BfA began making decisions independently from the other Horde leaders.

Ultimately, both the storyline and gameplay fell short and left players feeling disappointed. Similar to the Warlords of Draenor expansion, it took nearly six months for a patch to be released, only to be underwhelming at best. As a result, players are now placing their hopes on WoW: Dragonflight to redeem the past two lackluster expansions. Blizzard still needs to demonstrate that Dragonflight can meet players’ expectations and deliver a satisfying experience in the long term.

Curious about the top-rated expansion? Explore our gallery ranking to discover which one takes the lead.