World of Warcraft is the most popular MMORPG ever, with over 12 million active players at its peak. While the numbers have dwindled, millions of players still log in daily to complete quests, find the best gear, and overcome any challenge – both PvE and PvP – that Blizzard can think of.
However, the game has not always been the powerhouse it is today. Always popular, World of Warcraft began with somewhat more humble beginnings. When the game was first launched, it looked very different than it does today.
The world of Azeroth consisted only of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. It took the game’s first expansion, Burning Crusade , to expand the world beyond its humble beginnings. If you’ve ever wondered what are the best expansions for World of Warcraft, we’ve ordered them here.
Anger of the Leach King
Although this is the second expansion in the World of Warcraft universe, Wrath of the Lich King is highly regarded as the single greatest World of Warcraft expansion to come to the game. He not only introduced the continent of Northrend, but also gave players the most cunning villain the series has ever seen: Arthas Menethil, the former Crown Prince of Lordaeron turned into Lich.
Wrath of the Lich King grabbed the attention of players with its impressive cutscenes and tons of things to do in the game. Everything in this expansion focuses on a particular evil threat, and every minor enemy that the player has fought has been affected by the Lich King in one way or another. The narrative was the most powerful, but the gameplay also contributed a lot to the game. Wrath of the Lich King introduced players to Ulduar, one of the most entertaining raids that WoW has ever played.
Also two words: Zombie Plague.
A burning crusade
Launched in 2007, Burning Crusade was the first expansion to World of Warcraft . He introduced a completely new continent called Outland, full of knowledge. The Burning Crusade also brought the blood elves to the Horde and the draenei to the Alliance, providing players with new races to choose from and many new regions to explore and conquer.
The Burning Crusade also gave Horde players the option to play as the Paladin, a class previously only available to Alliance players. Conversely, the expansion gave Alliance players the ability to play as Shamans. The introduction of these once limited classes on both sides introduced a number of interesting PvP considerations in the expansion, but it also meant a lot more replayability as players rushed to level up new classes to their cap (now increased to 70 from the previous cap of 60 .)
World of Warcraft has always had an interesting storyline, but Burning Crusade has proven particularly appealing to longtime Warcraft strategy gamers thanks to how it immersed itself in an intricate story TV series.
disaster
Cataclysm was a somewhat controversial addition. By all accounts, it was an epic experience. The downside was that history completely changed the face of Azeroth. The once popular areas have been completely overhauled as Deathwing the Destroyer, a huge dragon, literally divided the continents in half and completely changed the appearance of the world.
For many longtime players, their favorite areas were unrecognizable (RIP, Crossroads). This change was not well received by a significant portion of the fans, but no one can deny the impact that Deathwing’s appearance has had.
Cataclysm was the third expansion to World of Warcraft and increased the level cap from 80 to 85. Many players were expecting a full 10 levels, not five, so many achievements for the first time in the world. were earned on the night of release, when strong players were in a hurry to reach new highs first.
The changes to the existing World of Warcraft talent system were also disappointing to many players, but set the tone for future World of Warcraft expansions and gave the development team plenty of room to work with.
Corps
Calling many of the more recent World of Warcraft expansions “controversial” would be a little generous, given their acceptance by players. Many longtime gamers felt that the changes Blizzard had made to the level system had made the game too simple and made the game free of all problems.
These players dreamed of the endless routine of vanilla WoW, rather than racing to the highest levels of new games. However, this did not stop the newcomers from falling in love with the Legion with all its ferocity.
The 2016 expansion is one of the best because it introduced a new class to the game after a long drought: the Demon Hunter. With this new class, there are new zones, an increased level cap, and artifact weapons that take time and effort to level up their most powerful forms. Legion was also accompanied by an extensive storyline that immersed fans in a world of knowledge and made them focus on their computers for hours, exploring every corner of the story.
These four are the best add-ons to World of Warcraft to date, although Blizzard still has plenty of room to release new add-ons. The recent release of World of Warcraft Classic , a faithful version of the original level 1-60 gameplay, has forced many players to retire and experience the world of Azeroth again. Who knows? Perhaps Blizzard will launch Burning Crusade Classic , if only to relive the battle for the Dark Portal once again.
What is your favorite World of Warcraft expansion? Do you have any pleasant memories of the game? Let us know in the comments below.
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