World of Warcraft is widely regarded as the game that forever changed the world’s perception of the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) genre. The company recently announced a new WOW expansion, and all fan bases are anticipating it with bated breath. To be sure, every expansion for the game has proven to be a game-changer, for better or worse.
As per the latest announcement from the official World of War website, in April 2022 there will be Dragonflight cinematic, Lich King classic cinematic, Waking Shores and Ohn’ahran plains, Azure span and Thaldraszus, and Dracthyr Evoker and Dragonriding.
Let us take a deeper look at these now.
World of Warcraft (WOW) Expansion Overview
Before we get into the expansion list and all of the great things that came with it, let’s start with the main title “World of Warcraft”. Simply saying the name will cause every gamer in the room to raise their ears like a rabbit. That is the impact this game has had on the gaming community. One of the most successful titles, and even after nearly 18 years, the game is still regarded as one of the best in the world.
So, what makes the game so appealing? What was the reason for its phenomenal success in the gaming world? What distinguished it from the RPG? And how did it affect the genre so much?
The most important aspect would have to be the various playable characters. When the game first came out, there were eight different races to choose from. You can also customize your character to your liking. You would then be able to be released from the World of Azeroth.
You’d be playing with people from all over the world, and you’d be joining them to explore dungeons and complete raids. At the time of its release, the game had a character level cap of 65, and players all over the world were lost in the attempt to level up and found the game to be fun and challenging.
Best WOW Expansions list
Within a year of its release, the number of subscribers to World of Azeroth had risen to three and a half million. Every other MMORPG was left in the dust, and as a result, the game accomplished what was thought to be an impossible task.
Let’s go back a little further to 2007, when the game was almost at its peak. The game had more than 8 million subscribers worldwide.
The Blizzard Entertainment company wanted the game to be interesting and keep players engaged. As a result, they decided to add new elements to the game to keep things interesting. Also, the possibility of attracting new players to the game. As a result, the expansion began.
First, the expansion was one of many that were to come to keep the game interesting, and it did exactly what the developers had hoped it would do. So now we’ll move on to the list of World of Warcraft expansions that have been released. And assisting in the expansion of Azeroth’s world to new heights.
1. The Burning Crusade
The first expansion set was released in January 2007. The expansion was called the Burning Crusade, and it allowed the demon army to invade the world of Azeroth.
The demon army enters Azeroth through a portal and begins killing army commanders. New characters and gameplay were introduced in the expansion. The design of the races was changed, which improved the gameplay even more.
It also introduced new dungeons and raids for players to participate in. The game began to gain new subscribers from all over the world while also retaining existing ones.
The unique thing that made the first expansion so great were the characters that were in the demon army. They were also a part of the original World of Warcraft game, which launched in 1994 and went on to have sequences launched until 2003. This made the game more familiar to old fans.
2. The Wrath of the Lich King
In the second expansion, another character from the original game, and the king of the undead army launch the game. Players would have to travel to another continent to take on the king. The game changed further in gameplay and design.
The game was reenergized, and the number of subscribers increased. In addition, this game broke the previous expansion’s record for the fastest-selling game in the first 24 hours of release.
The expansion was thought to signal the end of the game’s hardcore component. The game resumed using the new user-friendly gameplay. New elements were added to the game, and the maximum level cap for the characters was raised once more. As a result, new weapon upgrades and costumes became available.
3. Cataclysm
It almost completely redesigns the game. The world map had shifted. New characters have been introduced, and the gameplay has been improved. The character level cap was also raised, allowing new weapon upgrades to go even further.
The expansion, on the other hand, was regarded as one of the worst in the game’s history. The expansion received a lot of negative feedback, and the number of subscribers fell for the first time in the game’s history.
4. Mists of Pandaria
The addition of a previously unexplored continent breathed new life into the game. In addition, the expansion introduced new races and characters with whom you could interact. The gameplay was tweaked, and the game’s graphics were improved as well.
The game was back on track, with the number of subscribers finally starting to rise again, eventually surpassing the ten million mark. Soon after, however, it began to fall again.
5. Warlords of Draenor
This expansion was supposed to bring World of Warcraft back to its peak years when there were over 12 million subscribers. The world of the Warcraft map has been altered once more. And, at the time of its release, it looked almost identical to the original World of Warcraft map.
The portal had reopened, and a new invasion was underway. To stop the invasion, the players are forced to face a new foe. The game’s popularity began to rise once more. And the number of subscribers quickly surpassed 10 million once more.
New elements and characters were introduced in the expansion. However, this time around, the developers’ primary focus was on the gameplay. As a result, fewer raids and dungeons are introduced in comparison to previous expansions.
However, the dream was short-lived as the expansion was heavily criticized by hardcore gaming fans, resulting in the game’s biggest drop. The number of subscribers lost was nearly half. And that, too, was lost in a very short time.
6. Legion
This was one of the game’s most significant expansions when it first came out. With the introduction of new characters and races.
The gameplay improved, many flaws from previous expansions were fixed, and many new raids and dungeons were added to the game. The game gradually regained popularity, stabilizing the World of Warcraft fanbase.
This expansion also saw patch updates become more frequent, further contributing to the game’s success. This is one of the most highly-rated expansion packs in World of Warcraft, and for good reason.
7. Battle for Azeroth
This expansion focuses on improving the PVP and arena modes of the game. This expansion introduced new gameplay and new weapons and also raised the character level cap even further.
The expansion also had new raids and dungeons introduced to the game. However, the expansion pack was a success in the eyes of the hardcore fanbase as it improved PVP. And the arena mode is a lot more extensive than all of the other expansion packs.
8. Shadowlands
The expansion was highly rated, and the game introduced new continents and new races and characters.
Also, the gameplay improved and increased the graphics of the game. The expansion was considered to bring back the glory days of the game, which were after the launch of the second expansion, and so far, the expansion has pointed out that it may be the case.
9. Dragonflight
WOW has announced its new expansion in April 2022, called Dragonflight. From my experience with the last two expansions, Blizzard has made many changes and also added a new race and class to the game called Dracthyr.
The new playable race is in humanoid form and is a neutral race, which means it can also be fiction if you want. If you are a WOW fan, then I think you will have a lot of fun this time. The expansion is really amazing and Blizzard is also adding some new updates and features to it. Let’s hope you will enjoy this new avatar of the World of Warcraft storyline.
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Conclusion
The game has been ever-expanding, and hopefully, it will keep introducing new elements to the title. The game has changed the way people view online role-playing games.
And with the new WOW Expansion coming in, I hope the game improves further. Until then, make sure that you enjoy all the old expansions. Complete as many raids as you can, and level up your characters as much as you can.
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