World of Warcraft is one of the longest-standing video game titles in existence. With almost two decades worth of gameplay the MMORPG has been a giant in the space that has proved difficult to topple and overcome.
This is largely due to the game's willingness to innovate and bring about new content via its expansions. The game has had a total of eight—soon to be nine with Dragonflight releasing in 2022—expansions dating back to 2007and each one has been filled with new content and things to do.
Anything from a brand-new race, new class, and new zones to new Dungeons and Raids for players to traverse through have not only been a part of them but are a well-known staple.
It's been a lot of expansions and content to account for, that's why we're gonna structure it all up. Here are all of the World of Warcraft expansions in order
All World of Warcraft Expansions in Order
World of Warcraft has had a total of eight expansions since its first one was released in 2007 and will soon have nine. Originally released on November 23, 2004, the MMORPG has come a long way in both terms of graphics and gameplay.
Apart from its content, each expansion has brought about new innovations to the game, each with its own flavor, something that gives each one its own uniqueness.
The Burning Crusade
The Burning Crusade was released on January 16, 2007, and was World of Warcraft's first expansion.
It introduced two completely new races: Draenei for the Alliance and Blood Elves for the Horde, each bringing new classes to the factions, Shaman and Paladin. In addition, the level cap got raised to level 70 and a whole new world was completely introduced, Outland. There, players took the fight to Illidan Stormrage in an attempt to stop the Burning Legion from invading the homeland of Azeroth once again.
The expansion's major features included the introduction of flying via mounts (only in Outland) and more.
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Wrath of the Lich King
Wrath of the Lich King was released on November 13, 2008, and was World of Warcraft's second expansion.
This expansion introduced the game's first new hero class, the Death Knight. Wielding blood, unholy, and frost magic, this was the dark version of the Paladin. In addition, the level cap got raised to level 80 and a whole new continent got added, Northrend. There, players took the fight to the Lich King, Arthas, who was looking to take over the world with his Scourge armies.
The expansion's major features included the introduction of the game's first latest profession, Inscription, which brought Glyphs, the Barbershop, Heroic Raid difficulty, and more.
Cataclysm
Cataclysm was released on December 7, 2010, and was World of Warcraft's third expansion.
The expansion introduced two brand-new races, the Worgen for the Alliance and the Goblins for the Horde. In addition, the level cap got raised to level 85 and instead of going to a new continent or a new world, players go to stay in a now-changed Azeroth. There, players had to take on the main culprit of Azeroth's change, Deathwing, and prevent him from ushering in the Hour of Twilight.
The expansion's major features included a change to the talent system, the addition of mastery, changes to resources, Raid Finder, and more.
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Mists of Pandaria
Mists of Pandaria was released on September 25, 2012, and was World of Warcraft's fourth expansion.
It introduced both a new race, the Pandaren, and a new class, Monks. It was the melee fighter's fighter as it rid away of spells in favor of hand-to-hand combat. In addition, the level cap got raised to level 90 and a whole new continent got added, Pandaria. There, players got to experience the Alliance and Horde conflict following Garrosh Hellscream's bombing of Theramore and his want to expand his power.
The expansion's major features included another change to the talent system, a rework of the pet system, scenarios, Challenge Mode Dungeons
Warlords of Draenor
Warlords of Draenor was released on November 13, 2014, and was World of Warcraft's fifth expansion.
This expansion didn't introduce any new class or race but instead gave players their very own player-built, upgradeable garrisons. In addition, the level cap got raised to level 100, and players got to travel to an alternate version of Draenor—Outland before the invasion of the Burning Legion. Players were sent to this world to prevent Garrosh Hellscream from raising a new army with all of the Horde's original warlords. At the end of it, one of the warlords, Gul'dan, began working with the Burning Legion.
The expansion's major features included an update to the player models, a new tool for finding groups, and more.
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Legion
Legion was released on August 30, 2016, and was World of Warcraft's sixth expansion.
The expansion introduced another hero class, the Demon Hunter. In addition, it raised the level cap to 110, and a whole new continent got added, the Broken Isles. There, players got to take the fight to the Burning Legion who finally made its way to Azeroth thanks to Gul'dan whereupon it all finished with Azeroth heroes stopping the demon lord, Sargeras, from finally materializing.
The expansion's major features included Class Order Halls, a new honor system, Artifact Weapons, and more.
Battle for Azeroth
Battle for Azeroth was released on August 14, 2018, and was World of Warcraft's seventh expansion.
The expansion introduced Allied Races: Void Elf, Lightforged Draenei, Dark Iron Dwarf, Kul Tiran, and Mechagnome for Alliance, and Nightborne, Highmountain Tauren, Zandalari Troll, Mag'har Orc, and Vulpera for Horde. In addition, it raised the level cap to 120 and got players got to travel to two new zones, Kul'Tiras for Alliance and Zandalar for Horde. There, following Sargeras' final blow on Azeroth, players set out to heal the world, but in the process, old foes arose, the Old Gods.
The expansion's major features included Allied Races, the Heart of Azeroth (Azerite System), Warfronts, Island Expeditions, and more.
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Shadowlands
Shadowlands was released on November 23, 2020, and was World of Warcraft's eighth expansion.
The expansion didn't introduce a new class or a new race but instead allowed for all of the races to have access to be Death Knights. It featured the game's first "level squish" whereupon the max level was lowered with 60 being the max alongside all of the game's stats. Players got to travel to a completely foreign realm, the Shadowlands, the realm of Death. There, players had to take on Sylvanas and her master, the Jailer from bringing about destruction to the world.
The expansion's major features included Covenants, Torghast, Tower of the Damned, and more.
Dragonflight
Dragonflight is set to release in late 2022 and will be World of Warcraft's ninth expansion.
It's set to introduce a new race, the Dracthyr, and their race-specific class, the Evoker. In addition, the level cap will be raised to level 70, and a whole new continent will be added, the Dragon Isles. The main story of the expansion has yet to be revealed.
The expansion's major gameplay features include a revamp of the Talent System, Dragonriding, changes to Professions and Crafting, an update to the HUD Interface, and more.
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