In its role as the most popular MMO of all time, World of Warcraft has experienced some major ups and downs throughout its nearly 20-year history. Here we rank all expansions so far.
The constant march of progress in an ever-changing landscape is a difficult path to navigate successfully, and at times it has proven so. On the flip side, there were also some incredible peaks that provided players with an experience that is almost unmatched by this or any other game.
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Starting with the release of the hugely popular Classic in 2019, the recent return to old-school formulas was the first sign that the community was struggling with mainline games. Blizzard leans further into this with official hardcore servers and seasonal experiences, completing the return to the classic version of the game.
Cataclysm Classic is set to be released in mid-2024, and Dexerto is looking back at all nine previous WoW expansions to see which one is the best.
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Complete list of WOW expansions from worst to best
shadowlands
Of all the World of Warcraft expansions ever released, Shadowlands really feels like the very last. Although there were some positive ideas among them, the implementation was far from acceptable. The Covenant system looked cool on paper, but ultimately it’s just another canonical chore that isn’t an option when you need to belong to a certain faction to be accepted into a group in endgame. became.
The content itself felt limited, the story was as complex as WoW’s past, and the feeling of playing a role in a high-stakes event was almost completely lost. . This raid was deeply forgotten, and Blizzard seemed to have given up on saving the expansion halfway through. Torghast remains a monument to lost potential in an experience where there is nothing to truly love.
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Warlord of Draenor
When fans got their hands on Warlord of Draenor, what was supposed to be a victorious expedition to the orc homeworld quickly turned into a nightmare. Starting on the positives, the zones offered were fun and varied enough during the leveling process, but from there it became difficult to complement the expansion in any way.
WoD is the first of the objectively awful WoW expansions and seems to have forgotten what made the game great in the first place. The Garrison system was focused on an insane level and was prioritized over the experience players were craving when new expansions were released. Of all the bad chapters in World of Warcraft, this one is the most disappointing.
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battle of azeroth
Battle for Azeroth will inevitably be remembered as a poor game overall, but it’s fair to say that it has improved over time. It was confusing at launch, and the new zones and areas to explore felt uninspired and monotonous. It offered some solid dungeons (particularly Freehold) and allowed me to partake in some fascinating new activities.
Much of BfA’s bad reputation stems from its storytelling, and while that’s a fair criticism, the expansion was decent all things considered. Ny’Alotha was objectively one of the best raids in recent years, and along with Mechagon’s continuing secrets (as flawed as they may have been), they did a lot to save the last part of the expansion. He did the following.
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dragon flight
The latest World of Warcraft expansion feels like it deserves a mid-range ranking in almost every area. Valdraken’s new central hub has been put together well, with the new zone verticality and the introduction of dragon riding creating a combination that feels like a win right from the start.
Aberrus and Amirdrassil have both proven to be fun raiding experiences, and the Dawn of the Infinite megadungeon is a fun and well-thought-out change to the formula. That being said, the story remains fairly vague, the game suffers from bloat, and while there’s a lot to do, you’re not given much direction as to why you should do it as a player.
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Cataclysm
The most controversial expansion release of all time, Cataclysm literally changed everything about World of Warcraft. When the great dragon Deathwing ran through the game’s original two continents, the land you grew up in was irrevocably changed. At the time, this drew a lot of criticism, but in hindsight it was a fair choice for a world in need of a refresh.
Dragon Soul was a solid raid overall, but sadly it was mainly remembered for the extremely stupid Deathwing Spine encounter. Those who enjoyed the vast changes brought about by Cataclysm will be able to dive in again, as Cataclysm is set to return as part of the latest round of classic products.
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mist of pandaria
For some reason, the Mists of Pandaria seem to tear people in half and push them into extreme conditions. People who like MoP tend to consider this one of the best expansion packs of all time, while others think it’s one of the worst. In reality, this probably means it’s somewhere in the middle of the pack. The change in story direction actually worked, even if the pandaren felt like an odd choice for a playable race.
At the time, the new zone was breathtaking, and Blizzard generally did a solid job with that key experience. The raids, in particular, proved to be a real tonic, offering an epic and varied experience, even if there were some issues with settings like Siege of Orgrimmar. This is probably one of the boldest changes in direction in WoW history, and the team behind it basically pulled it off.
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burning holy war
The first expansion is also one of the most powerful. Blood Elf is perhaps the most iconic race in WoW, even though he is not playable in the vanilla version of the game. Despite being dwarfed by later expansions, for a modern release it felt like the developers were spot on in almost every way.
Every new location felt as if it had been part of the game from the start, and every raid and dungeon on offer was far more ambitious than anything the playerbase had seen before. This is also the expansion that brought us Ashes of Al’ar, probably the coolest mount of all time.
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legion
After the great disappointment of the Warlords of Draenor, few would have seen the great success that the Legion would bring. It helped that the developers were able to rely on iconic enemies like the Burning Legion, but this expansion had real strength under the hood. Each area of Broken His Shore was very diverse, and Argus was unlike anything in the game before or since.
Adding the pseudo-sci-fi may have been a grave mistake, but the whole thing worked as a whole package. The story has a clear direction, and “Tomb of Sargeras” and “Antras, the Burning Throne” are both some of the best raids introduced to the game. A return to a similar formula may help us course-correct as we navigate the war within and beyond.
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Wrath of the Lich King
Standing alone at the top of the tree, Wrath of the Lich King remains the most notable expansion in World of Warcraft history, though it will surprise few. Every step along the way was fun, as the titular antagonist was able to claim the promised prize at the end of the journey. Death Knight’s early days were the least balanced, but they still felt fun throughout.
Despite Northrend’s problems, there was plenty to enjoy across the 10 or so zones from the beginning of the expansion to its final throes. This was the last golden age of PvP, and the PvE scene flourished alongside it. The refreshed Naxxramas is a great reminder of simpler times, and Icecrown Citadel is perhaps the most extraordinary raiding experience ever. Simply, it’s the best.
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Here is the complete list. While many of the expansions mentioned above are relics of a bygone era, there are more ways to play WoW than ever before. The classic formula is in full swing in Season of Discovery, and it’s a great time to adventure in Azeroth.