I remember when I first got WoW, back in the days of 56kbps internet (DSL wasn’t super common at the time due to its cost). I similarly remember a WoW without anybody hitting the level cap, which was 60 at the time. In fact, being a level 60 meant you were a top player on the server, and most people knew who you were.
Of course, this was a time where games were installed on a CD, and WoW was one of the first 3D MMOs to ever come out, really changing the landscape of MMOs forever.
Since then, WoW has gone through a massive amount of drastic changes throughout seven expansions.
Level caps were raised, again and again, new armor and gear meant you were always working towards the next best item. Also, there was almost constantly either a new race, a new class, a new profession, or new stats you’d have to work your brain around.
It was pretty awesome growing up as a kid back then and going through a lot of that, so I’m thrilled that I was part of it. So who is this article for? Well, most people who have been playing WoW since the beginning have lived through at least a few expansions and might want a refresher.
For the most part, this article is written for those who’ve seen WoW Classic and have maybe been thinking about picking up standard WoW. These people should enjoy our detailed recap of the main points in each expansion. Either way, I hope you enjoy what is almost certainly going to be a nostalgia trip for me.
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Before we get going though, I should mention that with the latest expansions to WoW, some of the spec requirements went up, so you can’t really run it on a potato anymore. Thankfully, there are some great budget gaming desktops which should fill that need.
#1 The Burning Crusade
Release Date: January 16, 2007
You know, I actually remember when this came out. Back then, I was a freshly minted level 60 with my new, super-hard to get legendary staff, and I was living the high life. Then The Burning Crusade (TBC) dropped, the cap was raised to level 70 and a bunch of epics drops that were way better than my legendary item. I was crushed, and in fact, if you listen carefully, you can still hear me screaming quietly through spacetime.
Aside from the new level cap and new items, TBC also added two new classes for people to fawn over. The magical Blood Elves who acted as the paladins for the Horde, and the Draenei who were shamans for the Alliance. This move basically allowed you to stay within your respective faction, while still being able to enjoy the mechanics of classes that were initially closed off to you, which was pretty cool, honestly.
TBC also added flying mounts, which I can personally tell you were completely mind-blowing at the time. They also made the non-flying mounts easier to get which was similarly mind-blowing due to the fact that the map is really massive and walking everywhere is a pain.
Finally, there were new additions to PvP, such as the resilience stat which altered how damage worked and balanced PvP. There were also new PvP battlegrounds and a new Arena mode which was pretty awesome. You have to remember, back then we didn’t have MOBA style games with different lanes and things, so it was pretty awesome.
#2 The Wrath of the Lich King
Release Date: November 13, 2008
As you can tell from the title of this expansion, Blizzard took the chance to flesh out the story of WoW by bringing in lore from Warcraft, more specifically Arthas. The ill-fortuned prince who was crowned Lich King at the end of Warcraft III. Along with this new Lich King, we also got a whole new area to explore; Northrend. It was actually quite more detailed, and a bit of a departure from the map most of us were previously used to, so it was very refreshing, to say the least.
Aside from the bit of lore and a new map, we got another raise of the level cap, from 70 to 80. Meaning, you had another ten more levels you had to level up in (arghh!). Of course, Blizzard also did the usual refinement and additions to abilities, talents, dungeons, and zones.
One significant change that came out of the blue was the addition of a new class: The Death Knight. Interestingly, it acted as a ‘Hero’ class and therefore started automatically at level 55, something pretty unheard of at the time. The Death Knight class also had its own starting area in eastern Lordaeron, as well as their own class-specific profession, Runeforging.
Speaking of professions, Blizzard also added a global profession called Inscription, which sort of worked as an enhancement for abilities, as well as scrolls for temporary buffs, and vellums to store those enhancements for later.
Finally, as you’d expect, Blizzard added a bunch of stuff to the PvP, aside from pure balancing. You got two new battlegrounds and two new arenas, which is already quite a lot, but then you also got a dedicated PvP zone called Wintergrasp. I still remember playing that when the expansion first came out, even though I was terrible at PvP at the time.
#3 Cataclysm
Release Date: December 7, 2010
With the end of the terrible reign of the Lich King, two prominent characters were killed off, and everything changed . . . Quite literally. Cataclysm brought a massive overhaul to pretty much every part of the map, and not just graphically. Quests and dungeons were actually altered to take this change into consideration, as well as the addition of new quests to help deepen the lore.
As you’d expect, the level cap was increased, but only by five this time from 80 to 85, so it wasn’t that big a change in that regard. What was a significant change was the new class/race combinations that you could do, rebalancing of said classes as well as a new unique ability based on the tree you chose. They did also add two new races; the Worgen for the Alliance and Goblins for the Horde (although the latter really should have been there from the beginning).
There were no primary professions added, but they did add a secondary one called Archeology that didn’t do much in the way of giving you awesome items. You would dig and, depending on RNG, you could theoretically get a good item like an exotic mount or powerful gear, so it basically functions like a loot box without the loot box. Blizzard did add Reforging, which basically allowed you to alter the stat of equipment to make them a bit more useful for the purpose of the player.
One other significant change saw the addition of guild leveling, which was always an exciting concept to me. Basically, as the guild leveled up, you could get some really cool spells, such as more XP gain or reducing Hearthstone cooldown.
Finally, and as always, PvP got a significant addition in the form of a new PvP area called Tol Barad, as well as two new battlegrounds for you to fight in. Oh, also, if you’re a Warcraft fan, Deathwing becomes a character that you have to deal with in this expansion.
#4 Mists of Pandaria
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Mists of Pandaria is all about a panda, voiced by Jack Black, who goes out to become a kung-fu master of, – oh, wait a second, this isn’t Kung Fu Panda!
Jokes aside, this update was a little bit divisive in the fandom because of the subject matter. Initially introduced in Warcraft III, the Pandaren were a race of panda-looking beings that were added as an April fools joke. Well, the joke’s on us because Blizzard decided it was a great idea to include them in WoW.
Aside from being downright hilarious, the Pandaren get their own little island for them to level up on that they can’t actually leave. This is due to the fact that they’re a neutral race, and so are not specific to the Alliance or the Horde. Instead, when you left the island, you got to choose what faction you wanted to be part of.
Mists of Pandaria also added a new hybrid class, the Monk, which was a third DPS, a third healing and a third tanking, and even wore light armor. So basically you just could do whatever you wanted which is both kind of cool and very OP.
Similarly, talents were changed, once again, and now the passive bonuses for particular abilities were scrapped, and instead, you could choose one of three bonuses every 15 levels. Level caps were also raised, again by only five levels, so the new cap was set at 90.
There were some significant additions to the combat system though, with new ‘scenarios’ that were tailored for three players, rather than the usual five. A challenge mode was also added for the five-man dungeons though, so don’t feel left out if you really loved that. PvP got a small addition in the form of three new battlegrounds as well.
Probably the biggest hit and miss was the new combat ‘mode’ for pets, where you can face them of each other in turn-based combat. I’m just gonna leave it at that honestly; you can come to your own conclusions from playing.
Related: Check out how to get to Pandaria if you’re just starting out.
#5 Warlords of Draenor
Release Date: November 13, 2014
Unlike the other expansion packs, Warlords of Draenor didn’t have as much content as you’d expect. For the most part that’s due to it being a really big graphical overhaul, bring the graphics up to snuff with games at the time (by then WoW had been out for ten years). Since they updated the whole game, that was the main focus, rather than just adding a new race and/or class.
That being said, there was a pretty good-sized story update, taking you back in time to when Draenor was still whole and not the complete mess it became. The story looks at what would have happened if the orcs hadn’t made their deal with Mannoroth.
Of course, the level cap was increased, by ten this time, bringing the maximum to 100. There was also an emphasis on streamlining mechanics, so specific secondary stats were removed, and there was a new Group Finder for PvE and PvP. Actually, the Group Finder was significant on its own, since matchmaking was always a bit of a pain in WoW.
Similarly, battlegrounds were refined, with other aspects like inventory and logs made a bit easier to navigate.
Finally, you got a nice big player-focused update in the form of Garrisons. These were mainly homes that you could build and make your own. You even had NPC followers you could send out of the base to run missions for you for a variety of things. You also got access to limited professions, as well as the garrison being customizable, including resource gathering spots.
#6 Legion
Release Date: August 30, 2016
While Legion did bring quite a lot of stuff to WoW, I’d say that one of the most significant changes was to PvP. In the olden days, there was a lot that relied on PvP gear, with people often having a set for PvE and one for PvP. With Legion, PvP gear was primarily done away with and instead replaced with an honor system and honor points, which could be used to buy abilities rather than equipment.
Personally, I think this is the kind of balance that PvP in WoW needed, which is why I put it up here first. In terms of story, we are brought back to the present and introduced to a new (old) character Sargeras, from Warcraft. Along with himself, he brought a whole new map to play around in, the continent of Broken Isles.
Legion also added a new Hero Class, Demon Hunter, the first since the Death Knight in the Wrath of the Lich King. Interestingly enough though, where the Death Knight wasn’t locked to a specific race, the Demon Hunter is, being only available to Night Elves and Blood Elves.
Much like Death Knights, you do start at a higher level, but at 98, so you’re actually well on your way to completing your leveling up in the game. As part of that, the Demon Hunter had its own questline that you had to go through that told you the backstory of the game, before being released to the full world . . . of warcraft.
Speaking of levels, the level cap was raised again up to 110 this time. Similarly, a new tier of items was added, Artifacts, which sits right above Legendary items and are actually entirely customizable and with their own unique questlines that you have to complete to get them. Finally, Class Orders were added that allowed players to get class-specific campaigns and rewards, which is pretty cool.
#7 Battle for Azeroth
Release Date: August 14, 2018
The latest and final expansion and the one Blizzard is still charging for, refocuses everything back on to the tensions between the Alliance and Horde. To that end, players have to take on a multi-part campaign that covers the story of the two factions and their eternal fight. As you can imagine that’s a pretty big focus on PvP, much more so than any other expansion.
To that end, Blizzard introduced a whopping eight new races to the game, all who are variants of the standard races, but that have defected from their factions. For the Alliance, there’s the Kul Tiras (Humans), Dark Iron (Dwarves), Lightforged (Draenei) and Voice (Elves). For the Horde, you have the Mag’har (Orcs), Highmounten (Tauren), Zandalari (Trolls) and Nightborne (Elves). So yeah, it’s quite a lot.
Along with that, there were two new PvP arenas and a PvP toggle you could use whenever. PvE wasn’t forgotten though Warfronts, which draws from the RTS game and includes building, resource control, and territory capture or defense. Island Expeditions were also added, which are three-player missions. Two new maps also showed up, Kul Tiras and Zandalar, for people to enjoy. Finally, the level-capped was raised yet again from 110 to 120.
Final Thoughts
Phew, what a trip! As you can see, WoW has gone through a ton of significant changes that have only made it better and better over the past decade and a half. At this point, there really is a little something in there for everybody, and that’s pretty obvious from the fact that WoW still remains as one of the most popular MMOs out there. It’s never too late to start as long as you have some WoW Gold!
While Blizzard has stopped publishing subscriber numbers, it’s still believed that they’re close to 10million subs monthly, so it’s not a small thing. Before I sign off though, I just want to mention that if you’re going to start playing MMOs like WoW, you’re probably going to need some gear that has macro keys for the ability to run complex scripts instead of clicking a million times.
To that end, there are a couple of excellent budget gaming keyboards that have macros. If you’re more into doing your macro work through your mouse, there are also some exceptional MMO gaming mice for that purpose, as well