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While World of Warcraft may longer be the genre-dominating titan it once was, the memories made by the countless adventurers who have traveled Azeroth over the years are here to remain. From humble starts securing a vineyard or waking peons, heroes eventually found themselves facing off against extraordinary cosmic forces.
But while every World of Warcraft expansion has had something to offer, some have done it better than others. Some saw epic fights against hordes of demons, others a journey to a mysterious land, and a few suffered from having too much content cut. A new expansion, Dragonflight, is set to release in November 2022, though it remains to be seen how it will stack up against its predecessors.
8 Shadowlands: A Shadow Of What It Might Have Been
With an epic-sounding premise of diving into the afterlife itself to stop the plans of the traitorous Sylvanas Windrunner, many fans were willing to overlook the oddly rushed end of Battle For Azeroth as the hype for Shadowlands began to build.
Trouble would arise from the very start though, first seeing the expansion delayed, and then released in an unfinished and unbalanced state. Severe content droughts would do little to improve things, and the massive success of FFXIV: Endwalker only a year later would drain the game's population even further.
7 Cataclysm: The Boundary Between Old And New
Cataclysm was a controversial expansion without doubt. While some fans love it, others view it as the beginning of World of Warcraft's decline. Cataclysm would see all of the original zones changed forever as the mad dragon aspect Deathwing reshaped Azeroth itself. Of note was the experimental zone of Vash'jir, which was entirely underwater.
Cataclysm is generally considered to be the boundary between "old" WoW and new. Classes would be streamlined, leveling made faster, quests would become more complex, and flying would finally come to Kalimdor and The Eastern Kingdoms, though strangely not to the Blood Elf or Draenei zones.
6 The Burning Crusade: A Blistering Start That Succumbed To Age
The first World of Warcraft expansion would release with great aplomb and see WoW swiftly grow into the titan it would remain for the next decade. Picking up where Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos left off, The Burning Crusade sees the players fighting against the titular demon army upon the shattered world of Outland.
While revolutionary when it came out, time has not been kind to The Burning Crusade. With the advances in MMOs over the years since it came out, the quests now feel strangely distant and often esoterically placed, and the once-bustling PvP features in each zone are now all but abandoned.
5 Warlords of Draenor: A Story With Two Sides
Oft-maligned in its time, Warlords of Draenor saw the player going into a parallel timeline to stop the rampage of "The Iron Horde" before they could take over Azeroth and a pre-destruction Outlands. Between significant cut content and an abundance of time gates, it was received poorly by many fans.
Despite these setbacks, Warlords of Draenor has been looked back on more fondly in recent years for its excellent class design and the beautiful zones of Draenor. The abundance of side content and rewards for exploration have done it a favor as well, even if many merely awarded basic currencies.
4 Wrath of the Lich King: The Peak Of Popularity
Often considered one of WoW's best expansions as well as the all-time peak population, Wrath of the Lich King saw the epic conclusion to the story of Warcraft III as the heroes traveled to the icy continent of Northrend to face off against the undead army of the corrupted Arthas Menethil.
WotLK would introduce many World of Warcraft staples ranging from the vehicle system to heirlooms, pieces of gear that could be sent to a player's other characters and leveled with them. The world design itself was also a step up from The Burning Crusade, with wider, more detailed zones and a smoother flow of quests.
3 Legion: Quests For All
Legion proved a beloved expansion, seeing the return of not only the Burning Legion and Illidan (now an ally), but also of many fan-favorite World of Warcraft characters from Maximilian of Northshire to Lilian Voss and even the gnoll brawler Meatball.
With unique questlines for every class and profession as well as plenty of side content like fishing or the mage tower challenges, there was plenty to do. Legion would also see the introduction of the first deviously hidden secrets that would go on to become WoW staples, ranging from an artifact fishing pole to ridable unicorns.
2 Battle for Azeroth: Lively Cities With Lots To See
Off to a controversial start as Sylvanus Windrunner burned down the night elf capital and destroyed her own city, Battle for Azeroth would see the war put on the back burner as the players explored the amazingly detailed lands of Zandalar and Kul'tiras, complete with lively and sprawling capital cities.
While the ending may have seen the elder god N'zoth slain surprisingly easily, Battle for Azeroth still had plenty to offer. Hidden secrets abounded, from becoming a "no good, dirty, rotten, candy stealer" to befriending a beehive and even raising dinosaurs from hatchlings. The addition of pet battle dungeons and the island of Mechagon only helped it further.
1 Mists of Pandaria: A Return To Roots
Releasing first to bafflement, as pandaren first appeared as an Easter egg in Warcraft III, Mists of Pandaria swiftly became one of WoW's most praised expansions. Putting the player in the role of an explorer and humble adventurer, it got back to the roots of what made many pick up WoW in the first place.
Offering intriguing zones, memorable characters, and plenty of quality of life changes, Mists of Pandaria was a hit. The fact that players could settle down and start up a cozy farm, go on a fishing journey, or battle it out in the new "pet battle" minigame was just icing on the cake.