All World of Warcraft expansions in order

It's been a long time.
Ragnaros in the Molten Core WoW Classic
Image via Blizzard Entertainment

World of Warcraft‘s latest expansion Dragonflight is probably one of the most ambitious that Blizzard has put out. With so many expansions, it’s sometimes difficult to keep track of when each expansion was released and in what order.

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Here’s a quick refresher on when each expansion was launched in chronological order.

WoW Expansions in Order

The dragon Bazual as it appears in World of Warcraft in expansion Dragonflight.
Image via Blizzard Entertainment
ExpansionDate
World of Warcraft (original game)November 2004
The Burning CrusadeJanuary 2007
Wrath of the Lich KingNovember 2008
CataclysmDecember 2010
Mists of PandariaSeptember 2012
Warlords of DraenorNovember 2014
LegionAugust 2016
Battle for AzerothAugust 2018
World of Warcraft Classic (legacy servers)August 2019
ShadowlandsNovember 2020
The Burning Crusade Classic (legacy servers)June 2021
Wrath of the Lich King Classic (legacy servers)September 2022
DragonflightNovember 2022
The War WithinTBD 2024
MidnightTBD
The Last TitanTBD

Level up faster in WoW Classic with these Zygor in-game guides

The Burning Crusade

The very first expansion that started it all. The Burning Crusade was released on January 16, 2007, and included many significant additions to the game. Both Draenei and Blood Elves were added as playable races, the level cap was raised from 60 to 70, and many dungeons, quests, raids, cities, and zones were added. PvP received an overhaul with new death-match modes for plenty.

Wrath of the Lich King

This second expansion is focused on the infamous Lich King himself, Arthas. Wrath of the Lich King was released on November 13, 2008, and quickly became one of the best-selling PC games of all time. The most notable highlights were the introduction of the hero class Death Knight, the 70 to 80 level cap raise, a huge new region called Northrend, and a ton of PvP content

Cataclysm

The third expansion launched on August 21, 2009, and featured a story revolving around Deathwing the Destroy and his threat to the realms. The level cap was increased to 85, Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms were given a huge facelift, adding landscape changes and new NPCs, and a whole new story to boot.

Mists of Panderia

This fourth expansion is quite possibly the game’s most hilarious. Mists of Panderia, released on September 25, 2012, seemingly takes inspiration from the likes of Kung Fu Panda, featuring a whole new panda race and panda world. The level cap was increased to 90, and a new playable race called the Pandaren was introduced, along with a Monk class and new instances.

Warlords of Draenor

Warlords of Draenor is the game’s fifth expansion and launched on November 13, 2014. Outside of raising the level cap to 100, this expansion is set in the orc homeworld Draenor. For the first time in the game’s history, players could manage and upgrade their own garrisons. The game also received a graphical overhaul

Legion

The sixth expansion Legion came out on August 30, 2016. This time, the level cap increased to 110 and players were able to explore Broken Isles, an entirely new area on Azeroth to explore. A new Demon Hunter hero class was also added, along with a few new raids and dungeons.

Battle for Azeroth

Battle for Azeroth, the seventh expansion pack for the game, dropped on November 3, 2017. It raised the level cap to 120 and came with the new continents of Zandalar and Kul Tiras. Four new races were also added, along with a slew of raids, dungeons, uncharted islands, and so on. The story centers around an artifact called the Heart of Azeroth, which threatens to start a war.

Shadowlands

Shadowlands came out on November 1, 2019, and is the eighth expansion pack released by Blizzard. This is the first time Blizzard introduced what they call a “level squish,” which reset all max cap characters back to level 50, setting the cap at 60. This was akin to a New Game+ reset. This expansion centered around the iconic character Sylvanas, who was featured as a final boss for players to fight. A new class called the Death Knight was also made available

Dragonflight

The ninth and most recent expansion pack Dragonflight released on November 28, 2022, and, as the name suggests, added dragons. A new dragon race called the Dracthyr was added, along with Dragonriding skills and the ability to customize and raise your own personal dragon. The level cap was raised to 70.

The War Within

Announced at 2023’s Blizzcon, The War Within is the first of three expansions that will make up The Worldsoul Saga. We don’t have an actual date for this expansion yet, but we do know it’s aiming to release at some point in 2024. Our information for The War Within is limited, but we do know that this expansion will be set in the underground land that a race called the Earthen considers their home.

Midnight

We know even less about the second part of The Worldsoul Saga, but we do know that Midnight will be set in the land of Quel’Thalas. We also know that a great deal of the story for Midnight will revolve around the origins of High Elves, Blood Elves, and Night Elves.

The Last Titan

Naturally, the final segment of the yet-to-begin Worldsoul Saga is the one we know the least about. We know that the ancient beings known as Titans will play a part in some way, and we also know that the Northrend will be added as a location. Of course, that isn’t much to go on, but there’s plenty of content for World of Warcraft players to look forward to.


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