World of Warcrafthas been going strong for over twenty years. From the very first steps I took in Elwynn Forest to driving around Undermine today, WoW has been a regular part of my gaming repertoire for two decades.
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Between the modern day “retail” version of World of Warcraft, as well as the Classic re-releases letting us live through older expansions, I’ve been able to play nearly every WoW expansion over the past five or so years.
To be sure, some are better than others. But each entry does bring some level of new and interesting ideas to the series to keep it feeling relevant and fresh in its own way.
So, with that in mind, let’s rank every World of Warcraft expansion from worst to best.
11Shadowlands
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
On paper,Shadowlandsgot off to a strong start with an iconic first raid in Castle Nathria. That would be the high point for the expansion, as it was nothing but downhill from there.
The Mythic+ pool of dungeons was fine, though the fact that we had to keep running them all expansion long started to grow tiresome. There’s a reason why we were given a new pool of dungeons in the final season of Shadowlands.
There are two big explanations for Shadowlands being the worst WoW expansion. First is the impressive amount of poor design choices that plague the experience. Being locked to covenants was frustrating, and its systems were just another borrowed power grind, albeit with a different costume.
Second, the game’s story took a nonsensical turn, ruining iconic characters and moments from Warcraft’s past with no payoff. The Jailer didn’t need to be the one who created the Helm of Domination and Frostmourne, and yet he did, secretly pulling the strings from the very beginning.
10Warlords of Draenor
The Drums of War
ClassicWarlords of Draenoris going to be a smash hit because it’ll focus solely on its raids, which are all incredible and last 10-12 months tops. Sadly, the original WoD release did not last for a year, and that was a problem—albeit not the biggest one.
Garrisons, the hallmark feature for Warlords of Draenor, succeeded a little too well at giving players their own personal setup. Why would you ever leave your Garrison when it has everything you could ever need?
Warlords also made me realize that playing with friends can make a bad expansion much more enjoyable. I had left my longtime guild and was the new kid in school. As such, I was stuck suffering from a frustrating expansion alone.
I’m not saying that playing with friends would have made Warlords a great expansion, but it certainly would have helped.
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9Battle For Azeroth
World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth
One of my biggest complaints withBattle For Azerothis how much story content exists. We not only get thrown into The Fourth War, but it’s also an Old God expansion, as N’Zoth is a major player during the final content patch.
In that regard, BFA is also a tale of two expansions. The endgame content is pretty hit or miss, with its raids being adequate, while some of the Mythic+ dungeons like Freehold and MOTHERLODE are some of the best the game has ever seen.
Battle For Azeroth also suffers heavily from borrowed power systems. Having to grind Azerite for your Heart of Azeroth is a chore. It’s beyond frustrating to grind it out just to make your character perform better, especially since it had to be done. I will say that it’s a step forward from the system in place for Legion, but it’s still something I wish didn’t exist in the game.
So then why is BFA above the other two expansions? The final patch’s gameplay systems, notably Corruption on gear and Horrific Visions, are a smash hit. Corruption is a great way to make endgame gear better, and the visions are still a blast today. They’re even coming back in the upcoming 11.5 patch.
8Dragonflight
Pilot Some Wings
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
In many ways,Dragonflightserved as a reset to the World of Warcraft experience.
It features the return of the Dragon Aspects, who all took a backseat after the events of Cataclysm and dawned the age of mortals. Turns out that we weren’t really doing a good job of taking care of Azeroth.
Dragonflight also brought back old-school talent trees, giving players several choices of abilities to utilize for their class and spec. Blizzard did an excellent job of making sure choices were meaningful rather than simply being the illusion of choice.
The best thing Dragonflight introduced, though, is Dragonriding. This lets us soar through the skies at breakneck speeds. It’s the best way to travel around the world, and sometimes, it’s just fun to fly around Azeroth and participate in races. It’s the type of low-stakes content World of Warcraft desperately needed.
7The War Within
The Current Expansion
World of Warcraft: The War Within
We’re about halfway throughThe World Withinexpansion, and so far, so good… aside from 11.1.5, which is anabsolute disaster.
Blizzard has done a tremendous job of listening to player feedback, delivering on what people liked in Dragonflight and addressing our concerns.
Its story feels more consequential, serving as the introduction to a trilogy of expansions, and the visual design of its zones is tremendous. Additionally, the amount of available content isn’t overwhelming for newer players, and it’s designed to help get you properly geared in no time.
One area where The War Within struggles, though, is the dungeon design. Sadly, Blizzard feels it is adequate to deliver a linear dungeon experience, resulting in the best Mythic+ experiences from the older dungeons. If they can improve that and ditch the time gating, then we’ll be on the right track.
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6Wrath of the Lich King
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic
There’s no denying that World of Warcraft’s popularity peaked duringWrath of the Lich King. Everything had been building to this: traveling to Northrend, attacking Icecrown Citadel, and dealing with Arthas.
Blizzard did an excellent job of making sure players felt the impact of The Lich King throughout the expansion, even while leveling. Many critiqued that the antagonists of The Burning Crusade felt like strangers, so Blizzard made sure we knew Arthas well. You could argue that he appeared a little too much, but I digress.
Yet for everything Wrath did right, it aged incredibly poorly. The first tier of raids is disappointing, headlined by a return to a far too easy Naxxramas. Methods for obtaining gear are frustrating as well, with players forced to run both 25 and 10-man versions of the raid for a chance at their best gear.
It’s clear that Blizzard was still figuring things out during Wrath, leading to an experience that was honestly better left in the past.
5Cataclysm
Destroyer of Worlds
How do you follow up one of the most iconic villains of all time? With one that’s even more powerful!
Deathwing’s introduction forever changed the world of Azeroth as we know it, letting Blizzard give certain zones some very much needed updates. They come at the cost of what makes them so beloved though, so the reaction to The Shattering was very hit or miss.
Cataclysmdoes a good job of providing engaging endgame content, even if some of the encounters haven’t aged well. The raids are a definite step up in quality from what we were used to, and even though I complained about tier 11 and its frustrating mechanics at times, it honestly wasn’t all that bad.
Cataclysm aged better than I remember and does an excellent job of bridging the gap between “Classic” and “Modern” WoW design.
Nostalgia Redux
After the disappointment that was Warlords of Draenor, Blizzard brought back the Burning Legion, including fan favorite character Illidan Stormrage, to great success.
Yes,Legionsuffers from burrowed power and the RNG that took place with obtaining your legendary, but there’s still plenty to love in one of the most popular WoW expansions of all time.
From the introduction of Mythic+ dungeons and incredible raids, to world quests, well-designed zones, and a bevy of reasons to explore the open world, Legion felt like the World of Warcraft we fell in love with back in the day.
With Legion Remix on the horizon, we’ll experience everything great about the expansion all over again. Those who missed out will be in for a treat.
3Vanilla World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
There are certainly aspects of Vanilla World of Warcraft that havenot aged well. The game’s endgame content isn’t particularly difficult, and 40-person raids are a logistical nightmare. That’s not the type of game WoW was back then, though.
If there was ever a time when World of Warcraft was about the journey and not the destination, this was it. You didn’t play World of Warcraft to venture into Molten Core on a weekly basis or to grind PVP for over 14 hours a day. You did it to explore the world of Azeroth with old friends and new.
Yes, it was a different time back then, and one we’ll never be able to replicate if the 2019 relaunch of Classic WoW is any indication. Too many people are focused on min-maxing their performance in a 20-year-old video game.
Instead, it’s important to slow down, relax, and venture off the beaten path. Take in and discover the secrets that await you.
2Mists of Pandaria
Why Do We Fight?
To say that the reaction toMists of Pandariaat launch was mixed is a bit of an understatement. People did not like the game’s direction following Cataclysm.
Then they experienced it and ate some humble pie. Mists is filled with enough content to keep you busy throughout the expansion. Yes, your standard endgame content is here, but with the addition of challenge mode dungeons, pet battles, and farms to tend. Who could also forget about the Timeless Isle as well?
The biggest reason why we look fondly back on Mists of Pandaria is the success of class balance. It features peak class design, offering a bevy of options for everyone to not just perform well, but have fun while doing it. It’s one reason why I’m so excited to dive back into Mists of Pandaria Classic: It’s a chance to once again play through and enjoy what many believe is the pinnacle of WoW’s class design.
Oh, and the raids are all incredible, too, as we just experienced during MoP Remix.
