The Complete Ranking of World of Warcraft Expansions: From Worst to Best
In its role as the most popular MMO in history, World of Warcraft has been through some significant ups and downs throughout its near-20-year history. Here, we rank every single expansion to date.
The relentless march of progression in an ever-changing landscape is a difficult path to navigate successfully, and, at times, that has shown. Conversely, there have been some incredible peaks, offering experiences to players that have scarcely been equaled in this game or any other.
The semi-recent return to the old-school formula, starting with the immensely popular release of Classic in 2019, was the first sign that the community was struggling with the mainline game. Blizzard leaned into this further with official Hardcore servers and seasonal experiences, completing the return to an old-school version of the game.
With Cataclysm Classic set to release in the middle of 2024, Dexerto is taking a look back at all nine WoW expansions so far to see which comes out on top.
Shadowlands
Of all the World of Warcraft expansions to release so far, Shadowlands really does feel like a distant last. There were some positive ideas within it, but their execution fell miles short of anything approaching acceptable. The Covenant system seemed cool on paper but ended up being another prescriptive chore that didn’t amount to a choice when you needed to be with a specific faction to get accepted into endgame groups.
Warlords of Draenor
What should have been a triumphant expedition to the homeworld of the Orcs quickly turned into a nightmare when fans got their hands on Warlords of Draenor. Starting with the positives, the zones on offer were fun and varied enough during the leveling process, but from there, it became difficult to complement the expansion in any way.
Battle for Azeroth
Though Battle for Azeroth will inevitably be remembered as a poor effort overall, it should be said that it improved as time passed. On launch, it was a mess, and the new zones and areas to explore felt uninspired and drab. Some solid dungeons were on offer (Freehold in particular), and some engaging new activities were available to participate in.
Dragonflight
The most recent World of Warcraft expansion feels like it deserves a middling ranking in almost every area. The new central hub of Valdrakken is well put together, and the verticality of the new zones and the introduction of Dragonriding make for a combination that feels like a win in the first instance.
Cataclysm
Easily the most controversial expansion release of all time, Cataclysm quite literally changed everything about the World of Warcraft. As the great dragon Deathwing burned his way across the game’s original two continents, the land that players had grown up in was irrevocably altered. At the time, this drew massive criticism, but in retrospect, it was a fair choice for a world that needed refreshing.
Mists of Pandaria
For some reason, Mists of Pandaria seems to split people in two and force them to extremes. Those who do like MoP tend to see it as one of the best expansions of all time, while others think it’s among the worst. In reality, this probably points towards it being somewhere in the middle of the pack.
The Burning Crusade
The first of the expansions is also one of the strongest. Blood Elves have arguably become the most iconic race in WoW despite not being playable in the game’s Vanilla version. Despite being dwarfed by later expansions, as a contemporary release, it really felt like the developer had hit the mark in almost every regard.
Legion
After the immense disappointment of Warlords of Draenor, few could have seen the tremendous successes that Legion would bring. It helps that the developer was able to fall back on an enemy as iconic as the Burning Legion, but this expansion had real strength under the hood.
Wrath of the Lich King
Standing alone at the very top of the tree and in a choice that will surprise few, The Wrath of the Lich King remains the most remarkable expansion in World of Warcraft history. With the titular antagonist the promised prize at the end of the journey, every step along the way was a pleasure to take.
That’s the complete list! Though many of the expansions above are relics of a bygone era, there are more ways to play WoW than ever. With Season of Discovery a thriving take on the Classic formula, it’s a fantastic time to adventure in Azeroth.