It’s a pretty common (and well supported) opinion that Warlords of Draenor is one of the worst WoW expansions ever. It got a lot of things wrong and frankly doesn’t hold up when compared to many of the other expansions that were released throughout the game’s history. Whether it came to PvE or PvP, the incentives to go out and actually play the game over the course of its near-two year lifespan were dismal and the pace at which the expansion’s content was released promoted a stagnant game.
However, if there’s any time when WoD excelled, it was during those first initial stages of the expansion, where an emphasis was placed on leveling and early gearing cycles. Particularly, those first few days, if not weeks, of the expansion revolved almost exclusively around the leveling process.
And while those zones haven’t gone anywhere – you can definitely still play through Draenor today if you’re leveling an alt – it’s tough to get the full experience that the game originally offered back in 2014. Speed and efficiency boosts to the leveling experience as a whole over the years have made it tough to get through all of Draenor on a single character. With only ten levels to work with (90-100), many players don’t have the chance to get through the continent’s six zones.

However, with the changes to leveling coming in Shadowlands, players will have 50 levels to complete everything that Draenor has to offer. And believe me, there’s a lot that the Draenor experience puts on the table. Each zone is incredibly dynamic and plays to its strengths. Whether it’s the charm and mystique of Shadowmoon Valley, the arid grit of Gorgrond, or the amazing combination of grandeur, brutality, and tragedy in Talador, it’s entirely fair to say that each zone from the expansion showcased a landscape in which story, characterization, environment, and gameplay can all thrive.
For me, that’s one of the things that I’m most excited for when it comes to Shadowlands. I’m beyond thrilled to reexperience the expansions that shaped the game in some of its earlier stages and level through the zones that made the game what it is today. We can sit here and critique Warlords of Draenor for so many different reasons, it’s tough to say that leveling is one of them.
As Shadowlands waits on the horizon, I can’t help but feel more and more excited to head back into old zones and experience what expansions had to offer. Sure, Warlords might have had a really solid leveling experience from top to bottom and it’s easy to think of that expansion as one where the content is most definitely worth revisiting, but it will also be nice to go back to places like Outland and Northrend and actually play through leveling content as it was originally meant to. Not having the looming pressure of outleveling your current zone will absolutely be a welcome addition to the leveling process once Shadowlands launches next year.
Photo Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
Curious. When you say, “It’s a pretty common (and well supported) opinion that WoD is one of the worst WoW expansions ever,” where is that data coming from? I’m really not usually the guy with a bone to pick but as I read this before going to bed I can’t help but question where this “well supported” data comes from. If that’s your opinion, that’s totally fine. I also don’t at all agree with your top 5 expansions of the 2010s article, but that’s also fine, because you’re human and that’s your opinion.
I just so happened to have had a conversation TODAY at work about how great WoD was. While Artifact Power introduced one of the worst systems the game has ever seen, leading to a more egregious Azerite Power in Legion, WoD saw some of the best PvP and PvE content in the game’s history.
After Wrath, Blackrock Foundry was one of the best and most masterfully created raids ever implemented in the game. I’m inclined to say it was game design brilliance. To such an extent that MoP, Legion and BfA never reached. Did you raid Blackhand? Best fight I ever experienced.
Moreover, WoD was one of the few examples of fair and balanced, competitive, PvP, where skill truly mattered and it wasn’t simply a gear battle.
I’m glad you enjoyed the leveling experience, because I did too! Happy we can agree there. But when we look at an expansion that excelled in PvP, PvE, leveling, introduced the stat squishing technology as well as the World Quest system, I cannot agree that this is one of the worst expansions in the game’s history and I’d like to see your data supporting otherwise.
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So the whole reason your looking forward to the expansion is quest and level in the old expansions, pretty sad just face the game is long dead
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No, no… Cataclysm was even worse.
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I love all Warcraft expansions in each of there own way.
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Wod was kind of considered a bad expac, sure it had its pitfalls, most ppl just complain about garrison, the PvP was template based and super boring yes, but in terms of challenge mode dungeons and raids It had plenty to offer, heck the raid content was the saving grace of the expansion, some of the most fun fights ive experienced in a while, and I’ve been around since vanilla. So, the pve was actually fun and rewarding without the crappptastic Ap grind introduced in legion
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Don’t know about worst but it’s definitely one of the worst. If I’m going to level another toon it won’t be there. Never did flying and I’m not going to waste my time leveling in an area I can’t fly in.
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