World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic: Everything We Know
Now that Blizzard has confirmed that Wrath of the Lich King Classic is coming this year, it’s time to get excited again for one of World of Warcraft’s most popular expansions. The original WotLK, launched in late 2008, essentially brought Arthas Menethil as the Lich King to the front and middle ranks for the first time since Warcraft 3.
Like the Burning Crusade Classic before it, the WotLK Classic will not Exactly Same as 14 years ago. Not much has changed though, and I’ll cover everything below. Here’s what we know about the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King classic.
When can you play Wrath of the Lich King Classic Edition
Blizzard hasn’t confirmed a specific release date, but it’s expected to be released sometime in 2022. The beta version is expected to be released in July or August.
With the new Dragonflight expansion most likely to hit retail World of Warcraft in early 2023, we might see Wrath of the Lich King Classic arrive a few months before that. So we’ll probably release in September to November.
How much will it cost?
Wrath of the Lich King Classic will be part of a WoW monthly subscription ($15/£10/€13) which includes subscription to WoW Classic/TBC Classic/World of Warcraft Shadowlands access.
It’s unclear if you’ll have to pay to clone your character (if you want to keep playing other classics), but I’ll update this guide as soon as there’s more. Otherwise, you’ll only have to pay extra if you decide to use a level boost or transfer your existing character to another server.
What to Expect in Wrath of the Lich King Classic
The second World of Warcraft expansion pack is one of the most popular. Arthas Menethil’s journey begins with Warcraft 3, and this expansion takes us to Northrend, essentially ending his story and taking on the Lich King in Icecrown Citadel face him. This is also the expansion pack that introduces the popular Ulduar team as well as the Death Knight class.
Here’s a summary of the expanded content:
- Level cap increased to 80
- Death Knight Class (starting at level 55)
- 11 new areas in Northrend
- Several new raids, including Ulduar and Icecrown Citadel
- Dual Talent Specialization
- Achievement
- Add inscription profession
So, what’s the difference?
Blizzard says it will be adding some quality-of-life changes to Wrath of the Lich King Classic that weren’t originally present in the original.
Level 70 boost will be available for purchase, so you can step into Azeroth and start your Northrend journey from launch, rather than having to pass the previous 70 levels before being able to access something new. The Burning Crusade Classic also offers level boosts.
One of the more surprising changes is Removed dungeon finder tool, originally added in the original WotLK extension. Many complaints about modern World of Warcraft are that it has lost its sense of community, mainly due to the introduction of automatic group finder, in which there is little need for mutual communication to enter group content.
this barbershop You’ll see many improvements over the original, possibly even including many of the options available in modern WoW. And thanks to the player feedback during TBC Classic, Individual Arena Ratings Will replace Arena Teams in WotLK.
Wrath of the Lich King Classic Stage
We don’t know what the planned timeline for the WotLK phase is, but we do know what you can expect from each phase.Here is the list (via Wow Head):
- Phase 1: Naxxramas, Eye of Eternity, Obsidian Temple
- Stage 2: Odur
- The third phase: Trial of the Crusaders, Onyxia’s Lair
- Stage 4: Icecrown Citadel
- Stage 5: Ruby Temple
You can also craft death knights during the WotLK pre-patch, which will give you the chance to try out the “new” hero class before arriving in Northrend for the first time.