World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is the second expansion for the online game where many players can play together, called World of Warcraft. It came after an earlier expansion called The Burning Crusade. The game was released on November 13, 2008, and sold 2.8 million copies in the first day. At that time, it was the fastest-selling computer game ever. The expansion added many new areas and features, including a new continent called Northrend, which is the home of a powerful character named Arthas and his undead followers. To explore Northrend, players needed to reach level 68, and the highest level players could reach in this expansion was 80. A new class called the Death Knight was also introduced, and players could start playing as a Death Knight at level 55.
Gameplay
The first expansion pack, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, increased the maximum level from 60 to 70. The Wrath of the Lich King expansion later raised the level cap to 80.
After reaching level 80, players could ride flying mounts in the Northrend region. However, the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor remained "no fly zones," meaning flying was not allowed there.
The death knight is the first "hero class" introduced in World of Warcraft. It was the only hero class available until the demon hunter was added in the Legion expansion. Hero classes start the game at a higher level than the standard level 1. Originally, players needed a level 55 character on the same realm to create a death knight, but this requirement was removed in late 2014.
Death knights are fallen heroes of the Alliance and the Horde, raised by the Lich King to serve the undead Scourge. They can act as tanks or damage dealers. The three death knight specializations are blood, frost, and unholy. The blood specialization uses blood to harm enemies and heal the death knight. Frost uses ice-based abilities to control and strike enemies. Unholy uses poison and controls a pet called a ghoul to attack enemies. Death knights wear plate armor and use weapons with rune engravings, which are created through the runeforging profession in Acherus.
New death knights begin with more spells and abilities than other classes. They start without talent points and must complete quests in the Eastern Plaguelands to unlock abilities and join the rest of Azeroth. Death knights are available to all in-game races.
Instead of using rage, energy, or mana, death knights use runes and runic power for combat. Runes are used to cast abilities and regenerate runic power. Originally, death knights had two of each rune type (blood, frost, unholy). After using a rune, it enters a 10-second cooldown. With specific talents, runes can be turned into death runes, which can replace any rune type. Death knights have three presences: blood, frost, and unholy. In Wrath of the Lich King, frost presence increased threat, health, and reduced damage taken; blood presence increased damage and healing; unholy presence increased attack and movement speed and reduced ability cooldowns.
In the Cataclysm expansion, blood became the designated tank specialization, and frost presence was changed to increase runic power generation. In Legion, death knights use six death runes instead of three rune types, and presences were removed. Each specialization now includes the effects of its related presence automatically.
Northrend is a crescent-shaped continent in northern Azeroth. It is about half the size of the Eastern Kingdoms but similar in length and width to Outland. While Northrend is known for its snow and ice, only parts of the continent are frozen. Northrend has eight zones designed for players starting at level 68, though players can visit at any level. Players arrive via boat (Alliance) or zeppelin (Horde) at the Howling Fjord or Borean Tundra, which are on opposite ends of the continent. Howling Fjord is home to the Vrykul, who live in Utgarde Keep, the first dungeon in the expansion. Dragonblight and Grizzly Hills are in the south-central and southeast parts of the continent, respectively. The Ursine Furbolgs live in Grizzly Hills, and Dragonblight contains dragon gravesites. Wintergrasp is the first zone in World of Warcraft designed for Player versus Player (PvP) activities, even on PvE servers.
The Alliance, led by King Varian Wrynn, entered Northrend to avenge the destruction of Lordaeron by Prince Arthas Menethil, who was controlled by the Lich King. The Alliance controls Valiance Keep in Borean Tundra, Valgarde in Howling Fjord, and Wintergarde Keep in Dragonblight.
The Forsaken, led by Sylvanas Windrunner, arrived with a new contagion to fight the Lich King’s undead forces. They seek revenge for Arthas’s magic and have built bases called "Vengeance Landing" and "New Agamand" in Howling Fjord. The magi of Dalaran relocated to Northrend to combat the Blue Dragonflight, led by Malygos, and the Lich King. Dalaran is a floating city above Crystalsong Forest and serves as a neutral sanctuary, similar to Shattrath City in Outland.
The expansion introduced new creatures, including the spirit beasts Loque’nahak, Gondria, Skoll, and Arcturis, as well as Proto-Drakes (dragons with short arms, large teeth, and wings) and King Krush, a giant dinosaur in Sholazar Basin. Arthas Menethil, the Lich King, is the main antagonist of the expansion.
Plot
After the Sunwell was purified, a quiet period followed. Soon after, the undead Scourge launched a large attack on Azeroth, reaching areas beyond the Eastern Kingdoms. To respond, Warchief Thrall sent an expedition force to Northrend, led by Overlord Garrosh Hellscream. At the same time, King Varian Wrynn returned to Stormwind City and reclaimed his throne. He sent an Alliance army, led by Bolvar Fordragon, to fight the Lich King and any Horde forces opposing them.
The Alliance and Horde (led by Dranosh Saurfang) joined forces to attack the Wrathgate, the entrance to the Lich King’s fortress, Icecrown Citadel. Before they could succeed, Grand Apothecary Putress and his followers from the Royal Apothecary Society (renegade Forsaken) released a deadly plague that harmed both friends and enemies. At the same time, the dreadlord Varimathras seized control of the Undercity, nearly killing Sylvanas. The Alliance and Horde armies defeated the usurpers, restoring the Forsaken capital. However, this event caused distrust among the Horde about Sylvanas’s loyalty. Many Alliance soldiers, including Bolvar Fordragon, were killed by the Forsaken’s plague. King Varian, already cautious about orcs, learned the plague had been planned for years by the Royal Apothecary Society. This discovery made Varian hostile toward the Horde during the Northrend campaign.
To weaken the Scourge, Azeroth’s forces attacked Naxxramas, a rebuilt undead fortress in the Dragonblight region. Similar to its earlier version in the Eastern Plaguelands, battles occurred throughout the citadel before defeating Kel'Thuzad and ending his alliance with the Lich King. Meanwhile, Malygos, the Aspect of the Blue Dragonflight, became corrupted and sought to destroy all mortal magic users. He gathered power from the Eye of Eternity to fuel his attacks. With the help of Alexstrasza, the Red Dragonflight’s queen, champions of Azeroth defeated Malygos, saving the Blue Dragonflight.
As the Alliance and Horde fought through Northrend, they achieved many victories. However, explorer Brann Bronzebeard discovered the ancient titan complex of Ulduar, a prison for the Old God Yogg-Saron. The safeguards keeping Yogg-Saron imprisoned began to fail, allowing the Old God to corrupt Ulduar’s guardians. With Brann’s help, Alliance and Horde champions infiltrated Ulduar and faced Yogg-Saron. The Old God showed visions of the Dragon Soul, the assassination of King Llane of Stormwind, and the Lich King’s future. Despite these challenges, the heroes defeated Yogg-Saron.
To prepare for the final battle against the Lich King, the Argent Crusade (a group of holy warriors from the Order of the Silver Hand and Argent Dawn) built a base near Icecrown Citadel. Highlord Tirion Fordring held a tournament to select champions for the battle, but Scourge forces attacked, led by the crypt lord Anub'arak. The heroes defeated Anub'arak, ensuring the tournament’s success.
As the final battle approached, Jaina Proudmoore and Sylvanas Windrunner traveled to Northrend. Jaina sought to find if any part of her former friend, Arthas Menethil, still lived. Sylvanas aimed to defeat her old enemy. With their help, Azeroth’s champions attacked Icecrown Citadel, defeating the Lich King’s forces. In the final confrontation, Arthas was killed with the aid of Tirion Fordring. The heroes learned that without the Lich King, the undead Scourge would attack Azeroth uncontrollably. Bolvar, who had been changed by the Red Dragonflight’s magic, chose to become the new Lich King, promising to contain the Scourge in Northrend.
After the Lich King’s defeat, Azeroth’s champions faced a new threat: the Twilight dragon Halion. Halion, a follower of Deathwing, gathered Black dragons to attack the Ruby Dragonflight’s sanctuary at Wyrmrest Temple. Adventurers must stop Halion to prevent Deathwing’s return to Azeroth.
Development and release
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King was announced on August 3, 2007, during the first day of BlizzCon 2007. When the expansion was released, it included improvements to the game’s visuals. These changes included new special effects for icy areas, more realistic shadows, and the ability to lower the detail of character textures to improve game performance.
On October 15, 2008, Patch 3.0.2, titled "Wrath of the Lich King," was released. This patch introduced features from the expansion before the full game launch. New content included a class called the Death Knight, updated spells for existing classes, and new locations such as a harbor in Stormwind and Zeppelin towers near Orgrimmar and Tirisfal Glades. The expansion officially launched on November 13, 2008.
The release of the expansion in China was delayed by 18 months. Before the game could be released, the Ministry of Culture required changes to the visual design. These changes included replacing undead creatures with living ones, removing images of skulls and skeletons, and changing the color of blood to green.
Patch 3.1.0, titled "Secrets of Ulduar," was released on April 15, 2009. Players explored the titan city of Ulduar, which was revealed to be a prison holding the Old God of Death, Yogg-Saron. New content included the Ulduar raid and the Argent Tournament Grounds. The game also added features like dual talent specialization and an equipment manager in the user interface.
Patch 3.2.0, titled "Call of the Crusade," was released on August 5, 2009. This patch introduced the Crusader’s Coliseum raid, a new PvP season, a Battleground called Isle of Conquest, and additional Argent Tournament quests. The final major patch for the expansion, Patch 3.3.0, titled "Fall of the Lich King," was released on December 9, 2009. It included the Icecrown Citadel raid, where players fought the Lich King and completed the main storyline. Other additions included the Kalu’ak Fishing Derby and cross-server LFG (Looking for Group) functionality, which allowed players from different servers to join groups for dungeons. Patch 3.3.5, released on June 22, 2010, added the Ruby Sanctum raid and cross-game chat through Battle.net. This raid involved battling black dragons trying to destroy the Sanctum to help Deathwing return.
On September 19, 2012, the Wrath of the Lich King expansion was fully merged with the original World of Warcraft game, similar to how the Burning Crusade expansion was merged the previous year. Now, players who purchase the original game automatically receive both Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King at no extra cost. This process is called a "Battle Chest."
In April 2022, Blizzard announced that the expansion would be released for World of Warcraft Classic. Wrath of the Lich King Classic was launched on September 26, 2022.
Reception
Wrath of the Lich King was highly praised, earning a score of 91 out of 100 on Metacritic. Since its release, this expansion has often been called the best expansion for World of Warcraft by critics and fans. The game reached its highest number of players in October 2010, with more than 12 million subscribers.
At the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences honored Wrath of the Lich King with the award for "Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year." It also received nominations for "Computer Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition."
The set sold 2.8 million copies in the first 24 hours it was available. This made it the fastest-selling computer game at the time, surpassing the previous record held by The Burning Crusade, which sold 2.4 million copies in its first 24 hours. It received a "Gold" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), showing that it sold at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Later, Wrath of the Lich King lost its position as the top-selling game when Diablo III was released, selling over 3.5 million copies in its first 24 hours.