On this day, in 2008, World of Warcraft (WoW): Wrath of the Lich King was released for PC and Mac.
November 13, 2008, marked the day that WoW players hopped onto a zeppelin or boat and headed to Northrend. Players had grown tired of hanging around Shattrath and were eager to move on from The Burning Crusade and start a new adventure.
Wrath of the Lich King is still looked at by many fans as the greatest expansion ever in the World of Warcraft franchise. It scored a 91 out of 100 on Metacritic, a ten out of ten on Eurogamer, and a nine out of ten on IGN
WoW fans all over lined up in front of game stores anticipating the midnight release. By 7 pm on the 12th, the local Best Buy had people wrapped around the corner outside. In the first 24 hours, 2.8 million copies were sold.
The Collector’s Edition was something to behold, containing a 208-page book called “The Art of World of Warcraft,” which was jam-packed with original artwork of original characters and scenery. It also included a behind-the-scenes DVD, the official Wrath of the Lich King soundtrack, and an in-game baby frost wyrm pet named Frosty.
Here is the official cinematic trailer for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King:
The expansion offered a lot of fantastic features that WoW fans still appreciate today.
Northrend is a massive and diverse area that was introduced in Wrath of the Lich King. Whether a player started in Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord, they were greeted by an aesthetically stunning zone and a music track that will take any old school WoW player down nostalgia lane.
The expansion brought with it an intimidating and fascinating antagonist in the form of the Lich King, who ruled the Scourge from his frozen throne atop the Icecrown Glacier.
There were many memorable raids featured in Wrath of the Lich King. Naxxramas was the first real raid of the expansion, floating above Dragonblight. Players had to work together to take down multiple undead bosses while navigating the necropolis, ultimately ending the reign of the scourge commander Arch Lich Kel’Thuzad.
Other raids included The Obsidian Sanctum, where raiders had the chance to obtain the Reins of the Black Drake mount by downing the giant dragon Sartharion. The final raid of the expansion brought gamers face to face with the Lich King himself in the Icecrown Citadel.
Other great features of Wrath of the Lich King included the Argent Tournament in Icecrown, the PVP world event Wintergrasp Fortress, and the launch of the now-deceased Strand of the Ancients battleground.
It has been over a decade since Wrath of the Lich King launched and five expansions have been released since then. However, with the launch of WoW Classic, the door may be open to the possibility that players might one day relive the Northrend days.
For now, WoW fans are buzzing over the newly announced WoW expansion Shadowlands.
