Is World of Warcraft still worth it in 2026?

Customization – The Big Passion of WoW

How your character is presented in the game world is entirely up to you. This is determined not only by the ears, hairstyle, race, class, or skin color you choose but also by numerous other ways you can express yourself in the game. Here are a few examples:

• Your character’s equipment can be customized and altered through transmogrification. You can collect countless sets, create your own, and even specify situations where your character automatically changes clothing – for example, a cozy RP set in the capital or a sparkling paladin set in dungeons.
• There are hundreds of combat pets that you can summon to your side. From cute sheep to little demons or wobbly tentacles. Whatever suits you.
• Over 1,000 mounts ensure that you will find one that perfectly fits your hero or heroine. The selection is gigantic.
• Titles give your character a bit more personality. Are you “Herbert, Slayer of the Sin’dorei” or “Josefine, the Soup Supervisor”?
• A box with over 1,000 toys certainly has something suitable to give your character a cool visual effect – or simply summon a little throw of puppies that will melt any heart.

These decisions, by the way, are not permanent. You can have your character adjusted at a barber, giving them new facial features, skin color, ears, hairstyles, and more. You can even change your gender here – which is why you might want to choose a neutral name.

A lot of customization is also possible in the design of the user interface. You can take the pre-designed standard or go all out in edit mode. All elements of the interface can be moved, resized, and adjusted in their informative content. So, as a healer, you might want to see the health bars of your allies particularly large, while they might not be as important to you as a DPS character.

If the game’s settings aren’t enough for you, you can also install addons – free additional modifications created by the community. They allow for even more customization.

A fresh new point of customization is player housing. Everyone can get their own house, move into a neighborhood with other players, and decorate, furnish, and style their home as they wish.

The possibilities of housing in WoW are practically endless, and many believe it to be the best housing system currently in existence in the MMORPG market. If you want a little insight into what people have done with their houses, check out these articles:

• My Neighbor Has the Best House of All
• I Built a Mage Tower for 2 Weeks – Here is the Result
• A Friend Turned Her House into a Dark Cave

Even though the graphics of World of Warcraft have become a bit dated: The possibilities for customization and adaptation continue to increase. It’s easy to create a character that fully represents what you want to be – from the chosen mount to appearance to a cozy little home or a magnificent palace.

Only some races have slightly fewer customization options at character creation.

Cortyn’s Opinion: Shaping my characters precisely according to my wishes is another reason that keeps me playing WoW for so long. I feel more connected to my Draenei Shadow Priest and my Night Elf Mage than I ever have in any other game. I can influence their style to the extent that they have genuinely become a part of me. Something that’s hard to achieve in other games. Especially through housing, this customization has gained a new facet that can consume hours and days of time.

The Current Expansion “Midnight”

The latest and currently ongoing expansion is Midnight. This is the second part of the three-part World Soul Saga and takes place in the elven lands of Quel’thalas and their capital, Silvermoon.

Those who haven’t played World of Warcraft for many years will experience a lot of nostalgia. Because Silvermoon and the Immersang Forest, home to the Blood Elves, have evolved without losing their charm. The feel of the new areas is wonderfully nostalgic yet fresh and is praised from all sides.

It’s also unusual that Midnight didn’t launch with a single raid, but rather with three of them. This fits well with the narrative structure as the raids are more strongly integrated into the story.

The first season of Midnight (“Mythic+”) is considered to be somewhat easier than previous seasons. Not everyone may like this, but it has a significant advantage: the entry is easier. Those who haven’t yet ventured into M+ will find it significantly easier with Midnight. This is because the developers have also implemented a mechanism that makes entry for tanks much easier. So, if you’ve been afraid of the tough dungeons in the M+ category – now might be the time to pack four friends and just give it a try.

The only downside for newcomers is that Midnight is indeed part 2 of a trilogy. It is strongly recommended to play the summary of the previous expansion (“The War Within”) or to inform yourself on YouTube about the story of The War Within. Otherwise, you might barely understand what the main story is about and who all the characters are that appear there.

Cortyn’s Opinion: I particularly praise the three raids at the launch of Midnight. Each individual fight is interesting, has exciting mechanics, and shows a nice increase in difficulty as you progress through the raids. The varying number of bosses per raid also means that you can easily find a group that meets your current task in the evening with less time available.