Battle for Azeroth feels like an eternity for WoW players? It’s not just a feeling – no other expansion has lasted this long.
Especially the last months in the life cycle of a World of Warcraft expansion often drag on. The next addon is already in sight, and new content for the current expansion is no longer planned. This is particularly frustrating when the current content is unpopular, as was often the case with Battle for Azeroth.
But the numbers clearly show: Battle for Azeroth was also the longest expansion of all.
Where do the data come from? The Reddit user slydragnus took the effort to look at the release dates of the various expansions. From this, Starym at icy-veins then created a list that lists the duration of all addons. We present the results here.
Here are places 8 to 4 of the expansions with the longest lifespan in a nutshell:
- Place 8: Warlords of Draenor with 656 days
- Place 7: Cataclysm with 658 days
- Place 6: The Burning Crusade with 667 days
- Place 5: Legion with 714 days
- Place 4: Wrath of the Lich King with 754 days
Place 3: Mists of Pandaria with 779 days
Although Mists of Pandaria was rather unpopular at its time, the expansion gained a significantly better reputation among players in retrospect. In hindsight, the fresh, almost peaceful setting of the expansion was very positively received. The entire continent of Pandaria had a great design, there were interesting dungeons, and for many players, the classes and specializations were better than ever before.
However, the biggest flaw of Mists of Pandaria is probably the long time without new content. The last raid tier, the Siege of Orgrimmar, had to keep players engaged for a whopping 429 days – over a year. Many raid friends still have trauma from it and can recite the voice lines of all bosses in the raid in their sleep.
Place 2: Vanilla with 784 days
Even though this may surprise some in retrospect, the time of Vanilla WoW was not as long as one often thinks. Compared to all expansions, this time span actually only ranks 2nd and only a few days ahead of Mists of Pandaria.
However, Vanilla was for many players the first encounter with an MMORPG. Everything was new, completely unknown, and many fundamental mechanics of such games had to be learned first. Therefore, this time period felt significantly longer for many, also because the density of memories and first experiences was greater here.
That is likely one of the many reasons why players have longed for a WoW Classic.
Place 1: Battle for Azeroth with 804 days
Hard to believe, but Battle for Azeroth achieves the longest lifespan of all WoW expansions so far, breaking the 800-day mark. Although BfA had a rather steady influx of new content in the form of patches, the expansion is already considered one of the most unpopular ever. Too many overloaded systems, poorly thought-out content such as island expeditions or war fronts, and a story that many players did not enjoy.
But at least the end is in sight. Because the new expansion World of Warcraft Shadowlands will be released in October and brings numerous revisions and improvements. The story is likely to attract players again through prominent characters such as Uther and Arthas.
It remains to be seen how long Shadowlands can keep players engaged – and whether this expansion will also set a new record in duration.
