Several years have passed since the Burning Legion's defeat at Mount Hyjal and the races of Azeroth have continued to rebuild their once shattered lives. With renewed strength, the heroes of the Horde and Alliance have begun to explore new lands and broken through the Dark Portal to investigate the realms beyond the known world. Will these heroes find friends or foes? What dangers and rewards lie in wait beyond the Dark Portal? And what will they do when they discover that the demons they thought vanquished have returned to renew their terrible Burning Crusade? World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade is the exciting new expansion to Blizzard's award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It expands the game by tremendous bounds, adding new races, lands, battlegrounds, professions, items and more.
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About the Draenei
Nearly twenty-five thousand years ago, the eredar race arose on the world of Argus. They were extremely intelligent and had a natural affinity for magic in all its myriad forms. Using their gifts, they developed a vast and wondrous society.
Unfortunately the eredar's accomplishments caught the attention of Sargeras, the Destroyer of Worlds. He had already begun his Burning Crusade to eradicate all life from the cosmos, and he believed that the brilliant eredar would be pivotal in leading the vast demonic army he was gathering. Thus, he contacted the eredar's three most prominent leaders: Kil'jaeden, Archimonde, and Velen. In exchange for the loyalty of the eredar race, Sargeras offered untold power and knowledge.
Although the offer sounded very tempting, Velen had a vision of the future that filled him with sick dread. Sargeras had spoken the truth: the eredar who joined the Dark Titan would indeed gain enormous power and knowledge. However, the eredar would themselves be transformed into demons.
Velen saw the Legion in all its terrible might and witnessed the destruction it would wreak upon all of creation. He hastened to warn Kil'jaeden and Archimonde, but they dismissed his concerns, for they had been enticed by Sargeras' promises. They gave Sargeras their allegiance and were transformed into colossal beings of depthless evil.
The sheer power that Sargeras commanded made direct opposition unthinkable. Velen nearly despaired, but his prayer for help was overheard. A being came to Velen and explained that it was one of the naaru, a race of sentient energy beings bent on stopping the Burning Crusade. The naaru offered to take Velen and any other like-minded eredar to safety.
Deeply relieved, Velen gathered the other eredar who had thus far refused to join Sargeras. Naming themselves the draenei, or "exiled ones" in the Eredunlanguage, the renegades barely escaped from Argus, with the Burning Legion only moments behind. Kil'jaeden was furious with what he felt was Velen's betrayal, and the demon vowed to hunt Velen and the rest of the draenei to the ends of the cosmos if need be.
The Legion chased the draenei for many thousands of years. The draenei visited many worlds and explored much of the known cosmos in their quest to find safe harbor. Still the Legion would not give up its pursuit. Meanwhile, the enigmatic naaru race blessed the draenei with Light-given knowledge and power. The naaru explained that there were other forces in the cosmos that would stand against the Burning Legion. One day the naaru would forge them into a single unstoppable army of the Light. Deeply affected by the naaru's words, the draenei vowed to honor the Light and uphold the naaru's altruistic ideals.
At last Velen and his draenei settled upon a remote and peaceful world that seemed an ideal refuge. They named it Draenor, or "Exiles' Refuge", and there they quietly cultivated their society once again. Ever wary of being discovered again by Kil'jaeden's forces, Velen andhis mystics kept their magics hidden for generations.
In time the draenei met and befriended the shamanistic orc clans that already lived in the tranquil southern grasslands of Nagrand. Aside from engaging in some limited trade, the draenei and orcs regarded one another with respect but kept mostly to themselves.
In spite of the draenei's caution, Kil'jaeden discovered their secret refuge on Draenor. He learned more of the world and its inhabitants, and he grew intrigued by the mighty orc race. A plan unfolded in his mind, and the demon lord began to laugh. He could see precisely how to mold the orcs into the instrument of his wrath. It was merely a matter of time and pressure.
And so Kil'jaeden began to corrupt the orcs, first through the elderly shaman Ner'zhul, and then through his apprentice, Gul'dan. The orc clans dedicated themselves to the art of war and joined to form a single, murderous Horde. Even the wisest shaman learnedwarlock magics and abandoned the teachings they had once revered.
Smoothly manipulated from a state of wary acceptance into blind rage and bloodlust, the orcs attacked the draenei. This bloody conflict lasted nearly eight years, but the orcs' triumph was inevitable. The draenei were mighty due to their Light-given powers, but the demon-maddened Horde was mightier still. The orcs killed over eighty percent of the draenei race and sent the rest fleeing for safety to the remote corners of the world.
Afterwards, draenei who had fought the Horde and survived found that they had been affectedby the fel energieswielded so freely by the orc warlocks. These draenei have since mutated into lesser forms, resulting in a series of subspecies. The Broken and the Lost Ones (as seen above) are two such genetic offshoots. Their warped bodies bear only a rough resemblance to the proud draenei they once were, and quite a few have lost their grip on sanity.
About the Blood ElvesThousands of years ago, the exiled Highborne landed on the shores of Lordaeron and founded the enchanted kingdom of Quel'Thalas. These high elves, as they called themselves, created a fount of vast, magical energies within the heart of their land - the Sunwell. Over time, they grew dependant on the Sunwell's unstable energies - regardless of the bitter lessons they'd learned in ages past.
During the Third War, the villainous Prince Arthas invaded Quel'Thalas and reduced the once-mighty realm to rubble and ashes. His undead army decimated nearly ninety percent of the high elven population. In addition, he used the Sunwell's energies to resurrect Kel'thuzad - a powerful undead Lich - thereby fouling the Sunwell's mystical waters. The few elven survivors, realizing that they had been cut off from the source of their arcane power, grew increasingly volatile and desperate.
In the midst of the elves' darkest hour came Kael'thas Sunstrider - the last of Quel'Thalas' royal bloodline. Kael, as he was commonly known, knew that the remnant of his people would not long survive without the nourishing magics that once empowered them. Renaming his people blood elves, in honor oftheir fallen countrymen, he taught them how to tap into ambient mystical energies - even demonic energies - in order to sate their terrible thirst for magic. In search of a new destiny for his people, Kael'thas ventured to the remote world of Outland where he encountered the fallen night elf, Illidan. Under Illidan's tutelage, Kael and his blood elves have regained much of their former power.
Unfortunately, the blood elves' practice of embracing demonic energies resulted in them being shunned by their former comrades in the Alliance. Thus, the remaining blood elves on Azeroth look desperately to the Horde to help them reach Outland, where they can reunite with Kael'thas and achieve the golden destiny he promised them.
FAQ:What does the title of the World of Warcraft expansion refer to?"The Burning Crusade" refers to the Burning Legion's ongoing efforts to destroy life throughout the universe. To date, the Burning Legion's exploits have been documented in Warcraft III and in our War of the Ancients novel trilogy. As part of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, players will be able to travel through the Dark Portal to confront the Legion on otherworldly battlefields.
What new races will be introduced in the expansion?The expansion will introduce two new races to World of Warcraft: the Draenei race for the Alliance and the Blood Elf race for the Horde.
What are the Blood Elves?No longer trusted by the Alliance, these former High Elves have joined the Horde to hunt down the demonsthat destroyed their homeland of Quel'Thalas.
What are the Draenei?Descended from the Eredar, the same ancient race as Archimonde, leader of the BurningLegion's recently thwarted invasion of Azeroth, the Draenei resisted the demonic forces that corrupted their brethren and fled their ancient homeworld, devoting themselves to ending the Legion's apocalyptic crusade.
Why did you decide to add the Draenei as the new Alliance race? The Draenei visited many worlds in their travels and explored much of the known cosmos on their quest to find safe harbor. During this exodus they befriended the enigmatic Naaru -- a race of beings with a deep affinity for the Holy Light of Creation that empowers the paladins of Azeroth. The Naaru blessed the Draenei with this power in an effort to help them in their struggle. This makes them a natural ally of the Alliance races who embrace this holy power.
In addition, the Draenei hold no affinity for certain Horde races. They outright hate the Orcs, who nearly drove the Draenei to extinction in Outland. And more recently, the Blood Elves stole technology from the Draenei and also sabotaged theirdimensional ship, which crash landed on Azeroth.
Where did the Draenei come from?The Draenei's flight from the Legion eventually led them to a remote, peaceful world, which they named Draenor. In time, the Draenei met and befriended the native Orc clans that lived on this tranquil planet. For many years they lived peacefully with their shamanistic neighbors, until Kil'jaeden discoveredtheir hiding place and corrupted the Orcs, pitting them against the Draenei. The Orcs nearly eradicated the entire Draenei race during the ensuing war. Recently, the surviving Draenei fled Outland, and a small group of these refugees landed on Azeroth.
Will the level cap be raised?Yes, the level cap will be raised to 70 from the current maximum level of 60. In addition to the level increase, every class will gain access to additional talents and abilities or spells as they level up from level 60 to level 70.
Will there be new lands to explore in the expansion?Outland will be opened with the expansion. Players last visited Outland in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, alongside Illidan as he conquered the pit lord Magtheridon's domain. Players will also gain access to Quel'Thalas, the region to the northeast of the Plaguelands, where the Blood Elves reside, and the Azuremyst Isles, a grouping of islands off the northeastern coast of Kalimdor, where the remaining Draenei crash landed after fleeing Draenor. Other areas that players will be able to explore in the expansion set will be revealed in the months ahead.
Will there be new dungeons and battlegrounds included in the expansion?We do have plans to add dungeons and battlegrounds with the expansion, though the exact number has not yet been determined. One upcoming dungeon that we're excited about is Karazhan, also known as Medivh's tower, which is located in Deadwind Pass. Because Medivh has played such a central role in Warcraft lore, we think that a lotoflongtime players will be especially interested in seeing what Karazhan contains. As an example of abattleground that will be included in the expansion, we plan on making some of the battles from the past accessible through the Caverns of Time. We'll provide more details as we get closer to implementing this content.
What are some of the other features of the expansion?In addition to the new races, zones, dungeons, and battlegrounds, we have a number of new features planned for the Burning Crusade expansion. Some of those new features include:
- A complete new profession - jewelcrafting
- Socketable items
- Flying mounts
- New weapons, armor sets, and magic items
- Character advancement up to level 70, including new talents and abilities
- Dozens of new unique monsters
- Hundreds of new quests
Do you need to own the expansion to play with friends who have it?There will be many aspects of the expansion that are available to all players. However, in order to experience certain content, such as Outland, or be able to play as one of the new races, players will have to purchase the expansion.
When will The Burning Crusade beta test begin?Our development team is hard at work creating the vibrant zones and challenging dungeons that will be added to the game in the expansion. Once we're happy with the way this new content looks and feels, we'll arrange to begin beta testing it with selected players.
A monthly fee is required. Requires the original World of Warcraft.
Here is just a partial list of what you can expect from the World of Warcraft expansion:
- An increase in the level cap to 70
- Two new playable races, including the magical Blood Elves
- New starting zones in Quel'Thalas and beyond
- The entire new continent of Outland, reachable through the Dark Portal
- Many new high-level dungeons to explore in Azeroth, Outland, and elsewhere
- New flying mounts in Outland
- Many new and dangerous monsters, including epic world bosses
- Hundreds of new quests
- Hundreds of new items
- A new profession: Jewelcrafting
- Socketed items