How To Play World of Warcraft The War Within In Chronological Order

World of Warcraft The War Within is the popular MMO’s latest expansion and the first part of the Worldsoul Saga trilogy, marking a new age of story telling. New players to World of Warcraft begin their journey in the Exile’s Reach starter zone, where they learn basic gameplay and features, then travel to the Dragon Isles to level up to 70, and then into The War Within. Shadowlands introduced this methodology as a way to streamline the game’s twenty years of content. While efficient, it leaves new players little historical context for the world or their place in it. Thankfully, there is a pathway to experience all of World of Warcraft in chronological order.

Let’s Do The Time Warp Again

Chromie Time is what you will eventually use to switch between expansions. Chromie, a whimsical member of the Bronze Dragonflight, manages this function. World of Warcraft is an open world game so players can travel and play any content without using Chromie Time. The benefits of formally switching expansions are receiving the expansion’s entry point quest and access to the expansions’ dungeons through the Dungeon Finder.

It is not known at the time of this writing if Chromie Time becomes available to new players at level 61 or has changed to 71 for The War Within.

A Fistful of Classic

Your adventure through history begins by installing World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic. This is free with a paid subscription and available through the Battle.net launcher. Once loaded, the Classic games appear in the Battle.net launcher Game Version dropdown. Cataclysm Classic includes the original game and first three expansions; The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and Cataclysm. These expansions can be accessed through Chromie Time, but the Classic versions provide Cataclysm-era talent trees, abilities, etc. (i.e., no Skyriding).

However, too experience the original game as close as possible, start with the separate World of Warcraft Classic. New characters begin in their racial starting zone, gaining insight into the race’s history and challenges as you progress to level 60 across Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. Keep track of the zones you visit, in case you want to compare differences between pre-and post-Cataclysm.

Blizzard has expanded Classic into three sub-categories, located on the Realm Selection screen:

• Classic Era is the original game and recommended for our chronological journey
• Hardcore is the original game but your character has only 1 life. Die and it’s back to Character Creation to try again from scratch. It’s a fun change of pace. I recommend a bank alt
• Seasonal is a temporary version whose future unclear. The current iteration provides players with additional abilities and power to conquer Classic’s challenges

If you play through World of Warcraft Classic, there are two paths to choose when you hit level 60. You can create a character in Cataclysm Classic and play through zones and expansions as they were adjusted to Cataclysm, or create a character in The War Within and traverse those worlds with the latest game play features through Chromie Time.

The War Within is the choice if you want to continue playing the character. When creating the new character, select the racial Starting Zone and go forth once more into Azeroth.

Putting Experience on Pause

You cannot progress to max level in Chromie Time. Once your character hits level 70 (To be verified), Chromie transports you to your capital city in The War Within. You can delay this fate and continue playing the expansions by turning off experience gain at a lower level. Visit Slahtz in Orgrimmar or Behsten in Stormwind City to perform this adjustment. Of course, you can turn experience back on when you’re ready to resume leveling.

The Burning Crusade

The first expansion sends you through the Dark Portal to the shattered world of Outland. Upon this alien planet, you battle the demonic forces of the Legion, naga, Fel Orcs, and other otherworldly things.

You meet the Ethereals on Outland, whose home world was destroyed by the Void after hearing their Worldsoul’s Radiant Song. How we stand against this approaching threat will be revealed in World of Warcraft Midnight, the next chapter of the Worldsoul Saga.

Wrath of the Lich King

You return from Outland to discover the Lich King is on the move, and you must travel to Northrend to stop him. Northrend has two starting zones, located on opposite coasts. Along with battling the Lich King’s undead masses, you assist the Dragonflights, learn about the Titans, and the origins of the world and its races.

We will be returning to Northrend in The Last Titan, the final chapter of the Worldsoul Saga.

Cataclysm

After 10,000 years, the crazed dragon Deathwing broke through the boundary between the elemental planes and Azeroth, wrecking havoc on the world in an event known as The Shattering.

Deathwing is intent on ending all life on Azeroth, and it is up to you to stop him and his zealous followers. During this time, Garrosh assumes the mantle of Warchief of the Horde and intensifies the conflict with the Alliance, and his own people.

Cataclysm radically transformed much of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, and advanced the game’s original setting to post-Wrath. Following the same leveling path you laid out in Classic will reveal changes to quests, NPCs, and locations.

Once you complete Cataclysm Classic, it is time to switch to The War Within and use Chromie Time to continue your journey.

Mists of Pandaria

Pandaria was magically shielded from the world for millennia until Deathwing’s emergence shattered its cover. Now revealed, the Horde and Alliance descend on this new land to claim its riches for their war efforts. As a faithful soldier of your faction, you join the fight, but an all-consuming force of darkness is growing, feeding on the Horde and Alliances’ anger and fear.

Warlords of Draenor

Garrosh was overthrown but escaped 35 years into an alternate Draenor’s (as we know as Outland) past before he can face justice for his war crimes. In that alternative timeline, Garrosh prevented the corruption of the orcs by the Legion and organized the untainted orcs into the Iron Horde. You must pass through the Dark Portal to a lush, beautiful world to stop Garrosh’s conquest of present day Azeroth.

Legion

“The Legion has returned,” Khadgar declared in the Legion teaser. In another highly regarded expansion, you deploy to the Broken Isles to save the world and end the Legion’s threat once and for all. The battle exacts a heavy price and eventually transports players to the legendary Legion world of Argus.

Legion gave players powerful Artifact class weapons to wield. Shadow priests obtained a particularly wicked dagger, prone to whispering dark promises. The whisperer was Xal’atath, whom we helped escape imprisonment, and now threatens the Worldsoul in The War Within. No good deed goes unpunished, eh?

Battle for Azeroth

The Legion’s defeat led to yet another war. The Fourth War is launched by Horde Warchief Sylvanas, over a powerful new resource, Azurite. The war sees two capital cities razed, but also provides insight into Azeroth the Worldsoul.

This expansion provides separate stories with Alliance players traveling to the human nation of Kul Tiras, and Horde players to the ancient troll empire of Zandalar.

Shadowlands

Following Sylvanas’s betrayal, you pursue her through death’s veil into the Shadowlands. In the land of the dead, you discover the answer to the greatest mystery of existence, and help its denizens prevent a cosmic upheaval.

Dragonflight

Several years have passed since Shadowlands and the peace between the Horde and Alliance is holding strong. Dragonflight sends players to the legendary Dragon Isles, in a joint expedition to help the dragon flights reclaim their historic homeland and come to terms with their past. Dragonflight changed the way World of Warcraft is developed and played, with a focus shift to player customization and agency.

Although light in grand conflict, Dragonflight introduces two formidable villains; Xal’atath and Iridikron, setting it up as the prologue to the Worldsoul Saga.

The War Within

First blood goes to Xal’atath in dramatic fashion in the first chapter of the Worldsoul Saga. The mysteries of the Titans and threat of the Void deepen in a re-energized World of Warcraft tale which plunges us deep beneath Azeroth’s surface.

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