In the increasingly popular genre of MMO games, expansions are a vital resource in retaining loyal players and attracting new ones. By the nature of the persistent open-world model on which MMOs thrive, it is often necessary for these games to continually add new content. In many cases, updates simply aren’t enough, and expansions are the key through which they can grow.
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Expansions also pave the way for MMOs to evolve, whether that be for good or for bad. By adding new classes, new systems, and even whole new worlds, the games can develop into a new form entirely. Looking back into the golden age of MMOs, too, successful expansions have been the cornerstone through which the genre has been able to grow. So, here are the MMO expansions that brought with them some of the biggest changes.
5Guild Wars 2: Heart Of Thorns
Guild Wars 2is, itself, a unique experience within the ever-popular MMO genre. Much of its storyline can be influenced directly by the players’ actions themselves, and as such means every individual experience of the game is unique. But one expansion that has contributed to the game’s originality isHeart of Thorns.
Set in the jungle region of The Heart of Maguuma, the expansion features four newopen-world maps. Unlike otherGuild Wars 2locales, these new maps inHeart of Thornsfeature an impressive scale of verticality that stretches from the jungle roots all the way to the high canopy. This scale is capitalized on by the introduction of new Mastery Tracks that reward players with the ability to glide through the air or use mushrooms to jump to higher places.
The unique locale ofHeart of Thornsalso introduces new races and civilizations to the game, including the Exalted, the Itzel, the Nuhoch, and more.Heart of Thornsalso brings a new class, new elite specializations, and plenty of reworked game mechanics.
4Final Fantasy 14: Shadowbringers
Released in 2019,Shadowbringersis the third expansion to the relaunched version ofFinal Fantasy 14. The game itself has a complicated two-version history, asits first releasetanked and was later remade.Shadowbringersis widely regarded as one of the best expansions toFinal Fantasygames as a whole, due to its incredibly compelling storyline.
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Aside from popularity,Shadowbringersdoes many things that bring a fresh experience to even the most dedicatedFinal Fantasyplayers. Its locale is a well-designed new dimension called the First, which serves as a kind of mirror world to the game’s home dimension.
In addition to thisnew world of unique environments, this expansion introduced two new well-rounded jobs in Gunbreaker and Dancer, as well as many updates to existing jobs too. Combat and dialogue options withinFinal Fantasy 14also saw a great deal of development, allowing for more fleshed-out character personalities and streamlined battles.
3Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind
Morrowindwas released in 2017 and provided the first main expansion ofElder Scrolls Online. Like many successful MMO expansions, its contents have since been integrated into the base game and is no longer available for purchase. However, this doesn’t diminish the significant impact the expansion had on its game at the time.
Morrowindintroduced a simultaneously new and old location to players of the game. Vvardenfell is an islandthat appears inElder Scrolls’single-player franchise but also serves as the main location forMorrowind. By setting the time period some 700 years before this first appearance,Morrowindintroduced a rich history to the locale that would satisfyElder Scrolls’most dedicated fans without excluding its new ones.
A new ice-based class known as The Warden was introduced by this expansion as well, alongside new trials, quests, delves, bosses, and appearance customization options. The introduction of Battlegrounds as a new arena-style PvP mode also provided an upgrade to gameplay for players less focused on the story.
2World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King
Widely considered to be one of the best expansions in originalWorld of Warcrafthistory,Wrath of the Lich Kingis one of the defining expansions of the nostalgic late 00s MMO era. In addition to the changes it brought to the gameplay, this expansion has often been credited with the game’s enduring cultural legacy.
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This expansion featured the first-ever hero class in the form of the Death Knight, a fallen hero revived by theexpansion’s epic final boss– the Lich King. Hero classes begin at a higher level than others inWorld of Warcraft, and this class would be added in later expansions, such asLegion.
In addition to this new class,Wrath of the Lich Kingfeatured several new zones, raids, quests, and achievements, as well as the introduction of Dalaran as a town hub. While the storyline itself is steeped in nostalgia and afair share of sad moments, the PvP gameplay in this expansion also shines thanks to additional arenas and battlegrounds.
1Lord Of The Rings Online: Mines Of Moria
As the first main expansion forLord of the Rings Online, anticipation forMines of Moriawas incredibly high before its 2008 release. Since then, the expansion has come to be seen as one of the best MMO expansions ever and is the epitome of the most nostalgic era for the genre.
Mines of Moriabrought with it three new regions, two new classes, and a range of new skills, traits, and virtues. But what makes thisLord of the Rings Onlineexpansionsuch an ambitious development in the genre was the handling ofits titular Dwarven locale.
Moria was created to be one continuous dungeon zone on a scale that had not been attempted by MMOs before. At the time, it was the largest underground realm created and required a completely new landscape design for its construction. As such,Mines of Moriaset an incredibly high bar for successive expansions to the game, and its influence can still be seen in the game’s seventh expansion,Fate of Gundabad.
