Wrath of the Lich King

Wrath of the Lich King (WotLK or Wrath) is the second expansion. It was announced at BlizzCon 2007 on August 3, 2007 and released on November 13, 2008. Most of the new content is set in Northrend, in the war against the undead Scourge and its master, the Lich King Arthas Menethil, who has come out of Icecrown Citadel to claim the world.

No new playable race was added, but the game got its first hero class, the Death Knight. The expansion joined the base game in 2012.

To avoid the crowding seen at the start of The Burning Crusade, players can begin in two zones: the Howling Fjord in the east or the Borean Tundra in the west, reached by boat or zeppelin from the old capitals. Flying in Northrend needs level 77 and Cold Weather Flying. Dalaran, moved to Northrend by the Kirin Tor, is a sanctuary hub.

At launch, a Death Knight could be made once another character on the account had reached level 55. The new character starts at level 55 in Acherus: The Ebon Hold and the Scarlet Enclave, a new area in the Eastern Plaguelands, with a story about breaking free from the Lich King. Originally only one Death Knight was allowed per realm.

The Death Knight wears plate and can tank or deal damage. Its resource system used six runes (two each of blood, frost and unholy) that refresh on a 10-second timer, plus a second resource, runic power.

At release there were twelve five-player dungeons (eight for leveling and four for max level, all with Heroic versions) and three raids. Heroic dungeons only needed level 80, there were no long attunements, and every raid could be run with 10 or 25 players as separate versions.

• The achievement system started here; no achievement can be dated before October 14, 2008 (patch 3.0.2).
• Inscription was the new profession, making scrolls, vellums and glyphs (major glyphs change combat abilities, minor ones are cosmetic or convenience). Professions could now reach skill 450.
• Dual Talent Specialization lets you switch freely between two talent setups after a one-time fee at the class trainer; barber shops and account-bound heirloom gear also arrived. The Dungeon Finder came later in the expansion.
• PvP: Wintergrasp became a dedicated world PvP zone with siege vehicles; the Strand of the Ancients (15 per team) and Isle of Conquest (up to 40 per team, patch 3.2.0) battlegrounds were added, plus the Orgrimmar and Dalaran arenas.