World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classicis on the way, allowing players to experienceWoW’s first expansion all over again as they journey beyond the Dark Portal to do battle with the outcast forces of Illidan Stormrage and the demonic Burning Legion. Unlike the originalWoWClassic, Blizzard has already announced that there will be a few key changes coming toThe Burning Crusade.
While someWoWfans may be worried about Blizzard making edits to the expansion, there’s another big question which is still up in the air regarding one ofThe Burning Crusade’s most memorable moments. Based on the way Blizzard will be rolling out content asClassicmakes the transition toWorld of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic, it’s possible this memorable moment could be left behind.
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The Burning Crusade Classic’s Launch
The launch ofWorld of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classicwill have significant differences from the game’s original launch. A pre-expansion patch will be released which will updateAzerothto itsBurning Crusadestate and allow players to begin levelling as Blood Elves and Draenei beforeThe Burning Crusade Classicofficially launches, giving them time to catch up for the new content. In contrast,WoWplayers originally couldn’t access either of these races until purchasingThe Burning Crusade.
The original release ofThe Burning Crusadehad two main pre-expansion patches. Patch 2.0.1 made the major updates to classes and the more mechanical side of the game in preparation for the first expansion. Patch 2.0.3 was then released on June 01, 2025, around a week before the release of the expansion. Neither of these patches addedBlood Elves and Draeneias playable characters, while some of the other patches under the broader patch 2.0 umbrella fixed bugs and added smaller features.
Patch 2.0.3 added a major temporary world event. “The Dark Portal Opens” caused the demons ofthe Burning Legionto come pouring through the Dark Portal from Outland into the Blasted Lands, where they were held back by the Argent Dawn and the forces of nearby Nethergarde Keep. Lord Kazzak, a world boss inVanilla WoWandClassic, was said to have gone through the Dark Portal. In his place Kazzak left Highlord Kruul.
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Highlord Kruul
Highlord Kruulwas the pre-expansion patch’s most memorable encounter. Kruul, a ginormous doomguard, attacked major cities across Azeroth. While higher level players were able to take on the “Into the Breach” quest to kill six demons near the Dark Portal itself, Highlord Kruul brought the new expansion directly to newer players and anyone in a racial capital.
Skeletons were piled high outside the gates of Azeroth’s cities as low level players fell victim to Kruul’s onslaught, and on manyWoWservershigher level players struggled to organize a formidable defense. Regardless of whether players had bought the new expansion and regardless of level, Highlord Kruul made it really feel like a major change was coming toWorld of Warcraft.
For the moment, it’s unknown how Blizzard plans to include Highlord Kruul if at all in its pre-expansion plans forThe Burning Crusade Classic. However, if the pre-expansion patch is designed to allow Blood Elves andDraeneito level up in time for the new expansion, it could be significantly longer than the pre-expansion patch for the original release ofThe Burning Crusade.
If that’s the case, then an event like Highlord Kruul’s attack on Azeroth’s cities might not fit intoBlizzard’s gameplan. With Blizzard making more changes toThe Burning Crusade Classicthan the originalWoW Classic, including changes to balance Horde and Alliance Paladins, it’s possible one of the expansion’s first most memorable moments will be left by the wayside.
It’s also possible that there will be multiple pre-expansion patches forThe Burning Crusade Classic, just as there were for the expansion’s original release. The first could introduce the new playable races while the second could then aim to recreate the opening of the Dark Portal event which was introduced in patch 2.0.3. While Blizzard has broken down the expansion’s content release schedule, it has not given specific dates for patch roll-outs forThe Burning Crusade Classicyet aside from stating that it will release in 2021. It’s possible that one pre-expansion patch could include both the new races and the Dark Portal event, only giving players a week’s head start with theHorde and Alliance’s new allies.
Change And The Future Of Classic
It seems unlikely that Blizzard would want to skip one ofThe Burning Crusade’s first major moments, however. The Dark Portal event most likely means that the launch ofThe Burning Crusade Classic will be more gradual than has been revealed so far, with several different pre-expansion patches. Highlord Kruul may have been a menace for lower-level players, but he brought the threat of the Burning Legion to life in a way WoW has rarely recaptured in its lower level areas with the exception ofWrath of the Lich KingandShadowlands' zombie plagues.
If it’s the case that there are multiple pre-patches, Blood Elf and Draenei players may be able to experienceThe Burning Crusade’s launch events for the first time. Whatever happens, those sorts of changes are a reminder thatThe Burning Crusade Classicis diverging more from the release and content of the original expansion thanWoW Classicdiverged fromVanilla WoW, marking a change in direction forClassic’s core principles. Whether it will diverge enough to put someClassicfans off, however, remains to be seen.
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classicreleases 2021.
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