The gameplay in
WoW: The Burning Crusade has brought in an interesting new storyline. Mixing in a bit from
Warcraft 3 and their own originality, Blizzard Entertainment has brought the bad guy himself into the
World of Warcraft, Illidan. So far, the storyline revolves around him and his kingdom, The Outlands. Blizzard also introduces two new races for each faction. For the Alliance, they get the Draenei, and the Horde receives the Blood Elves.
The Draenei are introduced as an alien race that seem to have crash-landed on their ship called The Exodar. Fleeing The Outlands, they seek aide by enlisting in the Alliances' ranks to help defeat The Burning Legion. They hope the Alliance will help them retake their homelands in The Outlands.
The Blood Elves, formerly known as the High Elves, were once allied with the Alliance. Being mistreated by the humans, they decided to break away and join the Horde and take revenge against the humans and all of the Alliance. After losing their power source, they team up with Illidan who, in return for their loyalty, shows them new methods of capturing their sacred Arcane Magic.
The introduction of the two new races opens up two new major cities, one for each faction, new zones to start from, new racial abilities, and tons of all new and original quests. The extent of role-playing has also been extended thanks to the new history that has been added. Aside from all of that, an all-new profession has been added, Jewelcrafting.
Professions are a unique addition that Blizzard incorporated to extend the amount of play in the game. Jewelcrafting has now opened up the ability to craft rings, amulets, and trinkets to use throughout the game. Jewelcrafting has a complimentary profession, Mining. Players use the ore and gems they find to craft such items.
The Outlands is an all-new continent that players can explore. Bringing in seven new zones, the player completes new quests, aligns with new factions, and acquires new items. Dungeons, which are quests requiring 5 players, have been added throughout The Outlands. This is a way for players to come together and overcome obstacles as one force. Raids, which are for 6+ level groups, have been bumped down from 40 man to 25 man in size. This means raids will require more teamwork to complete them.