Best WoW expansion so far?

[Hyrule]

Now that we are over a month into Cataclysm, what do you think is the best WoW expansion so far, and Why? (Note: This includes all the patches associated with the respective expansions, Cata voters beware) Also, this isn't just about PvE content. This is about the expansions as a whole, and what they added, revamped or removed.
Personally, I think the best in order are:

1. Cataclysm
2. The Burning Crusade
3. Wrath of the Lich King

Here's why:
Cataclysm brought the most new systems than BC and Wotlk did, imo. Revamped level 1-60 questing was a much needed improvement for this game. Blizz answered the community's call of making PvE content more challengeing. It took everything that all the other expansions and brought them together well.
From a gameplay standpoint, Cataclysm is the best overall imo.

I would put BC second. Outland was very impressive when it was first released. I felt that TBC changed the classes dramatically, mostly because it made just about every hybrid talent spec viable for PvP, raiding, soloing and capable of getting geared for while vanilla alot of hybrids were constricted to one role. For example Druids, paladins, shamans pure healers). I thought that was huge for WoW. From a lore standpoint, I did enjoy TBC the most. "YOU ARE NOT PREPARED" got me very hyped up for this expansion.

Wrath of the Lich King last. While it did have some great thing come down the road with patches, i don't feel it brought the same impact as TBC and Cata did until much later in the expansion. At launch, achievements and the first hero class (death knight) were great, new, fresh improvement. The splitting of all raids into 10 and 25, and option for normal and heroic modes had mixed reviews, although if tuned well, like it seems they are in Cata, could work out well. The Dungeon Finder was a huge plus that came with the Lich King later in the patches. I feel that the PvE content was much too easy. Casuals shouldnt be able to pug 95% of the content, including the hardmodes.

[bigjohnburger]

Now that we are over a month into Cataclysm, what do you think is the best WoW expansion so far, and Why?

Personally, I think Cataclysm is the best, followed by TBC and Wotlk.

Cataclysm brought the most new systems (revamped 1-60, guild lvling, new race class combos, etc.) than BC and Wotlk did.

I think it sucks. For people with lives it's become completely inaccessible and the class balancing is poor in the upmost sense of the word.

[Marxman]

Hard modes ruined WoW raiding. TBC was in my opinion easily the best expansion. The art style was wonderful, the instances were unique and interesting, and Sunwell was a masterpiece, even if M'uru was overtuned beyond belief.

If you were a casual or a bad player (or both!) then Wrath was likely your favorite. Cataclysm is good, but again, hard modes ruin raiding.

[Eggboi]

So far, Cataclysm by far is my favorite. It feels SO much more like Vanilla did, but really just the good parts. Doing your part takes some actual skill and effort. I went through all of WotLK healing as a tree who was watching movies more often than the raid, and Heroics were such a joke I could just auto-follow and click random buttons on my keyboard. Now that people are slowly getting the concept of how Cata dungeons work, the LFG Dungeon Finder is definitely getting better too. Totally diggin' it.

[Markatron]

Yeah I agree with hardmodes ruining raiding. I liked the difficulty of tbc raids where that was it and kept people stuck in t4 content for pretty much the entire expansion for a reason.

[Deleted]

I voted BC for nostalgia reasons, if i show it in a diagram though it would be like this.

BC -- Cata ---------------------------------------- WotlK chillin' in the waste bin of history.

[Aerialslayer]

BC was the best in my opinion. The raids were challenging and fun. Just an all around amazing expansion.

[SilkforCalde]

I think each expansion has been better than the one before it, even including Vanilla.

Vanilla problems - pvp was a massive grind, crafting was horrendous and required running specific dungeons even if you outleveled them / didn't need anything else, raiding was typically tank and spank with extremely boring damage rotations and mechanics, and 5 man dungeons were far too long.

TBC problems - 5 mans were still way too long and full of trash, also heroics were absurdly difficult for the rewards given. 10 -> 25 man was nonsensical progression. Arena was too imbalanced. Not enough battlegrounds. Questing was still too grindy and mind-numbing.

WotLK problems - 5 mans were too easy and mind-numbing, 10 + 25 man for the same raid got incredibly old, Wintergrasp at launch was a Northrend crashing POS, and Naxx was an awful entry raid. Everything else was great. Better pvp balance, more battlegrounds, Ulduar and ICC are the two best raids in WoW history, etc.

Cata problems - TB balance is a bit off. Nothing else.

[Eruu]

I was about to vote TBC, but then, I think it's just the nostalgia speaking. I think Cata is better.

[Deleted]

I liked the raiding best in TBC, but Outlands was fucking lame. Spacegoats with lazors was crap, also lorelols etc. Cata has the best changes to gameplay, even though I do not like that valor point items will be accessible through justice points come next content patch.

[HitAndMiss]

1. The Burning Crusade
2. Wrath of the Lich King
3. Cataclysm

It isnt that Cataclysm is bad, per se.
It is that Cataclysm is bad after Wrath of the Lich King; an expansion that taught the community you could be a complete scrub, get carried, and "win the game". Wrath programmed the players to expect instant gratification with an unacceptable lack of effort. That all you have to do is wait long enough and Blizzard will let even the worst casual rtard kill the Lich King with a 30% buff to performance (a buff that barely put the scrubs at the performance of those who cleared normal ICC without a buff). That all you have to do is put the bright, green reticle under the 20 mobs the tank is effortlessly holding aggro on and AOE your way to epeen subsidizing glory in heroics. Et cetera.

Blizzard apparently did not realize what they had done to the MMORPG player. They fight hard to make sure they write the rules of MMORPG development so no one else can match their template; then turn around and did not realize what that meant. WoW catering to the lowest common denominator for the last two years has turned a genre once filled with a skilled player base who knew what it meant to work together and take pride in progress without excuses into a /v/irgin meme spouting, inferior copy of it's former granduer. Then... Blizzard decides to turn over a new leaf, make the game return to MMORPG roots, and require social teamwork and dedication to progress...

... and Im not even going to get into the gross behaviour of the CMs on the forums, the so-called elites trolling beside them, and the incredibly poor design choices made in the expansion (to the point that Blizzard reps get on and tell players how to circumvent them entirely).

I dont blame Cataclysm.
I blame Blizzard/Activi$ion.
And that's why I turned WoW off after 4 years, and extremely unlikely to return. (Apparently they are going to contact me about the game when "it has been improved" in the future according to the account cancellation screen) I have too many games Im really enjoying to waste fifteen a month on the lowest point WoW has every been at.
YMMV.

[Deleted]

Brewed a chop (wall of text)

Just a general question since i don't know if i have the answer from your post.

Have you played Cataclysm? If you haven't thats fair enough but if you have are you quiting just because of what Blizzard did to WoW's integrity in WotlK? If you are thats rather dumb imo.

I personally took some lengthly breaks in WotlK (hi trial of the crusader) but now in Cataclysm im enjoying it as much as ever.

Peace.

[Twix]

TBC because raiding was actually hard and getting purples was actually hard

Also hardmodes ruined raiding

[Kurdiern]

TBC - Challenging and fun raids that you had to work to progress through. Some of my most memorable experiences were in BC, the amount of variety and such was awesome (Kara still is my fav raid.) Quel'Danas was fuckin awesome. I was never a big PVP fan so I can't say much about it. All I remember is I liked BC PVP more than cata and WoTLK.

[Gjett]

TBC because raiding was actually hard and getting purples was actually hard

Also hardmodes ruined raiding

Wouldn't it be normalmodes that ruined raiding in that case?

[Shakalager]

As a healer I am so glad I don't walk through heroics spamming Flash Heal and watching tv on Hulu and Alt Tab-ing to see if we downed boss yet.

[AssaultDrone]

I'm quite surprised that Cataclysm is at the top the poll. With the level of Cata-Hate that's going around, I expected it would get 20% at the most.

Personally, I loved BC. WotLK was too casual. I'm in the group that thinks hard modes ruined raiding. And so far, Cataclysm hasn't really done anything to excite me.

[Mokok]

Cata problems - TB balance is a bit off. Nothing else.

Why would Thunder Bluff need balancing? Is it going to fall over?

Seriously though, I prefer BC. Kara and ZA were probably the most fun I've had raiding, though I do hate taking alts to Outland now

[Xires]

Cata is #1, BC is #2, wotlk...obviously #3.

[Dulba]

BC all the way, wotlk sucked