Story recap page for the first World of Warcraft expansion pack, The Burning Crusade, as well as The Burning Crusade Classic.
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The Doom Lord, Kazzak, reopened the Dark Portal to Outland; flooding Azeroth with the ravenous demons of the Burning Legion. However, expeditions from the Horde and Alliance pass through the gateway to stop the invasion at its source.
Not being able to rely on the Alliance anymore, the Blood Elves join the Horde ranks in the hopes that they can reunite with their prince on the other side of the gateway. They also begin to liberate Quel'Thalas from the remnants of the Scourge left over from Arthas' warpath in order to rebuild their once-glorious elvish kingdom. In addition, the Draenei have joined the Alliance ranks after their dimensional ship, the Exodar, crash lands off the coast of Kalimdor on Azuremyst Isle; seeking out allies against the Blood Elves who had sabotaged their ship.
On Outland's desiccated Hellfire Peninsula, the Alliance discovered several of their heroes who had crossed through the portal many years before, while the Horde made contact with the Mag'har; a group of 'uncorrupted' orcs led by Grom Hellscream's own son, Garrosh, who had not participated in their race's original invasion of Azeroth. The expedition into Outland dragged Horde and Alliance armies further into conflict with the agents of the Legion and the lieutenants of Illidan Stormrage, who had claimed the shattered realm for his own. The expedition also eventually leads to a major battle against the former Blood Elf prince, Kael'thas Sunstrider, who had abandoned his loyalty to Illidan to serve the Burning Legion's current Demon Lord, Kil'jaeden.
Raid: Karazhan
Karazhan used to be the home of the last Guardian of Tirisfal, Medivh, but after his death, the tower was left abandoned for a long time. Recently however, the tower came back to life as the Burning Legion was no doubt attracted by the arcane powers that never left the tower. Heroes would enter Karazhan to discover the purpose of the tower being reactivated, and would come across Prince Malchezaar attempting to accomplish a vague goal that had been given to him by the Burning Legion.
Raid: Gruul's Lair
Throughout exploration around the Blade's Edge Mountains of Outland, heroes of the Horde and Alliance would come across corpses of the Black Dragonfight having been impaled by the spikes that make up the mountains of the area. As it turns out, these powerful Dragons had been hunted by a powerful hostile Ogre clan known as the Gronn led by their brutal Overlord, Gruul the Dragonkiller. To make sure that the Gronn don't pose a threat to the Azeroth expedition, heroes from the Horde and Alliance storm into the Dragonkiller's lair to dispose of Gruul for good.
Raid: Magtheridon's Prison
Following his defeat to Illidan's forces in
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Magtheridon would end up getting dragged to a prison beneath the Hellfire Citadel where he would remain locked up, and guarded by the fel orcs of the fortress. Here, Magtheridon is used as a tool to further bolster Illidan's army with new fel orcs transformed from the pit lord's blood. However, Illidan's scheme is brought to an end when heroes from the Horde and Alliance break into Magtheridon's prison, and finish off the pit lord for good.
Raid: Serpentshrine Cavern
Throughout Zangarmarsh, heroes from the Horde and Alliance witness the Naga's efforts to drain the swamp of all its water through the Coilfang Reservoir due to water in Outland being a rare commodity that will be required to keep Illidan's forces hydrated. Lady Vashj, still loyal to her master Illidan, monitors the Coilfang operations from her seat of power within Serpentshrine Cavern, but is eventually dealt with when heroes from the Horde and Alliance invade her lair, and kill her for good. In her dying breath, Vashj apologizes to Illidan for her failure.
Raid: The Eye of Tempest Keep
A faction of Blood Elves known as the Scryers, arrive at Outland's Shattrath City to inform everyone that the Blood Elf Prince, Kael'thas Sunstrider, has ended his allegiance with Illidan to become a servant of the Burning Legion; betraying the Blood Elf people who had always looked up to him as their savior. Setting up his base of operations in the dying Outland territory of Netherstorm, heroes of the Horde and Alliance discover that Kael had set up Manaforges throughout the area to siphon mana from the Twisting Nether, which is then sent to his stronghold of Tempest Keep in order to activate the Cipher of Damnation, a spell that could bring disastrous results to Outland. Here, heroes of the Horde and Alliance storm the inner palace of the keep known as The Eye to recover the cipher, and force Kael to retreat. However, despite his plan at Tempest Keep being foiled, Kael appears in Shattrath to introduce the world to his master, Kil'jaeden, and departs with the Burning Legion to return at a later time.
Patch 2.1 - Raid: The Black Temple
In his quest to reign over all of Outland, Illidan the Betrayer had established a mighty stronghold for his forces within the Black Temple, a former Draenei citadel. Yet his influence began to wane after the defeat of his most trusted lieutenants, including his second-in-command, the Naga Sea Witch, Lady Vashj. The resulting window of opportunity permitted Akama, an elder sage of devolved Draenei known as the Broken, to rebel against the self-styled "Lord of Outland." Along with Illidan's former jailor, the stoic night elf Maiev Shadowsong, Akama helped a group of heroes infiltrate Illidan's seat of power and put an end to the Betrayer's reign once and for all.
Patch 2.3 - Raid: The Gods of Zul'Aman
After years of battles fighting alongside the old Horde, the troll warlord, Zul'jin, retired to the city of Zul'Aman, capital of the Amani trolls. Here, he called upon mysterious dark powers to rebuild his army. While the eyes of Azeroth focused on the fight against the Burning Legion and their expedition to Outland, treasure-seekers invaded Zul'Aman, rekindling Zul'jin's hatred of the outside world—particularly, the High Elves of Quel'Thalas. Upon hearing that these newly christened "Blood Elves" had become part of the Horde in his absence, the infuriated Zul'jin declared war on both Horde and Alliance.
Patch 2.4 - Raid: Fury of the Sunwell
Fresh from his defeat in Outland, Kael'thas Sunstrider returns to the Blood Elf city of Silvermoon. Rather than lead his people to glory as he had promised, the disgraced prince betrays them. Kael'thas had plotted to use the legendary Sunwell, source of the Blood Elves' magical power, to summon Demon Lord Kil'jaeden into Azeroth. However, they are greeted by the Shattered Sun Offensive; a joint task force of Blood Elves and Draenei backed by heroes from the Horde and Alliance. With the help of the dragon, Kalecgos, and the Sunwell's mortal form, Anveena, the offensive is able to put a stop to both Kael'thas and Kil'jaeden; purifying the Sunwell with the help of the draenei prophet, Velen.
