Warlords of Draenor launched on November 13th, 2014 - mere days after BlizzCon. At launch, players could level to 100, develop their Garrison, and gear up for
Highmaul.
- There were two initial leveling zones: Frostfire Ridge and Shadowmoon Valley. Horde and Alliance each had a zone.
- Leveling stories focused on the rise of the Iron Horde under the influence of Garrosh and Gul'dan. Players familiar with past expansions enjoyed the alternate reality where Shadowmoon Valley was beautiful, the Draenei had a flourishing culture, and Thrall fought by his father, Durotan.
- Building upon the success of cinematics like Wrathgate, the cinematic team developed cinematics for key story moments in every zone.
- Launch dungeons included Auchindoun, which looks radically different from the Burning Crusade version, Grimrail Depot, which was a unique encounter on a train, and a revamp of Upper Blackrock Spire.
- Soon after launch, WoW celebrated its 10 year anniversary with an elaborate event including max-level Molten Core.
- Warlords introduced rare spawns that dropped mounts in many zones, such as Sunhide Gronnling.
- At launch, Warlords introduced new character models, the continent Draenor, the Garrison system, and the Toy Box.
- The Warlords Collector's Edition came with Reins of the Dread Raven, Dread Hatchling, a level boost, art book, behind-the-scenes DVD, soundtrack, and more. There were also items for other Blizzard games, such as a Warsong pennant in Diablo.