The Burning Crusade, A New Era...

Today, the expansion (The Burning Crusade) is to be realeased. The World Of Warcraft expands to resist the invasive corruption of the Burning Legion, in the game's first retail add-on package. The Dark Portal is reopened, and it is left to the greatest heroes of the Horde and the Alliance to rise up and meet the soulless scourge in its otherworldly garrisons -- lest they face it once again in their troubled homelands of Azeroth.

Two new races arrive with the Burning Crusade expansion. The Blood Elves, doomed descendants of the High Elves who fought alongside Humans against Orcs generations earlier, join the Horde. The Draenei, refugee people that managed to resist the Legion's demonic corruption, have fled their world and joined the Alliance on Azeroth. Blood Elves may become Paladins, and Draenei may become Shaman, opening these classes to each factions for the first time.

The expansion adds dozens of monsters and hundreds of quests, raises the level cap to 70, and brings flying mounts. An additional profession, jewelcrafting, is introduced. High-level spells and talents are added, and new equipment becomes available -- including socketed items to be enhanced with crafted jewels.

New endgame instance raids are capped at 25 members (previous instances had a limit of 40 players).

[Blood Elfs in their starting area]
[Draenei]

How exciting..