Is WoW Worth Playing in 2025?
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft (WoW)
World of Warcraft (WoW) has been the king of MMOs for nearly 20 years. With its newest expansion, The War Within, and many more already planned to come, Blizzard has made significant updates to improve the player experience. But is WoW worth your time in 2025? Let’s break it down.
The Solo Experience
WoW has made strides in its solo content, which is a big plus for new and returning players. Previously, the leveling path (levels 10–60) felt disjointed and confusing, throwing players into random expansions without context. Now, Blizzard has streamlined the process. After the tutorial, you’re sent directly into the Dragonflight expansion (set right before The War Within), which offers some of the best solo content in the game.
Dragonriding: You unlock this flying system early on, allowing for fast and fun travel. It’s inspired by physics-based flying mechanics from other MMOs, and it’s a highlight of the solo experience.
Delves: A new feature in The War Within, delves are challenging solo dungeons where you can earn top-tier gear. This is a major win for players who prefer to go solo but still want great end-game rewards.
While solo content is stronger than ever, the downside is that new players may skip most of WoW’s older zones and stories. These areas are now optional, which means many will miss the charm of classic WoW areas (which are some of the best in our opinion).
Group Content
WoW’s group content remains, as usual, its strongest feature. The game is famous for its dungeons and raids, with some of the best group experiences in any MMO.
Raids: Large-scale challenges with incredible rewards, like rare mounts and gear. These require teamwork and are best enjoyed with a guild or group of friends.
Mythic+ Dungeons: Dungeons with increasing difficulty levels. The recent update caps these at 10 levels, making the grind more manageable without losing the challenge.
Group content is a time commitment, so be prepared to set aside a few hours if you want to participate. However, the rewards—both in-game and social—make it worth it.
Alt-Friendly Changes
Blizzard has introduced the Warband System, which makes playing multiple characters (alts) easier than ever. These features include:
Shared Gear: Some gear can now be transferred between characters.
Account-Wide Achievements: Progress on one character contributes to your overall account, so you don’t have to repeat tasks.
Faster Leveling: Each max-level character speeds up the leveling process for your alts.
While these changes are great, Blizzard has made class-specific transmog collections (cosmetic gear appearances) more difficult by requiring players to farm gear on each specific class. This has frustrated some players.
Combat
WoW’s combat system is solid and still uses tab-targeting, which most people seem to prefer. It also has…
Class Variety: With multiple classes and specializations you can certainly find a playstyle/type of character that suits you. You’ll have tanks, DPS, and healing roles available.
Accessibility: While WoW has a lot of abilities, you can play well with just a few keybinds if you’re not aiming for the hardest content.
PvP
PvP in WoW is competitive and more rewarding than most (but it is worth noting that getting into it can be a pain until you get through the gear grind). Players can earn unique mounts, armor, and other cosmetics by participating in battlegrounds and ranked PvP. Importantly, WoW is not pay-to-win, unlike many other MMOs. However, long crowd-control effects in PvP along with newer players getting killed quickly without the right gear can be frustrating for some players.
Cosmetics and Mounts
WoW excels in letting players customize their characters and mounts. With 20 years of content, there’s an endless supply of amazing gear and mounts to collect (including in old zones/raids, so there is admittedly some reason to go back to old areas). Best of all, most of it is earned in-game rather than purchased in a cash shop.
Population and Future Content
WoW is still one of if not the most populated of all MMOs, so you’ll always find players to group with (not to mention you can group for PvP and dungeons/raids across different realms). Blizzard has also announced two more expansions as part of the World Soul Saga, with content updates until at least 2028. The game’s future looks bright.
Monetization
WoW uses a subscription model, which many players prefer over cash-shop-heavy games. The controversial WoW Token allows players to buy gold with real money, but this doesn’t heavily impact gameplay for most players. You can also buy some cosmetics, but most of it, as mentioned above, is earned via gameplay thankfully.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Easy leveling for new players.
Great solo content with Dragonflight and The War Within.
Amazing group content, including dungeons and raids.
Alt-friendly systems with shared gear and faster leveling.
Massive player population and a strong future roadmap.
Cons:
Older content is mostly skipped by new players.
Farming class-specific cosmetics can feel tedious.
No dye system for customizing gear colors.
Subscription model may be a hurdle for some.
Final Blurb
Is WoW worth playing in 2025? Absolutely. Whether you’re a new player, a returning adventurer, or a die-hard fan, WoW can give you a polished and engaging experience that few other MMOs can match. With its streamlined leveling, strong solo and group content, and exciting future expansions, WoW continues to be a top-tier MMO.
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