Druids have always been one of the most unique classes in World of Warcraft. Limited to just one race on each faction throughout Vanilla and WoW’s first two expansions, the class is known for its versatility, taking on the form of different creatures to perform a variety of different roles. With World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic set to take players back to Outland later this year, many will be taking their Druid through the Dark Portal in search of gear and glory.

There are some great reasons to roll a druid in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic. The class will be getting some awesome new features, some fantastic connections to the lore of Outland, and, assuming most of original The Burning Crusade expansion is kept in tact for The Burning Crusade Classic, could have some of the most versatile builds for Raiding and PvP in the game.

RELATED: World Of Warcraft: 12 Best Transmog Sets For Priests

Most players are drawn to druids because of their ability to shapeshift, and straight from the get-go The Burning Crusade adds two new forms to the druid spellbook. Restoration druids get Tree of Life Form, giving a huge boost to an already extremely viable healing spec.

All druids who are at least level 68 and have purchased a 150 Riding skill also get Flight Form, gaining the ability to fly without having to purchase a mount. Although adding flying mounts to the game would create challenges for Blizzard in the future, with many subsequent expansions requiring players to relearn the skill for a new environment, Flight Form is undoubtedly one of the coolest additions to WoW that came with The Burning Crusade. 

Unlike other forms of flying, turning into Flight Form is instantaneous, and the Flight Form model not only looks awesome but has a great resting animation, allowing players to perch in a way that looks far more natural than the expansion's flying mounts. Players can even transform into their Flight Form while falling, allowing for some great moments among Outland's tall peaks and floating islands. Other players might be able to take flight in WoW for the first time in The Burning Crusade, but none do it with the druid’s style. 

While other players have to grind for gold to get their epic flying mounts, level 70 druids get a unique questline from The Black Temple patch onwards which has the player make contact with druids in the Emerald Dream and unravel a plot involving an Arakkoa cult. At the end of the questline, not only do they gain their Swift Flight Form, but they also get the Idol of the Raven Goddess, a Relic with big buffs for Feral, Balance, and Restoration druids alike. 

RELATED: World of Warcraft Alliance and Horde Players May be Able to Raid Together One Day

Despite the expansion’s ostensive focus on the demonic armies of the Burning Legion, The Burning Crusade is a fantastically immersive experience for druids. Outland is a shattered world, but nature finds a way. Draenor's Zangar Sea has been drained, giving rise to Zangarmarsh, a fluorescent forest where druid groves fight the Naga serving under Lady Vashj, who are draining Serpent Lake into Coilfang Reservoir.

Cenarion Thicket is another druid outpost in Outland, located in Terokkar Forest. There, players will find the grove has fallen victim to a mysterious attack. Outland’s areas of natural beauty, like Nagrand, also provide immersive areas for druids to explore as a battle to rescue the surviving nature of Outland takes place in the background of the expansion’s main conflict.

The Burning Crusade wasn’t as narratively driven as the expansions like Wrath of the Lich King which would follow it. Nonetheless, what story it does have has an interesting connection to druid lore. Illidan Stormrage’s twin brother Malfurion Stormrage was the first Night Elf druid - his brother sought out power wherever he could find it in part due to insecurity about Malfurion’s great destiny.

Despite having been home to the Orcs and Draenei, lots of the story of Outland from Coilfang Reservoir to the Black Temple is often about nature versus the unnatural. Many of its villains are characters who were once Night Elves, including Illidan, the Naga, and to some extent the Blood Elves, all of whom rejected druidism in favor of alternate sources of power. 

Druids remain one of WoW’s most flexible classes in The Burning Crusade. For PvP, players can still take on the rough role of a rogue when specializing in Feral DPS, while Restoration druids remained some of the most highly sought after players for top tier raids. Resto druids were also favored for most of Vanilla, but with Tree of Life Form introduced in The Burning Crusade the specialization not only got a stat boost but got to transform like the other members of the class.

While some specs were certainly more viable than others - a Feral DPS druid was generally less viable in raiding unless also used as a backup tank - the druids of The Burning Crusade remain one of the classes with the most variation. It was far harder to level an alt back during WoW’s first expansion, so having that flexibility was a huge selling point for many players, even though the viability of different specs fluctuated with each patch and subsequent expansion.

Players who choose to roll a druid in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic will find themselves gaining access to unique new forms, compelling questlines, and an often-overlooked presence in the story of Outland as the Cenarion Circle attempts to bring balance back to a broken world. Whether players find themselves stealthing through Netherstorm in Cat Form, taking on WoW's raid bosses as a Tree of Life, or just sitting on top of the Dark Portal in Flight Form to watch new  players enter Outland for the first time, druids have a lot to offer players who enjoy diverse gameplay options, strong ties to the lore, and some of Warcraft’s coolest mechanics.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic releases 2021.

MORE: World of Warcraft The Burning Crusade Classic: 10 Things To Do Before The Expansion Comes Out