Author's Note: Due to a delay in editing, this post went up AFTER Legion was released, rather than before. That having been said...the expansion is everything I had hoped for and more. If you play WoW, I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am!

With World of Warcraft's latest expansion, Legion, coming out this week, I wanted to share the top 10 reasons I'm excited for it. Without further ado, here they are!

10. Demon Hunters

The Legion expansion introduces a new playable class – Demon Hunters. Demon Hunters are only playable by night elves and blood elves. They've filled themselves with fel energy in order to better combat the demons of the Burning Legion. Basically, they fight (green) fire with fire.

The customization options added for Demon Hunters look absolutely fantastic. Tattoos, eye masks, horns...it's all gorgeous. In addition, their abilities look super fun. Who doesn't want to be able to glide with giant demonic bat-wings? Or to shoot lasers out of their eyes?

I'm making one as soon as Legion hits, and I am super psyched.

9. Shake-ups in factions.

The pre-expansion patch in WoW saw some pretty serious changes for both the Alliance and the Horde. Prominent members died in each, and new leaders had to step up and take charge. This will be a major change for the way the factions act and interact with one another. Personally, I am very excited to see the new leaders of the Horde and the Alliance battle the Burning Legion.

8. The music.

I have always adored the music in World of Warcraft. The composers do an absolutely phenomenal job. It's part of why I get the physical collector's edition of each expansion – they come with a CD. The WoW music is frequently on my play list for whenever I'm writing. It varies drastically depending on what zone you're in, but you can always expect good quality from it.

7. New mounts/pets.

I regret that I've acquired less than 150 mounts in WoW thus far, but I'm a huge fan of the look of many of them. Legion is adding a bunch of new mounts – including an octopus and a fox! I'm super excited to try and get a bunch of them.

Despite not being much of a mount collector, I am super into pet battling and collecting. I've got over 550 unique pets, and I absolutely adore them. With Legion I'll be able to get a golden version of the Unborn Val'kyr, a Dust Bunny, and a bunch of other cute little critters. I'm really looking forward to it.

6. Artifact Weapons.

I started playing WoW just before the Lich King expansion hit. I loved the old talent trees that allowed you to further customize your spec, and was kinda bummed when they removed them. Artifact Weapons look to have a talent tree of sorts, which I'm really looking forward to using.

In addition...dude, they're artifact weapons. My pally gets to wield Ashbringer – yes please! Having a weapon which is so important to the history of the game belong to me lends a huge gravity to the expansion (same goes for Doomhammer for my shaman!) The floating skull for my warlock reminds me oh so very much of Bob from the Dresden Files. I love how drenched in lore all of the artifacts are, and I'm so excited for the quests to acquire them and customize them. I think that they'll be a great addition to the game.

5. The visuals.

The graphics in WoW have always been absolutely gorgeous. I am staggered by the amount of work which goes into every single zone. I usually quest in Vashj'ir instead of Mount Hyjal because I find the underwater zone so gorgeous (even though most of my friends hate it!). Pandaria was my favorite expansion visual-wise. I'll confess, one night I made myself some green tea and muffins, turned off all the lights, and just sat and watched the rain at my farm in Pandaland.

The new zones in WoW look stunning, just judging from the pictures I've seen. I'm looking forward to exploring all of the nooks and crannies, and finding the prettiest places in these new areas. From waterfalls to statues of epic proportion to small glades of flowers...I'm excited.

(An actual shot of the rain in my farm!)

4. The cultures.

Okay, so I'm a huge nerd for the cultures and societies in WoW. I'm dual majoring in History and Sociology, so I suppose it makes sense. I love the amount of thought which goes into every culture in WoW. It's part of why I did a series of blog posts about the religions of the different World of Warcraft races.

Legion looks to be focusing on the night elves, the Tauren, the Vrykul/Kvaldir, and possibly the furbolgs. I am completely psyched to dive into the cultures of these various groups and learn more about their history and beliefs. Highmountain was going to be my first stop, because I really want to learn more about the Tauren culture there...but the fact that Stormheim is based so heavily upon Norse mythology (which I love!) makes that the zone I'll begin in.

3. The lore.

This ties into the culture part. I really want to know the lore for all of the different zones and characters. I'm excited to learn more about the Legion as well. I have the feeling that the Old Gods are going to show up in a big way this expansion, and the lore geek within me is really excited for that. The pre-patch already got me super hyped for Legion's lore, when a major character died because the Light (one of the strongest forces of good in WoW, whose servants are the deities of one of the races) was unable to protect him from the demons. The fact that the Legion was able to triumph over a force as old and strong as the Light completely stunned me. What else is coming?

2. Illidan.

I am a huge Illidan fangirl. I loved him in Burning Crusade. I adored the quests exploring his history in the Felwood. I'm actually currently rereading the War of the Ancients trilogy by Knaak to get ready for Legion. He's a phenomenal character, and his fanbase is huge.

When Blizzard released their first teaser for Legion, showing Illidan being woken up by Gul'dan, I freaked out. The hype began that day, and it has only continued to build since then. Everything I've seen for Legion looks absolutely amazing, but oh my goodness Illidan.

Without spoiling anything, let me just say that the Demon Hunter starting quests managed to make my favorite character even cooler than before.

<3

Last, but not least....

1. Sweet, sweet revenge upon Gul'dan.

I hate Gul'dan with a burning, fiery passion. I hated him all throughout Warlords of Draenor. I dearly longed to annihilate him after watching the Warcraft movie. After the pre-patch quest chain, I loathe his guts even more. He has been a thorn in the side of good for far too long now. He may have escaped in Draenor, but now he's back on my home turf...and I intend to end him.

Justice will be sweet.

(You'd better look scared, Gul'dan. I'm comin' for ya!)

What are you guys most looking forward to in Legion?

I'll see you on the Broken Isles!

FOR AZEROTH!!