WoW Files Build notes
Stable branch 5 patches Build target 2.4.3

The Burning Crusade patch history

2.0.1 — 2.4.3

Five patches, six raid tiers, and the arrival of arenas — the system that forced emulators to think about matchmaking and rating for the first time.

Patches tracked
5
Major releases
3
First
2.0.1
Last
2.4.0
Build target
2.4.3

Patch timeline

First to last · summarized for operators
  1. 2.0.1
    5 Dec 2006

    Before the Storm

    Major release
    • Pre-expansion patch: new talent trees, honor system rewrite, and the arena framework.
    • Old-world honor grind replaced with a points system that pays out weekly.
    • The Dark Portal opens for the expansion launch on 16 January 2007.
    What this means for a buildA protocol break, not a content patch. Everything on the wire changes here.
  2. 2.1.0
    22 May 2007

    The Black Temple

    Fan favorite
    • Black Temple and Mount Hyjal open as the second raid tier, both behind long attunement chains.
    • Adds the Illidan encounter, a multi-phase fight that set the template for later raid scripting.
    • Introduces guild banks and a round of heroic dungeon tuning.
    What this means for a buildAttunement chains mean cross-instance prerequisite state. The Illidan script remains a benchmark for TBC cores.
  3. 2.2.0
    25 Sep 2007

    Voice Chat

    • Adds in-game voice chat for parties, raids, and guilds.
    • Mostly a client-side release with minor world content.
    What this means for a buildLittle server-side work. Most cores skip voice entirely and nothing breaks.
  4. 2.3.0
    13 Nov 2007

    The Gods of Zul'Aman

    • Zul'Aman opens as a ten-player raid with a timed bear-mount run.
    • Levelling from 20 to 60 is sped up substantially, and dungeon quests are rebalanced.
    What this means for a buildThe timed run is an instance-scoped timer with loot consequences — a common source of bugs in ports.
  5. 2.4.0
    25 Mar 2008

    Fury of the Sunwell

    Build targetMajor release
    • Sunwell Plateau opens as the final tier, alongside the phased Isle of Quel'Danas.
    • The isle advances through realm-wide progress stages that unlock daily quests and vendors.
    • 2.4.3 in July 2008 is the last build of the expansion.
    What this means for a buildRealm-wide phasing on the isle is the hardest part of this branch. 2.4.3 is the standard build target.

Keep reading

The Burning Crusade setup sheetDeployment paths, config keys, and the failures everyone hits on build 2.4.3. Get this eraCompiled and ready to run, or the complete source tree. All build notes71 patch entries across eleven expansions.
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