Login screen
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- For World of Warcraft loading screens, see Loading screen. For Warcraft III loading screens, see Category:Warcraft III loading screens.
This article lists all of the login screens used throughout World of Warcraft's history.
Gallery
World of Warcraft
The Burning Crusade
Wrath of the Lich King
Cataclysm
Mists of Pandaria
Warlords of Draenor
Legion
Battle for Azeroth
Shadowlands
Dragonflight
The War Within pre-patch
The War Within
.png)
With the user interface
World of Warcraft
The Burning Crusade
Wrath of the Lich King
Cataclysm
Mists of Pandaria
Warlords of Draenor
Legion
Battle for Azeroth
Shadowlands
Dragonflight
The War Within pre-patch
The War Within
.jpg)
Classic Era
Classic Era uses a different logo depending on the selected flavor option in the Battle.net desktop app. It defaults to the "Classic Era" option (the 2019 World of Warcraft: Classic release).
Original (2019)
Classic Era
20th Anniversary Edition Hardcore
Classic
Other
Early alpha (September 2002)
E3 2003
World of Warcraft alpha
First draft of the Cataclysm login screen, removed before public release
Another draft of the Cataclysm login screen
Another draft of the Cataclysm login screen
Cataclysm beta
Another login screen used during the Cataclysm to display when the game has not finished downloading files
Temporary login screen during the Warlords of Draenor alpha test
Modified vanilla login screen during the Warlords of Draenor alpha test
First draft of the Warlords of Draenor login screen, used for one month mid-beta
First draft of the Legion login screen
Reconnect button introduced with Shadowlands
Duration
The total time that each login screen was used is listed here. Note that originally the loading screen would be determined by the expansions installed on the user's computer, but this was changed during Wrath of the Lich King so that all players see the current login screen regardless of which expansions they own.
| Game | Duration |
|---|---|
| 1 - World of Warcraft | 743 days (2004.11.23~2007.1.14) |
| 2 - The Burning Crusade | 679 days (2007.1.15~2008.11.12) |
| 3 - Wrath of the Lich King | 770 days (2008.11.13~2010.12.6) |
| 4 - Cataclysm | 644 days (2010.12.7~2012.9.24) |
| 5 - Mists of Pandaria | 777 days (2012.9.25~2014.10.13) |
| 6 - Warlords of Draenor | 686 days (2014.10.14~2016.7.18) |
| 7 - Legion | 732 days (2016.7.19~2018.7.16) CN(2016.7.19~Present) |
| 8 - Battle for Azeroth | 820 days (2018.7.17~2020.10.12) |
| 9 - Shadowlands | 730 days (2020.10.13~2022.10.24) |
| 10 - Dragonflight | 621 days (2022.10.25~2024.7.23) |
| 11 - The War Within | Pre-patch - 21 days (2024.7.23~2024.8.13) |
| Current expansion (2024.8.13~Present) |
Music
Each login screen featured a variation of the 10-minute long piece Legends of Azeroth, a orchestrated score that features a medley of other music pieces that are heard throughout the game, with the beginning of the piece setting the main tone for the expansion. The theme for Cataclysm was called "The Shattering" by Russell Brower. Mists of Pandaria had a Chinese-like remix of The Shattering that replaced most of the hard drum beats with wind chimes.
Login Music | 2014-01-16 01:39 | 
Nethaera
In interviews in the past, Russell Brower has discussed how he likes to keep the original idea of the login music (the theming and key elements) and build on it with each new expansion. There's an expectation of hearing a certain style of music that says to people that they're logging in to World of Warcraft. It evokes emotions in many people and so he's said he doesn't want to take that away but instead, enhance and add to it with each of the expansions. If you sit and listen to the whole thing, you'll find that you've ended up on a journey of sorts through World of Warcraft history. It tells you about where you've been and where you are now or are going to depending on where you are in your gameplay.
| Game | Song |
|---|---|
| 1 - World of Warcraft | Legends of Azeroth |
| 2 - The Burning Crusade | The Burning Legion |
| 3 - Wrath of the Lich King | Wrath of the Lich King |
| 4 - Cataclysm | The Shattering |
| 5 - Mists of Pandaria | Heart of Pandaria |
| 6 - Warlords of Draenor | A Siege of Worlds |
| 7 - Legion | Kingdoms Will Burn |
| 8 - Battle for Azeroth | Before the Storm |
| 9 - Shadowlands | Through the Roof of the World |
| 10 - Dragonflight | The Isles Awaken |
| 11 - The War Within | The War Within |
Miscellaneous
The original "Breaking News" interface as viewed from World of Warcraft: Classic.
- When information the players need to know about game service comes up, a "Breaking News" panel opens up in the upper left side of the screen.
- The Game Menu can be accessed from the login screen since patch 11.0.0, which allows access to things such as the Options and the Cinematics interface. Previously some of the buttons were on the login screen itself.
The collapsible "Breaking News" interface since patch 11.0.0.
The Cinematics interface
Trivia
- Warlords of Draenor marked the third login screen out of eight to feature the Dark Portal, making it the most iconic and common theme so far. Though it is tied with dragons, featured in Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, and Dragonflight screens, and thirdly Icecrown Citadel, featured in the login screens for Wrath of the Lich King and Shadowlands.
- The Wrath of the Lich King screen opened with the frost wyrm, Sindragosa flying into the frame, flapping her wings, landing with a thud, and emitting an infamously powerful roar, all repeating at a set interval. That often irritated players who were trying to log in quietly, to the point "roaring dragon screen" complaints were rumored to have influenced the randomized and much quieter roar of Deathwing in the next expansion's loading screen.
- The widescreen support has been available since Vanilla, but was set on by default since Wrath of the Lich King.
- The Cataclysm login screen is so far the only one that displayed a still-image while the rest of the game files finish downloading.[1] Future expansions do include a still-image but is almost never used as downloading the game through the Battle.net desktop app usually includes the rest of login screen data before reaching a playable state of the game.
- The vanilla login screen was used as a placeholder during the alpha and beta of the following expansions: Cataclysm, Warlords of Draenor, Legion.
- During the Warlords of Draenor alpha and beta test before patch 6.0.2, the vanilla login screen was used but heavily modified.[2] The same heavily modified version was used during Legion until the last alpha patch for 7.0.3.[3]
- Four login screens showcased things which spent most of the expansion damaged or destroyed: the two main towers of the Valley of Heroes in Stormwind City (Cata), the Twin Monoliths in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms (MoP), the alternate Dark Portal (WoD), and the Ruins of Lordaeron (BfA).
- You could also include the rest of Stormwind City as it is actively being damaged on the login screen - however it still stays operational during the expansion.
- Wrath of the Lich King was the only one that used a different color for the buttons other than red. Shadowlands updated the buttons to a newer high definition.
- Dragonflight was the third expansion to include a dragon in the login screen, albeit added in the second patch with patch 10.0.2 instead of the pre-patch.
- The War Within had the first-ever major change to the login screen in patch 11.0.2 after the pre-patch, with the center circle opening up to reveal the Isle of Dorn.
Patch changes
Patch 11.0.2 (2024-08-13): UI scale slightly increased. - Patch 11.0.0 (2024-07-23):
- UI scale significantly reduced. Elements appear smaller than they did in previous versions.
- Breaking news is now collapsible and changes size to fit the content rather than having a fixed height.
- Most buttons have been moved to the Game menu, reducing the amount of clutter on the login screen. Game menu is now accessible from the login screen via the new "Menu" button.
Patch 9.0.1 (2020-10-13):
- Reconnect button added.
- Blizzard logo restored.
- Several text changes: "Blizzard Account Name" label was changed to "Email or Phone", "Login" button was changed to "Log In", and the "Remember Account Name" checkbox was changed to "Remember Account".
- Button artwork now higher quality.
Patch 7.0.3 (2016-07-19): Blizzard logo is no longer displayed in the bottom center. 
Patch 6.0.2 (2014-10-14): Terms of Use button removed. 
Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28): ESRB notice was removed. 
Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): "Remember Account Name" checkbox moved from left side to below the "Login" button.
References
- ^ Login Screen Cataclysm still-image.
- ^ Boubouille 2014-04-04. Warlords of Draenor Alpha Coming Up. MMO-Champion.
- ^ File:Login screen Legion alpha.jpg
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