The Collector's Edition for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade contains the following:

- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade on both CD and DVD

- 4 CD-ROMs in 4-CD Jewel Case and 1 DVD-ROM in a cardboard sleeve.

- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade "Behind the Scenes" DVD.

- With "more than two hours worth of developer interviews and commentary on all aspects of the creation of The Burning Crusade, as well as trailers and cinematics from the game, and even footage of panel discussions from BlizzCon".

- The Art of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Hardcover Art Book.

- Hardcover coffee table book with exclusive concept art.

- Exclusive In-Game Pet: Netherwhelp.

- Two World of Warcraft Trading Card Game Starter Packs, plus Exclusive Cards.

- A full-size color rulebook and 3 foil promo cards (which will be released in a future set in non-foil version) from the WoW TCG.

- Map of Outland Mouse Pad.

- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Soundtrack.

- Blizzard Product Catalog (Burning Crusade themed).

- 2 World of Warcraft 10-day Guest Pass Keys.

The quests in The Burning Crusade are generally set in continuity with original lore quests, meaning that timeline speaking, BC is basically the direct sequel to the original WoW. Some quests set in Outland, especially those that are related to Illidan, do speak of a five-year hiatus in the storyline, which suggests a one-year long interval between BC and the original. This is however unconfirmed, since there never was any real statement that TFT takes place one year after RoC. But generally agreed, there was a four year break between Warcraft III and WoW.

The expansion is primarily based in Outland, the former world of Draenor and the new continent in the game. Quests generally allow players to explore the world on their own. The main story centers on Illidan the Betrayer and what happened to him during the last years. Players can also go on quests that suggest helping Illidan in his time-being or slaying him for a special reward.

Other than that, many links between the former world of Draenor and the current Outland are also made, such as the opening of the Dark Portal by Medivh, which is an instance quest located in Caverns of Time. Retelling of the old relationship between Orcish shamans and the Burning Legion is also told in quest-sequence storyline.