Time gap -- Between normal to shattered?

[Vision]

When the world of Azeroth is destroyed, where does that leave the player? Meaning, is the Sundering supposed to happen overnight? Or, do you assume you're some time in the future from when the World was together and how it looked before Deathwing surfaced. I may not be making much sense, but this has been irking me for a while now.

[Wuvvums]

Could probably assume it happens during the inevitable downtime the server would get switching over.

[Aphetoros]

Actually it does, happen over night. Cataclysm takes place a few months after the LK dies. You return from Northrend to find the world torn asunder. And now when you quest in Outland and Northrend, you're in the past! FUN!

[Beltharean]

There's a two year gap between present day WoW and the Cataclysm, but yes, the actual event would happen 'over night'.

Source

EDIT: Two years from the start of wrath, meaning one year from today*

[Aphetoros]

The old world, vanilla, was stuck in the past... 5 years past. Since then we had the campaign in outland and Northrend.



In those 5 years things changed, although the shattering itself (when the actual world broke) took place in a single day.. if that.



Now between the end of Northrend and cataclysm.. I would say 6 months to 1 year between the fall of Arthas and 'now'.



Why? because 1) Events of the nightmare from Knaacks book takes place not long after the forces leave northrend. 2) The book 'the shattering' deals with the more abrupt tensions between leaving northrend and when Thrall leaves for the Malestrom. That book implies a couple of months at least pass between when the forces left Northrend and the more immediate events happen.



That leaves a small space of time... a few months for things to get serious in terms of war drums. After all Orgrimmar is still being reconstructed from the fire that swept through it in 'the shattering' it was implied that Garrosh was rebuilding Org, but as we can see it's not finished in some areas.



So that implies that maybe a few months have passed between the end of the book and now. Not as long as people think.



Added onto this.. Anduin is confirmed to be around 15 going on 16 in current game. Same as in the book 'the shattering'. He was 10 in classic wow..



So it adds up.

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic ... ?page=2#20

[Vision]

Food for thought, surely. But books and in-game Blizzard lore bump heads alot. And if that other guy took the helmet of the LK from Arthas after he is slain, why is he not reincarnated, again?

[Roxas65]

Cataclysm didn't happen all over one night. Weeks of earthquakes and, in time, elemental invasions proceeded the rise of Deathwing. However, the actual shattering take place the second Deathwing exit Deepholm. Pretty much every natural disaster happened at the same time.

[Lynoa06]

Yep. It's got a pretty much quick building-out time, with abnormal geological activity all around the globe, then for a few time elemental invasions. When Deathwing exits his lair however, does the Sundering happen, and if it doesn't happen overnight, I don't give it more than a day from the first event to the last. Certainly some events would happen before or after (I doubt the decision to build the highway from Theramore to the Barrens and its full construction takes a night, the bridge at Redridge is likely repaired before the Sundering, and the camp by Auberdine is certainly built in the following days and weeks, for instance.)

[Roxas65]

Oh yes, those things. All the constructions probably range from days to months. but the actual shattering did happen overnight. It raises the question whether or not a world can actually survive that many natural disasters at once . . .

[Vision]

Where does that leave your character? Say you logged out at an area completely untouched. Everything is raped through the events during or following the Shattering. When you log back in, are you ported to the nearest friendly town, or do you find yourself at the same site, but with the visual effects that make it changed.

[Benislav]

Where does that leave your character? Say you logged out at an area completely untouched. Everything is raped through the events during or following the Shattering. When you log back in, are you ported to the nearest friendly town, or do you find yourself at the same site, but with the visual effects that make it changed.

I can only imagine you'd act as if you've just witnessed it happen. How your character does that is for you to decide. You could react in trauma, in fear, in hope, or for some, nonchalantly. It's something that can start up quite a bit of RP, really.

[Vision]

Where does that leave your character? Say you logged out at an area completely untouched. Everything is raped through the events during or following the Shattering. When you log back in, are you ported to the nearest friendly town, or do you find yourself at the same site, but with the visual effects that make it changed.

I can only imagine you'd act as if you've just witnessed it happen. How your character does that is for you to decide. You could react in trauma, in fear, in hope, or for some, nonchalantly. It's something that can start up quite a bit of RP, really.

Precisely. Which is why I can't wait.

[Aphetoros]

Basically, the actual rise of Deathwing is a few months after Arthas's death. However, many of the changes had been happening in the years that we were in Outlands and Northrend. The political changes. Basically, the old world we've been RPing in has been stuck 5 years in the past.