Teldrassil

[Mr.X]

Note darnassus sustained major damage during the Nightmare Invasion, as explained in the book Stormrage.

So besides the Cataclysm it was already damaged so it should change quite a lot.

[WatsUpWidDat]

They could just flatten the whole place into a normal island.
Then stick one of the world tree models around the center of the place, around where those mountains are blocking the starting spot.

If they're feeling really energetic, they could change the colors on the tree to make it brownish so it looks like it's sick.

It wouldn't be great, but it could be better than the current plateau look.

And it doesn't require much work since the big tree model's are already in game, and the terrain doesn't need to be changed much, just lowered.

Or, they could just say. "Hey, it was suppose to be a stump all along! And it looks like a stump now, problem solved."

[Randala]

Honestly, Blizzard should just destroy Teldrassil in Cataclysm and move the Night Elf Capital to lie in between Moonglade and Hyjal. They could even retcon the entire issue by having the Night Elves start out on the ruins of Teldrassil and level 1-5 there before moving on to Darkshore with the entrance to the new Night Elf capital and Moonglade in the north of Darkshore. Makes sense to me.

/sadpanda

[Sauredfangs]

They could just flatten the whole place into a normal island.
Then stick one of the world tree models around the center of the place, around where those mountains are blocking the starting spot.

If they're feeling really energetic, they could change the colors on the tree to make it brownish so it looks like it's sick.

It wouldn't be great, but it could be better than the current plateau look.

And it doesn't require much work since the big tree model's are already in game, and the terrain doesn't need to be changed much, just lowered.

Or, they could just say. "Hey, it was suppose to be a stump all along! And it looks like a stump now, problem solved."

As nice as that would be i bet it would be a huge pain in the ass to create a whole zone out of a doodad : /

[VelcroLizard]

They say that it's finished, but looking at WoWheads Cata preview site, they don't have any new or changed quests listed, and no events like those in the other revamped starting areas. It could just be that Wowhead is being lazy and hasn't updated, but I find myself wondering.

Durotar has invading humans, Elwynn has invading orcs, Tirisfal has invading Worgen...

If anyone has any screenshots showing anything in Teldrassil that's been changed (including quests, but not the village at the base of the tree)they would be much appreciated, and would go a long way to convincing skeptics like me that Teldrassil is really "finished".

[Trade Prince]

Seriously i hope even if it isnt now, Keep the stump but instance it and once a new night elf reaches level 7 or something, let the emerald dream enter and fuck the whole thing over ..
something like this ....

Or more like a cut down tree which would be an island looking tree stump which opens itself to the coast but can still look tree...ish

[Z3ROR]

This is how Teldrassil should be, like a real world tree.

[snark^]

^^
I'd start higher. Put Shadowglen and Dolanaar up in the canopy - towns held up by branches and the growth between them - all looking as though shaped by natural magics. Should make for a visually unique looking zone. Get the harpies up there as part of the early quest sequence too. Eventually you get to travel a winding path spiraling down around the trunk to:

Darnassus where you have it marked it, on a plateau wrapped around the lake (much as it looks like now). Path continues spiraling down to:

The roots/base of the tree, including that rocky/mossy island visible in the pic (so early nelves can finally get some mining in) which will have the barrow den, main furbolg badguy, the abandoned Starbreeze village, Moonwell quest chain, Lady Sathra, timberlings and Rut'heran, etc. Add some Naga invasion from the sea stuff and people will no longer be referring to it as 'That Stump'.

[Elderer]

If you are aware of the engine's short comings, why are you even complaining? Yes, we'd all like to have a much better looking Teldrassil. But that isn't priority A on Blizzard's list. I'm sure they'd like to remodel it too if they had the chance. Unfortunately the entire WoW design team is made up of only 15 people and they can only do so much.

15 people?wait what?where did you read that?only 15 people?
i wonder how much devs/designers work on wow(patches,fixes,updates,designers)....

[eucatastrophe]

^^
I'd start higher. Put Shadowglen and Dolanaar up in the canopy - towns held up by branches and the growth between them - all looking as though shaped by natural magics. Should make for a visually unique looking zone. Get the harpies up there as part of the early quest sequence too. Eventually you get to travel a winding path spiraling down around the trunk to:

Darnassus where you have it marked it, on a plateau wrapped around the lake (much as it looks like now). Path continues spiraling down to:

The roots/base of the tree, including that rocky/mossy island visible in the pic (so early nelves can finally get some mining in) which will have the barrow den, main furbolg badguy, the abandoned Starbreeze village, Moonwell quest chain, Lady Sathra, timberlings and Rut'heran, etc. Add some Naga invasion from the sea stuff and people will no longer be referring to it as 'That Stump'.

Agreed one hundred percent.

For anyone who's interested in the lore, here is my take: There was an island near Northern Kalimdor (it was part of the main land before the Sundering). Before the Sundering, there was a great Night Elf settlement there. After the Sundering, however, the NEs abandoned it. Only the indigenous Furblogs returned there reclaimed their homes. After the Third War and Nordrassil's destruction, Staghelm and Co. decided to plant the new world tree in this location because of its remoteness, isolation, and perhaps historic significance. Teldrassil grew not from the island, but all around it, pushing bits of the land mass to different levels.

My theory would basically explain Darnassus, the presence of the furbolgs and the barrows.