How the Heckadeedoo DID THOSE CATAPULTS REACH TELDRASSIL?!

[Reyuna]

I can cast a fireball underwater.

This thread is null and void.

[Justpassing]

IKEA-brand catapults.

[Ielenia]

Well, assuming that tech like this exists now, what stops sylvanas from bombing stormwind? Or ironforge?

A more in-game explanation is that Sylvanas would have a hard time reaching Stormwind or Ironforge. They don't have a base of operations big enough to hold all those war machines like they have in Kalimdor, and also lack a decent enough port for the transportation of said machines.

Also, keep in mind that, out-of-game, the same answer to your question can be used for this question: the Alliance now possess a veritable spaceship with a powerful beam weapon attached to it, so what stops the Alliance from orbital striking Orgrimmar with that weapon? Or better yet: why wasn't it used in the Battle of Lordaeron?

Answer: lazy writing. Blizzard f'ed up giving the Alliance that spaceship instead of having it be destroyed on the way back to Azeroth, like when Sargeras tried to grab the Vindicaar and it flew through the titan's fingers. It could easily have been damaged and became no longer fly-worthy like the Exodar. But no, it's still in space (likely orbiting Azeroth) and fully-functional.

[tru]

Good points OP. Im curious as to why their neighbors the squidgoats werent on their doorstep instantly with the snap of a finger...OK if those forces were tied up with argus (which is over with anyway) How does Stormwind not just send a army through a portal to the Exodar (if Darns is down)?

Im really stumped as to why they go no real support...not talking a mage or two... There is no reason why they couldnt have gotten a massive army there near instantly.

[Accendor]

You play a game with walking talking cows, undead, magic, pointy ear people who put Legolas in shame with bow skills, and all kinds of weird stuff and overtuned catapult is your biggest problem?

Even a fantasy world like Azeroth needs logic and rules if it wants to be taken seriously. The logic applied here can but don't have to be be identical to the logic applied in the real world. The only important thing is that the logic is consistent, meaning that e.g. you can apply the regular rules of gravity to a world and then dismiss them without giving a reason why.

This is a big problem with the BfA story in general, because the rules that Blizzard themselves sets for their world are ignored or changed.

Complaining about stuff like this has nothing to with "it is not realistic" but everything with "it makes no sense in this world"

[ONCHEhap]

Should have used trebuchets smh

[McFuu]

Catapult fire can't melt world trees.

[alturic]

Even a fantasy world like Azeroth needs logic and rules if it wants to be taken seriously. The logic applied here can but don't have to be be identical to the logic applied in the real world. The only important thing is that the logic is consistent, meaning that e.g. you can apply the regular rules of gravity to a world and then dismiss them without giving a reason why.

This is a big problem with the BfA story in general, because the rules that Blizzard themselves sets for their world are ignored or changed.

Complaining about stuff like this has nothing to with "it is not realistic" but everything with "it makes no sense in this world"

I've never cared about lore in any game I've played. With that said, is it weird to say the "logic" is... magic? Like everything else.

[Clone]

Would make more sense if they were on ships.

[Jonnusthegreat]

Really powerful rubberbands

Not sure if talking about lag or actual rubberbands. Either way, I approve this message.

[Shadowsgrace]

1st off... those are not Catapults. Horde Demolishers are more closely related to a Trebuchet than a Catapult. Trebuchet fire much farther than a catapult. 2nd... This is a world where people can conjure stuff from nothing, return from the dead, can shape shift into animals, float cities in the air, Dragons, Demons, etc... and you question the Physics of a flaming projectile?

[Vesoha]

If you start asking those kinds of questions then you are just opening a can of worms. Why does the Horde bother with catapults when they got zeppeliners flying machines and Hybrids like Orgrims hammer that could rain hell upon Teldrassil from above. There is a valid argument for securing the supply lines, but facing an army of trees wisps and archers on the ground when you could attack from above and go for the heart first seems illogical. Strike at Teldrasil when you got the moment of surprise on your side and then move the army through the land in a attack from multiple sides would have made so much more sense.

I guess the catapults range is not important the intent of showing how far Sylvanas will go is.

[A Chozo]

Bullshit, that's how.

The simpler players will tell you that the world has magic and you should not be concerned, ignoring all the in-universe consistence.

[Lychee3000]

Not to mention set it completely alight so fast with ordinary fire?!

This is one that Blizz needs to be ripped apart over for the answer to.

First: the distance.

https://az571148.vo.msecnd.net/propr...1BqAePv9utc%3D

Too far. A catapult at most would only be able to reach the closest ship at the center. Not even modern tech could make it any further. They could fire hundreds of shots and never have even made it half distance.

Second: Trees are not easy to light on fire unless they are very dry during droughts and heatwaves. Their bark and wood always contains enough moisture that you could not possibly set one aflame without fuel.

Now Teldrassil. Its a tree sitting in the damn ocean. So not only do you have a tree with meters thick bark that is no doubt tougher then steel but the closer you are to sea level the more moisture there is in the air for far too obvious reasons. The bark and tree would be wet. Too wet.

Third: It was normal fire lit by torch. We were not shown otherwise. We were not shown it was magic or azerite or anything else but normal flame. So okay. If Sylvans got tired of seeing those peons and orcs waste ammo being thrown into the sea and had them loaded up on ship and fired from there and hit Teldrassil. Well.. It'd be like flaming fleas jumping onto any normal tree and expecting it to go up in flames. No. They'd fizzle, smolder, sizzle, leave a mark, and nothing. It would not cause a fire due to reasons in second argument.

fourth: Okay. Lets say by some impossible miracle the tree did get alight by all that ammo being thrown at it [and it'd take hundreds of catapults at least with thousands or more of ammunition and flame. far too long to even set up and organize before the alliance got there]. It's normal fire being met by the resistance of wet bark. It would be a very slow burn and I mean very slow. For a tree that size I imagine it could take weeks easily before it would get to the state of what is pictured above and what happened in game.

Instead? Seconds. Fucking. Seconds. I get that it's a damn fantasy game. But no. the physical properties of normal fire have not changed in WoW because we were not shown or told otherwise before then. There will also be a point in two weeks where another big area is set aflame but magically nothing will be destroyed.

Yall wanna go on about the bad writing of characters?

This is the biggest plothole I've ever seen for WoW and its likely we will never have it answered unless theyre confronted about it at blizzcon during QnA.

Magic! Also, that picture is majestic. All that fire burning...

[Tauton]

A normal gravity fed trebuchet/catapult could fire 300 metres, but you can see the catapults used in game have a kinetic momentum engine to give them more... 'oompf', so the distance they could fire is a lot, lot further.

Secondly, it's not normal fire - when the 'ball' hits the tree, liquid fire spreads out. In the 'real world' you'd liken that to napalm, in WoW, it could be some kind of magical substance.

[kraid]

Not to mention set it completely alight so fast with ordinary fire?!

This is one that Blizz needs to be ripped apart over for the answer to.

First: the distance.

https://az571148.vo.msecnd.net/propr...1BqAePv9utc%3D

Too far. A catapult at most would only be able to reach the closest ship at the center. Not even modern tech could make it any further. They could fire hundreds of shots and never have even made it half distance.

Second: Trees are not easy to light on fire unless they are very dry during droughts and heatwaves. Their bark and wood always contains enough moisture that you could not possibly set one aflame without fuel.

Now Teldrassil. Its a tree sitting in the damn ocean. So not only do you have a tree with meters thick bark that is no doubt tougher then steel but the closer you are to sea level the more moisture there is in the air for far too obvious reasons. The bark and tree would be wet. Too wet.

Third: It was normal fire lit by torch. We were not shown otherwise. We were not shown it was magic or azerite or anything else but normal flame. So okay. If Sylvans got tired of seeing those peons and orcs waste ammo being thrown into the sea and had them loaded up on ship and fired from there and hit Teldrassil. Well.. It'd be like flaming fleas jumping onto any normal tree and expecting it to go up in flames. No. They'd fizzle, smolder, sizzle, leave a mark, and nothing. It would not cause a fire due to reasons in second argument.

fourth: Okay. Lets say by some impossible miracle the tree did get alight by all that ammo being thrown at it [and it'd take hundreds of catapults at least with thousands or more of ammunition and flame. far too long to even set up and organize before the alliance got there]. It's normal fire being met by the resistance of wet bark. It would be a very slow burn and I mean very slow. For a tree that size I imagine it could take weeks easily before it would get to the state of what is pictured above and what happened in game.

Instead? Seconds. Fucking. Seconds. I get that it's a damn fantasy game. But no. the physical properties of normal fire have not changed in WoW because we were not shown or told otherwise before then. There will also be a point in two weeks where another big area is set aflame but magically nothing will be destroyed.

Yall wanna go on about the bad writing of characters?

This is the biggest plothole I've ever seen for WoW and its likely we will never have it answered unless theyre confronted about it at blizzcon during QnA.

I'll answer your question with another question.
How in the hell argus apearing in front of azeroth didn't destroyed our planet from sheer gravitational forces caused by a massive celestial body entering our gravitational space in mere seconds?
If you come up with equations and laws of physics that explain it, I will fucking suck your dick (no homo).

[swagadon]

I did some "math".

1. Using abilities/range checks the parapets in SW are ~40 yards in diameter.
2. It takes ~22 parapets to make the length of the city (from docks to keep).
3. It takes ~2 SW's to make the length of Elwynn Forest
4. It is a little bit less than 1 Elwynn Forest from shore to shore (just gonna use 1 length because the tree is set back)

That is 40x22x2 = 1760 yards which is exactly 1 mile. Real life catapults/trebuchets could not make this distance. However, old school
cannons could shoot up to a mile.

[Accendor]

I've never cared about lore in any game I've played. With that said, is it weird to say the "logic" is... magic? Like everything else.

Yes, because in that case you do not need rules for anything and everything goes. E.G a Terminator in Game of Thrones. Possible, because Magic.

[Sixnalia]

Honestly, if some catapults could somehow set fire to Teldrassil from Darkshore.

Deathwing should've done it just from flying by Darkshore.

[alturic]

Yes, because in that case you do not need rules for anything and everything goes. E.G a Terminator in Game of Thrones. Possible, because Magic.

Let's not be OVERLY silly, I meant "magic" in the context of the content.

Even further though, like others have said in the thread, why exactly does it have to be spelled out "how" they did it? Perhaps the guys and gals who dream these things up said "oh! Azerite!". What I'm trying to say is why couldn't it be Azerite? Why couldn't it be X? I thought lore nerds had imaginations?