How can we breathe in Outland?

[Kolvarg]

This is a game where you get dragons in the mail, and they appear in every mailbox in the city, continent, world, and universe, including alternate timelines, and when you remove one dragon, they all vanish. So i really wouldnt start digging too deep.

Not really. You receive something that teaches you how to summon a dragon. Iirc most of the items you use to get mounts are something like "Reins of <mount name>". Also there's no real evidence that items in the mail appear in every mailbox. It could just be that every mailbox is just magically connected to the same place/dimension.

Regardless, both examples are obvious gameplay compromises that are not meant to represent the lore or the universe of Warcraft (which goes beyond WoW). The OP question is regarding a representation of the world and lore and is actually something that might be mentioned throughout quest text in BC or in description of the zones in the books or other sources.

[arkanon]

Regardless, both examples are obvious gameplay compromises that are not meant to represent the lore or the universe of Warcraft (which goes beyond WoW).

Thats a whole lot of trying to sound clever when all you really mean is "yes, i agree, and completely understand your point". Next time just say that.

See the problem is you are adding all this extra bullshit on to what the OP asked in a weird attempt to sound clever. This is what the op asked:
"So I've been wondering, how do we physically breath in Outland? Like shouldn't we die everytime we go there, guys? Vote in the poll! "

Where in that is there any differentiation made between Lore, in game world mechanics, or the universe in general? Nowhere. It was a simple question, and you are desperately trying to extrapolate it out to something it is not.

[visualdave]

This is a game where you get dragons in the mail, and they appear in every mailbox in the city, continent, world, and universe, including alternate timelines, and when you remove one dragon, they all vanish. So i really wouldnt start digging too deep.

That's in-game stuff dude.

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How did we breathe on Argus? That place obviously has no atmosphere. I mean at least it looks like it doesn't.

Mate you're taking it way too seriously. I'm just talking about Outland

[huth]

Well...

Science Fiction:

fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong... but Dragonriders of Pern was about a future set colonization of another world where the people colonizing had some sort of technological regression... So... it's still futuristic space travel...

You missed the important part. SF is based on those, Fantasy they're just there. Also, the "future" part is actually wrong, SF could also be about past advances. And there's plenty of fantasy that portrays time-travel and life on other worlds as well, so that's a useless criterion to distinguish between them.

Pern is about that colony, not about how people got there, so it isn't about space travel.

Yeah, too bad that even Wikipedia disagrees with you.

Looks like there isn't a single, univocal definition of sci-fi, as you seem to imply, nor are people wrong for assuming that spaceships + high tech equals sci-fi, to an extent at least.

Except it doesn't disagree with me. "Deals with" is not the same as "are present". SF is about those, not just stories in which they exist.

Besides, what you're seeing in BC and Legion is magic, not advanced science, so by your definition they don't count.

[arkanon]

That's in-game stuff dude.

SO is "us" being in outland, unless you are trying to ask if YOU would be able to breath in outland?

[visualdave]

SO is "us" being in outland, unless you are trying to ask if YOU would be able to breath in outland?

you've got it all wrong dude.

[sam86]

no idea why attacking OP, he has a right point here
also wow is magic, we still use lot of rl physics, like how our characters don't breath in water and how we don't just fly and gravity exist and so on
so i wonder if there is an official lore answer, maybe lorewise we can't breath in twisting neither but for gameplay purpose we just do?

[Soon-TM]

Besides, what you're seeing in BC and Legion is magic, not advanced science, so by your definition they don't count.

An advanced enough technology is indistinguishable from magic, for all effects and purposes.

[visualdave]

no idea why attacking OP, he has a right point here
also wow is magic, we still use lot of rl physics, like how our characters don't breath in water and how we don't just fly and gravity exist and so on
so i wonder if there is an official lore answer, maybe lorewise we can't breath in twisting neither but for gameplay purpose we just do?

that's what im saying. People are attacking me for saying the visual(daves) in the sky cant be natural unless no atmosphere!

[Gonder]

Nope, because the Warcraft universe doesn't answer to the same laws as our own universe. From the top of my head, I don't think there's been any mention of anyone suffocating outside of a planet's atmosphere, which leads me to believe that you can breathe pretty much anywhere, so long as the "air" isn't tainted in some way.

[Shaetha]

BC, and especially Legion, were dangerously close to a SF universe, though. And all that Titan crap all the way from WotLK onwards hasn't helped either.

The only real difference between sci-fi and fantasy is how much effort is put into explaining how your magic works.

[mickybrighteyes]

You missed the important part. SF is based on those, Fantasy they're just there. Also, the "future" part is actually wrong, SF could also be about past advances. And there's plenty of fantasy that portrays time-travel and life on other worlds as well, so that's a useless criterion to distinguish between them.

I'm just relaying the textbook definition. Disagree all you want. But don't get mad that multiple sources indicate otherwise.

Pern is about that colony, not about how people got there, so it isn't about space travel.

So... it's about a space colony... and takes place in a future setting... and you want to try and argue that those elements aren't why this is part of a sci-fi story...
I think you have a very uphill battle to argue.

[Caerule]

Because WoW has its own physics rules, due to the elemental forces being a thing. The elemental forces of Outland are in turmoil and weakened, hence the land is slowly breaking away, but they persist and are a present force. As long as the elemental forces remain, there will be land, wind and air clinging together to maintain the semblance of Outland.

Either that, or space may not even work the same in that setting. I suppose we've not even confirmed if space is an unbreathable vacuum in the WoW setting. Maybe we can breathe anywhere. I mean, we've been to space, other planets, fel worlds, fel world shards, and all sorts of realms. Outside of in water and gas, we've never really had hints of breathing troubles.

Take your pick, I suppose.

[Aucald]

The combination of Draenor's remaining mass as well as the not-well-understood effects of out of control portal magic are enough to bind an atmosphere to Outland. Essentially, "a wizard (Ner'zhul) did it."

[huth]

So... it's about a space colony... and takes place in a future setting... and you want to try and argue that those elements aren't why this is part of a sci-fi story...
I think you have a very uphill battle to argue.

No, i'm just saying it's not a story about space travel.

And i'm not disagreeing with the definition, either. I'm disagreeing with your interpretation of what it says. SciFi is about the advances, Fantasy isn't, but they can still be present.

You could even have a SciFi and Fantasy story in the exact same setting. The difference would be that one is a story about using a spaceship to kill a space dragon, while the other is a story about a "hero" killing a dragon which happens to have spaceships.

[sam86]

The only real difference between sci-fi and fantasy is how much effort is put into explaining how your magic works.

sci-fi used to be about imagine future, not just mumbo jumbo sh8t and try to explain it in science
these days sci-fi seems to be exactly like fantasy just with machines that we know for sure won't be reality because it contradict few laws of physics
Sci-fi specially in early 20th century was about how to advance science, not just 'orcs in space'

[Syegfryed]

pretty sure the odd magic of the twisting nether that keep the place "stable" even shattered also can keep some atmosphere to have breathable air there

same with argus, with a vast universe many planets could be able to have a proper atmosphere like azeroth

[Surfd]

It's actually quite simple: We don't.

Nobody living in the wow universe actually breathes at all, so they don't have to worry about places like the Twisting Nether or Elemental Planes or Outland having a "breathable" atmosphere.

Ahh, but we can drown you will say. Sure, but the only reason you "drown" is because water is actually toxic to terrestrial based WoW universe life forms, so if they inhale too much water for too long, they die.

[Beerbill Society]

Well.. fire mages can cast fire abilities under water..

I just think we need to stop expecting that things in WoW should be explainable by real-life physics.

The answer to most questions about the WoW universe is pretty simple: Everything can happen (Except Undead Paladins and Zandalari Warlocks of course). It's fantasy. Some things are similar to the real world, but they don't have to be.

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"... but hey! Let's talk about breathing!"

I'm not sure what the OP did smoke..

The things is "it's magic" type of answer is boring and uninspiring.

Mages can cast fire under water because they use the power of laylines (arcane energy) to shatter the atoms of water into oxygen to feed and hydrogen to ignite the flames.

And this is a lot more cooler than chill bro it's magic.

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The combination of Draenor's remaining mass as well as the not-well-understood effects of out of control portal magic are enough to bind an atmosphere to Outland. Essentially, "a wizard (Ner'zhul) did it."

Funny, it reminds me that around Outland map can see borders like it's a delimiter to a dome-like atmosphere.

And flying too far away still kills you from fatigue.

[Shaetha]

sci-fi used to be about imagine future, not just mumbo jumbo sh8t and try to explain it in science
these days sci-fi seems to be exactly like fantasy just with machines that we know for sure won't be reality because it contradict few laws of physics
Sci-fi specially in early 20th century was about how to advance science, not just 'orcs in space'

Not really. They just didn't have as much understanding of science as we do now. We now know deep space travel on any reasonable time frame is impossible unless our understanding of physics is wrong, but that's whole crux of it. Physics is something that can change with new technology. Our entire understanding of the natural world could be changed tomorrow by discoveries.

That is the tenet on which all science fiction is based now. That is what advances in technology are now that we "know" so much more, so It's not really different in concept. The methods are different because human knowledge is so much greater.