Shadowlands zone disconnected!?

[Obbi87]

But Twilight Highlands is not next to Uldum. Uldum is not next to Hyjal. Hyjal is not next to Val... The water zone. The water zone is not next to Deepholme.

Shadowlands is exactly the same - it doesn't matter if the zones are connected to anything else. Your whole argument is that Shadowlands sucks because the zones aren't connected to each other, and it's the only expansion like that. And it's not, and nothing you say will change that.

Did you not read what i said? I dont care if the current zones that are next to each other.

Twilight Highlands IS NEXT TO WETLAND! That there is no disconnect , you fly right into antoher world. like you you go from one city IRL to another city next to it. The world feels more alive. compared to Airport Oribos

[Caerule]

I'm pretty sure any other "worlds" in the Shadowlands will just be more zones of the same look and be apart of the same culture, so-to-speak. Otherwise, prove it if there's full on different zones, because where are their leaders, then? Oribos makes a point of having the 4 main exits with the 5th pointing down into the Maw... so...

They other thousands of worlds of the Shadowlands all have their own style, theme and nature. We just see the 5 we see, because they are the most important ones. The ones established by the original pantheon of Eternal ones, that have a vital role in maintaining the Shadowlands. There are countless more worlds, where the purpose is different, that don't serve a vital purpose to the system, so we don't visit them (and Blizzard doesn't have to design them).

I wish we'd gotten more hints of them. For now, I think we only know details about three.

One is described from a relic we find in Korthia: A tavern world where soldiers and warriors of great service go, that are ready to retire. Unlike those of Maldraxxus that desire yet more fighting. They hang up their sense of duty and warrior spirit in the form of manifestations of their weapon and shield on the wall, and indulge in a life of celebration, telling stories, relaxation and revelry.

The second is described in a hidden ingame Broker book, where the Broker interviews an insectoid creature unlike any we've seen that's from a Hive world, where apparently souls of hive creatures may end up, to join that collective. Sounds fascinating.

The third one is the most obvious: Korthia. This wasn't one of the big five realms. It had its own appearance, theme and wildlife.

So yes, I hope that proves to you that your assessment that the other multitude of Shadowlands realms would just be clones of the main ones, is incorrect. Don't get me wrong, I wish we got to visit them. I still kind of hope there will be something similar to Legion's Invasion Points in 9.2. In Legion we entered portals to worlds the Legion was invading. It would be awesome if we got to go into portals to other realms to recruit other souls to join the fight against the Jailer. But, I also understand what a difficult task it would be for Blizzard to actually design such a multitude of other worlds. That's the main reason we haven't seen them and we've been limited to just the main 5.

[Cosmic Janitor]

I'm pretty sure any other "worlds" in the Shadowlands will just be more zones of the same look and be apart of the same culture, so-to-speak. Otherwise, prove it if there's full on different zones, because where are their leaders, then? Oribos makes a point of having the 4 main exits with the 5th pointing down into the Maw... so...

Not quite, there are more portals flying in the skybox above oribos. The idea of the 5 major zones is that they are central to how the SL work, the question what would the other realms even be for?
Personally I think seeing one of these other realms would have been interesting, as they surely believe in "the purpose" as well, since they are connected to the system, but they obviously wouldn't have any kind of major role. Souls in the 5 realms get processed, sucked dry of anima and eventually form a new body via anima. What exactly would the other realms do? They have no need for bodies, as they don't have to defend the shadowlands, go around and grab souls, handle souls or aid the cycle of wild gods (btw the most nonsense realms of the SL imho). The SL clearly have a selfserving purpose, but the other realms would be just a resource drain that does not further that purpose, so their existence would have to be completely different. They also make up the majority supposedly, so that makes it even weirder. Are they all like Bwonsamdi's little realm that is essentially just a micro hell where all they do is worship the vain ego of one central entity and feed them anima?

[KOUNTERPARTS]

In Cata there was only one zone that is disconnted. Deepholm.

But all the other zones are right next to other zones. Twilight Higlands are right beside Wetlands.

I never said it should be corrent zones. But the world needs to feel alive. When there is this disconnect from each zone, that falls flat.

Did you not read what i said? I dont care if the current zones that are next to each other.

Twilight Highlands IS NEXT TO WETLAND! That there is no disconnect , you fly right into antoher world. like you you go from one city IRL to another city next to it. The world feels more alive. compared to Airport Oribos

This argument of yours is not properly conveyed by the title of the thread and your first post. People are responding to what you present at face value: the world is disconnected and no other expansion has been like this.


So now it is "the world doesn't feel alive" because you can't fly from zone to zone. Your only point is that in Cataclysm, you could leave a relevant zone (Twilight Highlands) and go to an irrelevant zone (Wetlands) and because of that sole reason... the world feels alive? I mean given the context of the expansion and where it takes place... why about have an issue with that?


I suppose the next proper question for you is, what do you consider alive? Just because a zone is next to another zone? How about being able to engage with other players in any zone? How about being able to do things in any zone like timed events?


Just using your logic and your logic only, I can make the argument that the Maw and Korthia prove you are wrong. You can not only run between these two places... you can also take a flight path! What say you now?


Sorry but I don't see how disjointed zones = non-living world.


If you want to say it's bad design to make Oribos an airport (I think that description fits perfectly, btw) and having to flight path to each zone was probably a bad design choice, then say that. I'd agree with you and others definitely would. But to say the "world" doesn't feel alive is a fucking stretch.

[Niwes]

Every exp we have had so far, all zones was connected together.

But in Shadowlands you cant fly from zone to zone, you have to use flight path (Empty space between each zone). I just feel like the world feels so disconnected.

Do other feel the same way?

since this site has a VERY Blizz teinted aspect… this will not happen.

Hell, i often think by myself, when i look at the m*ds (i have to star it, because its against the ToS/CoC to talk about m*ds) and how some of them act, that Blizz is paying money to mmoc. Not sure about that tinfoil hat conspiration theory, but sometimes i get that feeling.

nonetheless you will never read Blizzard-Competitors news here.

[Lochton]

Indeed, and it sucks.

So i hope they never do it again.
If the setting demands it, do it the BfA way and bundle the zones up.

Well, in the case of Shadowlands, keeping them separate was a need. In the case of Battle For Azeroth, having them bundled as nations made sense to the story layout. If Shadowlands annoyed people, then so should Cataclysm have as well. Then again, I was a big fan of the Battle For Azeroth story layout but for mapping, I enjoyed Mists of Pandaria a bit more. I loathed The Burning Crusade mapping due to zones being so different in color and setup without transition, yet connected, and on top of that, if you died in the nether, you were in a lottery of what graveyard you would get to - and take your sickness.

[hulkgor]

Every exp we have had so far, all zones was connected together.

But in Shadowlands you cant fly from zone to zone, you have to use flight path (Empty space between each zone). I just feel like the world feels so disconnected.

Do other feel the same way?

Just noting that Cataclysm zones weren't connected together.

[Progenitor Aquarius]

They are disconnected indeed, and they are meant to be like this as each soul has to travel to different realm. It's possible to use fly patch from one zone to another. All you need to do is to zoom out the map.

[Acelius]

I feel the same way. Cataclysm did it better because it was "connected" to Azeroth. The whole feel of Shadowlands is just bad, at least in my opinion.

[FuxieDK]

I'm pretty sure any other "worlds" in the Shadowlands will just be more zones of the same look and be apart of the same culture, so-to-speak. Otherwise, prove it if there's full on different zones, because where are their leaders, then? Oribos makes a point of having the 4 main exits with the 5th pointing down into the Maw... so...

I'm sure the other zones are also disconnected; it was only meant to inform that Shadowlands is bigger than what we see.

[Dracullus]

Yeah, we really need connected continent again. Personally I think Engineering wormhole is must have right now.

It's not BfA was any different, there were different max level daily activities in Zandalar, Kul Tiras, Arathi, Darkshore, Nazjatar, Mechagon, Vale and Uldum. And Silithus. At least in SL it's more sorted out, Oribos top floor is nexus point.

[StationaryHawk]

In Cata there was only one zone that is disconnted. Deepholm.

But all the other zones are right next to other zones. Twilight Higlands are right beside Wetlands.

I never said it should be corrent zones. But the world needs to feel alive. When there is this disconnect from each zone, that falls flat.

There were portals to each zone because of how distant they were from each other. Nobody was flying over the Wetlands to reach the Twilight Highlands.

I'm pretty sure any other "worlds" in the Shadowlands will just be more zones of the same look and be apart of the same culture, so-to-speak. Otherwise, prove it if there's full on different zones, because where are their leaders, then? Oribos makes a point of having the 4 main exits with the 5th pointing down into the Maw... so...

The paths to Bastion, Maldraxxus, etc. are not permanent fixtures in Oribos. At no point are we lead to believe the supposedly infinite afterlives are all based on or extensions of those we've already seen.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Every exp we have had so far, all zones was connected together.

But in Shadowlands you cant fly from zone to zone, you have to use flight path (Empty space between each zone). I just feel like the world feels so disconnected.

Do other feel the same way?

I thought it was rather imaginative, though the flight paths should be faster. Like 10-15 seconds max.

[Mysterymask]

I mean it makes sense...2 of them are a kind of hell and it's not much of a hell if you could just you know walk out

[Etamalgren]

Every exp we have had so far, all zones was connected together.

But in Shadowlands you cant fly from zone to zone, you have to use flight path (Empty space between each zone). I just feel like the world feels so disconnected.

Do other feel the same way?

Oh really? Tell me where I can walk on foot from Zandalar to Kul Tiras.

[ohwell]

They other thousands of worlds of the Shadowlands all have their own style, theme and nature. We just see the 5 we see, because they are the most important ones. The ones established by the original pantheon of Eternal ones, that have a vital role in maintaining the Shadowlands. There are countless more worlds, where the purpose is different, that don't serve a vital purpose to the system, so we don't visit them (and Blizzard doesn't have to design them).

I wish we'd gotten more hints of them. For now, I think we only know details about three.

One is described from a relic we find in Korthia: A tavern world where soldiers and warriors of great service go, that are ready to retire. Unlike those of Maldraxxus that desire yet more fighting. They hang up their sense of duty and warrior spirit in the form of manifestations of their weapon and shield on the wall, and indulge in a life of celebration, telling stories, relaxation and revelry.

The second is described in a hidden ingame Broker book, where the Broker interviews an insectoid creature unlike any we've seen that's from a Hive world, where apparently souls of hive creatures may end up, to join that collective. Sounds fascinating.

The third one is the most obvious: Korthia. This wasn't one of the big five realms. It had its own appearance, theme and wildlife.

So yes, I hope that proves to you that your assessment that the other multitude of Shadowlands realms would just be clones of the main ones, is incorrect. Don't get me wrong, I wish we got to visit them. I still kind of hope there will be something similar to Legion's Invasion Points in 9.2. In Legion we entered portals to worlds the Legion was invading. It would be awesome if we got to go into portals to other realms to recruit other souls to join the fight against the Jailer. But, I also understand what a difficult task it would be for Blizzard to actually design such a multitude of other worlds. That's the main reason we haven't seen them and we've been limited to just the main 5.

That makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. The whole "infinite" shadowlands is about as bad lore as there being only 1 Burning Legion for all timelines and the TN being outside of time essentially. The only reason they said there are countless other worlds in the SL is to not have to worry when red shirt guy says where is XXXX and XXX npc from lore.

So while you can actually mention specific places they've occasionally named, it doesn't make it feasible for the actual lore. Then again there's absolutely no reason Sylvanas would have gone to the maw when she died after ICC....

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Oh really? Tell me where I can walk on foot from Zandalar to Kul Tiras.

OP changed their "connected" idea once they got called out about Cata. Now it's as long as it's connected to SOME landmass so they'll say that the zones in KT or ZD are connected to each other like how they said Twilight Highlands was connected to Vanilla zones even though it wasn't connected to Cata zones.

[WowIsDead64]

Every exp we have had so far, all zones was connected together.

But in Shadowlands you cant fly from zone to zone, you have to use flight path (Empty space between each zone). I just feel like the world feels so disconnected.

Do other feel the same way?

Dunno. Cataclysm was hated due to exactly the same reason. Simple fact, that current dev team makes all old mistakes again, says everything about it. I.e. it's most likely not the same team, so it doesn't have so much experience, as we might assume.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Then again there's absolutely no reason Sylvanas would have gone to the maw when she died after ICC....

I think we can assume this was just the Valkyr bullshitting her. It's practically the only thing that would explain it and we kinda know that the whole Kyrian transport thing isn't instant. Plenty of time for them to mess with her. I guess we could also argue that ICC for some reason was super close to the maw and the shadowlands there go straight into the maw, but that comes with it's own plot holes, but breaking the helm already has those in spades.

Ah well, all of this is obviously ignoring the fact that the whole SL thing was clearly nowhere near planned back then and they just used what happened in that short story as plot-hook that wasn't quite vague enough. I mean it was obviously not even planned back when they wrote the book about BfA, as her motivations clearly changed from her internal monologue and vengance against stormwind (for what ever reason) to wanting to topple the order of life and death to be with her fuck-toy.

[Puri]

I mean they feel disconnected because they are disconnected. Do I care? No, not really.

[Caerule]

That makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. The whole "infinite" shadowlands is about as bad lore as there being only 1 Burning Legion for all timelines and the TN being outside of time essentially. The only reason they said there are countless other worlds in the SL is to not have to worry when red shirt guy says where is XXXX and XXX npc from lore.

So while you can actually mention specific places they've occasionally named, it doesn't make it feasible for the actual lore. Then again there's absolutely no reason Sylvanas would have gone to the maw when she died after ICC....

I don't really understand your perspective on this one. There's countless different worlds in the cosmos, with countless different ways of life and souls. The four afterlives we've seen are highly specific.

One for great sinners.
One for the unredeemably evil.
One for those whose desire for glory and combat did not end with their lives.
One for those of singular devotion.
One for those of strong ties to the natural world.

How could you possibly fit all the people in the universe into these 5 categories? What about Joe Smoe the peasant? What of scholars that seek knowledge? What of inventors and creators? What of artists? What of Phil the Fisherman? What of old warriors ready for retirement? What of Hemet Nessingwary?

The Shadowlands have been set up to have countless other worlds, from the very concept. Naturally Blizzard can't show them all to us, so we're focusing on the big 5. That makes sense, from a gameplay perspective. Just because you may have set things up differently, doesn't automatically make things bad lore.

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As for why Sylvanas ended up in the Maw. I think that can be explained in one of two ways.

We know the Jailer had the part of her soul, captured by Frostmourne. He could have used that to draw the rest of her soul into the Maw. Her story does mention she feels somehow more complete than she did previously as her undead self.

Alternatively the Val'kyr could have brought her. We've already seen that souls can be intercepted and brought straight to the Maw. It's what Devos and Uther did with Arthas' soul.