Wait! Stop! Did you
feel that?! Players all over Azeroth are asking each other this same question as minor tremors begin to rock their screens all over the world. But what's causing them? Reports have cited earthquakes where they don't normally occur and with no over-sized Hunter pets or other big baddies in sight (think Fel Reavers or the Giants in Howling Fjord).
The cause is currently theorized to be unseen mobs called
"Shakers." Some players managed to spot, or at least target them, back when 3.3 was still on the Patch Test Realm, and even though they have long since become undetectable again, they were found in areas that are currently experiencing the tremors.
Of course, they're more like widgets than NPCs, special markers used to tell the game to use a certain special effect within a specific area for a set amount of time. You
aren't supposed to see them!
All this begs the question, though: why are they just now becoming active? The most obvious explanation is that they're part of the early setup for a
Cataclysm-related world event. Shivers turn into shakes and eventually into full-blown earthquakes as Deathwing bores his way through the dimensional plane.
But the plot thickens a little bit when you realize that Blizzard already employs Shakers to warn people about flying too close over Dalaran. That these tremors mostly seem to occur around capital cities has led some to speculate that said Shakers are being implemented because players won't be able to hover over them when they gain otherwise free use of their flying mounts in the next expansion.
I'm still inclined to believe this is part of the run up, though. Why implement a Dalaran-style warning system when the updated city models haven't been added to the game yet? And furthermore, in places where it shouldn't be a concern at all, like Ironforge?
I suspect that tremors are happening in these areas simply because they're where the most players gather and, subsequently, where most players will notice them. After all, it wouldn't be the first of the expansion hints placed in the game. Several minor quests and NPCs have been added to help explain the new class/race combinations to be introduced in
Cataclysm.
Whatever the real reason for the Shakers, and the mysterious tremors they cause, might be, it's clearly with an eye towards the future and a portent for exciting things to come. Blizzard is keeping mum for now, but we'll keep you updated if any further hints are dropped.
In the mean time, speculate away! Let us know what you make of these puzzling events!
Amatera
Wait! Stop! Did you feel that?! Players all over Azeroth are asking each other this same question as minor tremors begin to rock their screens all over the world. But what's causing them? Reports have cited earthquakes where they don't normally occur and with no over-sized Hunter pets or other big baddies in sight (think Fel Reavers or the Giants in Howling Fjord).
The cause is currently theorized to be unseen mobs called "Shakers." Some players managed to spot, or at least target them, back when 3.3 was still on the Patch Test Realm, and even though they have long since become undetectable again, they were found in areas that are currently experiencing the tremors.
Of course, they're more like widgets than NPCs, special markers used to tell the game to use a certain special effect within a specific area for a set amount of time. You aren't supposed to see them!
All this begs the question, though: why are they just now becoming active? The most obvious explanation is that they're part of the early setup for a Cataclysm-related world event. Shivers turn into shakes and eventually into full-blown earthquakes as Deathwing bores his way through the dimensional plane.
But the plot thickens a little bit when you realize that Blizzard already employs Shakers to warn people about flying too close over Dalaran. That these tremors mostly seem to occur around capital cities has led some to speculate that said Shakers are being implemented because players won't be able to hover over them when they gain otherwise free use of their flying mounts in the next expansion.
I'm still inclined to believe this is part of the run up, though. Why implement a Dalaran-style warning system when the updated city models haven't been added to the game yet? And furthermore, in places where it shouldn't be a concern at all, like Ironforge?
I suspect that tremors are happening in these areas simply because they're where the most players gather and, subsequently, where most players will notice them. After all, it wouldn't be the first of the expansion hints placed in the game. Several minor quests and NPCs have been added to help explain the new class/race combinations to be introduced in Cataclysm.
Whatever the real reason for the Shakers, and the mysterious tremors they cause, might be, it's clearly with an eye towards the future and a portent for exciting things to come. Blizzard is keeping mum for now, but we'll keep you updated if any further hints are dropped.
In the mean time, speculate away! Let us know what you make of these puzzling events!
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