Sadly, nothing will be changing in the draenei and blood elf starting areas, because although they're not in Outland, they are still technically TBC zones. And Blizz has stated that TBC and WOTLK zones will not be changing in this expansion (at least not to start with).

Though your name invokes calm, your reply provokes NERD RAGE!

Thank you for the response, though. :)

I too am disappointed. I hadn't thought of it in the sense of it being an "Outland" zone, but if they are boasting of the changes, this sort of thing should extend to Belf and Draenei zones.

I mean, what? Cataclysm left the Azuremyst Isle unscathed?

Remember though, that it is not "four years after they supposedly landed" for your new Draenei. The passage of time is character specific, so for your brand new Draenei the Exodar JUST crashed and the events of BC and WoTLK won't happen until you reach those zones.

Amaxe, both the Draenei starting area and the Blood Elf starting area are on the expansion map. Outland is there, too. They are separated by a great distance, but are still together. If you have a friend in a party in Outland, and you are standing in Azuremyst Isle, the arrow will point to them.

As such, since they were "improved content" anyway, they have no plans to change them.

Dazaras> That's the disconnect that's so going to be so jarring, though. Sure, for levels 1-20, it's just after the crash of the Exodar. Then, while you level to 58, you snap forward four years to after the events of the Cataclysm, as the rest of the Old World will now reflect those current events. Then you're four years ago again for levels 58 to 68, and then you jump forward two years for the next ten levels or so, and then you're back in the present to stay.

Blizz has already stated that they're okay with "handwaving" the highend content from BC and WotLK, and I can understand that, even if I'm not thrilled about it. But keeping the BC races' starting areas locked in that same time frame will make those two races, along among all the other, forced to jump back then forward then back again as they level.

Heck, even the Blood Elves moved with the time a little, to represent the loss of their captive Naaru in the main storyline of the game! It's only the draenei who don't get to move forward at all, forever locked into starting their character at a specific date in the past.

*ALONE among all the others.

Whoops!

@Dazaras
It is a bit sad that you were cleaning too islands for more then 10 years (in game time).
How pathetic does that make the draenei?

They could at least phase the starting zones out like the Death Knight zone is...