Patch 4.0.3a, The Shattering, is up on the PTR

by Mathew McCurley Nov 17th 2010 at 2:00PM

Deathwing returns on the public test realm as patch 4.0.3a, "The Shattering" that will change Azeroth forever, is live on the PTR and labeled as "release." With great knowledge such as this comes great speculation -- when will The Shattering arrive?

It is entirely possible that The Shattering could take place next Tuesday the 23rd, as Blizzard has said that the time between events and phases in the elemental invasion are progressing at a faster pace. Another option is that The Shattering will take place one week before Cataclysm's launch, on the 30th, giving players one full week to experience the new content, race/class combos, and new world.

We can only wait and hope that this day comes sooner than later. My undead hunter and troll druid are itching to be made.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion (available Dec. 7, 2010), from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.

Tags: 4.0.3a, 403a, cataclysm-game, cataclysm-guide, cataclysm-news, expansion, expansion-three, next-xpac, patch-4-0-3-a, the-shattering, third-expansion, world-of-warcraft-cataclysm, wow-4.0, wow-4.0.2, wow-cataclysm, wow-expansion, wow-guide, wow-third-expansion

Filed under: News items, Cataclysm

Reader Comments (Page 2 of 7)

woecip Nov 17th 2010 2:05PM

Everytime I see Shattering I read it as Sharting.

jfofla Nov 17th 2010 2:15PM

No one expects The Sharting!

David Nov 17th 2010 2:32PM

How about a Shatnering?

Maccabeus Nov 17th 2010 2:43PM

Deathwing is about to bare-ass everyone's pillow

Tommy Nov 17th 2010 2:49PM

Now that's how you get pink eye!

Taedran Nov 17th 2010 2:05PM

Would be amazing if it actually comes out next week. Gnome Priest all the way.

itsthebrent Nov 17th 2010 2:07PM

Oh God, OH GOD... do I log on to the PTR and spoil it a little for me?? Or wait one or two weeks and enjoy it live!?!?!?! AMG.

dawnseven Nov 17th 2010 2:13PM

I think I've seen someone ask themselves that very question no less than 50 times today. I'll even admit to pondering it myself very briefly. Hold out I say! Hold out! :D If you haven't hit the PTR yet and run for it now you might regret it later. But when the Shattering happens you won't regret NOT hitting the PTR.

Kylenne Nov 17th 2010 2:56PM

Honestly, it doesn't make that much of a difference. It's not like this is July and we're talking about the beta. At most, it's only going to be like 2 more weeks.

I'm as hardcore a spoilerphobe as they come normally, but the very idea of being spoiled for an MMO is ridiculous to me. None of what you're going to be seeing in the Shattering is going to be shocking news to you if you're reading a blog like this. And so damned much is changing that it's very easy to poke around a little and not even see a fraction of the changes. Flying in the old world isn't available, archaeology isn't available, and neither are any of the new 80+ zones--all of which, IMO, actually constitute spoilers.

Personally, I patched up my PTR client last night and dove in, to race change my current premade druid into a Troll and see the new Orgrimmar (which is far more gorgeous and amazing in "person" than in pictures btw, screenshots can't do it justice). I visited some of the other cities to see what changes if any were made (Stormwind was loltastic), but that's it. The only real zone I visited was the new Western Plaguelands, mostly because I wanted to visit Koltira. :) And like everyone else on the PvE server apparently, I rolled a night elf mage just for giggles.

There is plenty to see/do that you won't be "spoiled" (again, if you're silly enough to think a sneak peek 2 weeks before the thing goes live is being "spoiled").

Kuro Nov 17th 2010 3:05PM

Well, I wanted to test drive the Tauren Paladin and the Troll druid. So I copied my guys over and did a lil re-customization. Likely gonna leave em the races they are now, but I just wanted to muss around with an level capped toon with those races without having to pay for it.

Saw a few sights here and there.... the new Orgrimmar, got killed by Gamon, a lil tourism in Azhara, etc... Not gonna go out and do a bajillion quests or try to level a new toon on the PTR.. just a lil peek here and there.

Then again, I lurves me some spoilers... I read the last book of Harry Potter backwards.

clundgren Nov 17th 2010 3:43PM

I hear it spells out "children of darkness murder your parents and do drugs naked" when you read it that way.

That's what I heard.

orca1375 Nov 21st 2010 5:38PM

I was just asking my self the same question,, should I or should a not ??? i just want to see what an orc mage feels like lol

bubbashaft69 Nov 17th 2010 2:07PM

Blizzard said at Blizzcon they wanted to have at least 2 weeks for people to get used to the new environment before Cata was launched.

Jason Nov 17th 2010 2:22PM

If that's the case it should be an interesting Thanksgiving/Pilgrim's Pride. My Tauradin can power-level cooking.

Hillazon Nov 17th 2010 2:10PM

Want Tauren Priest NAO!

bep4815 Nov 17th 2010 2:10PM

i was under the assumption that the changing of the terrain, the actual explosion of deathwing, the new race/class combos, and all that would happen on the day the expansion was released.

and i thought the new race/class combos were only an option if you bought the expansion.

so confused.

Sarakin Nov 17th 2010 2:19PM

why would you think that? It's been said for quite a while that the shattering would happen a week or maybe two if we're lucky before the expansion releases. Good for blizz to get some extra bugs out of the way before the craziness that is launch day.

I'm also pretty sure they said the new class combos would be available much like the old zones. No reason not to let us play with them.

tatsumasa Nov 17th 2010 2:32PM

think of it this way:

right now we're at the end of what the doomsday cultists have been saying and facilitating. the elementals are attacking, people are freaking out.

next is the end of what the cultists have been saying, when deathwing actually comes out. that's the shattering. so he's gonna rip the world apart, change the zones, and the remaining new features will be implemented.

after we've had some time to mull it over, we can then buy the expansion and take our characters to fight back. with the expansion we will be able to buy old world flying, enter the new zones, and start our little crusade against deathwing. that is also when we can play the new races, if we've purchased the expansion.

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