Bye-bye old world, hello 'The Shattering'

The 4.0.3a patch that has brought 'The Shattering' to Azeroth happened yesterday on the European servers. For a few days prior to 4.0.3a people were talking about saying good bye to Azeroth and how, after spending many years in the game - highlights and low points, they would miss it. I found it difficult to be moved in any way, for me the world was brand new as it was and although I've seen a lot of the zones in the month its taken me to get to level 73, they were just areas, just places to quest for the ultimate goal which was to level up. Perhaps I didn't take in the world that surrounded me.

Last night however, I logged in, with great anticipation and excitement. The new log in screen, loading screen, and music all helped build my anticipation of what was coming, and as the new world loaded, I was not disappointed.

It looks amazing, with so much attention to detail. Orgrimmar is simply mind blowing. I spent the whole of my time in the game last night just going from place to place to take in the new changes. Brill just outside Undercity has also had a major make over and I couldn't believe Thousand Needles and what is left of the great lift. One change that caught my eye was in Stanglethorn Vale, little swinging signposts directed me to Hardwrench Hideaway, a new Horde area with fairy lights strung against the backdrop of the sea and a barbeque on the go!

There are still lots of places left to explore, and one thing I was looking forward to was the arrival of the new companion pet the Singling Sunflower. I've spent many hours completing the Plants vs. Zombies game on my iPhone and so heading to Hillsbrad seemed very appealing. After completing the quest 'Peacebloom vs. Ghouls' I finally got my sunflower pet:

and yet, despite loving all the new changes and thinking they are all definitely for the better, when I watched this video for the second time (the first after the Shattering) I did have a tear in my eye, because I suddenly realised that the places I had obtained certain achievements that I'm proud of, and have spent hours questing in, will never, ever look the same again.