Are shards different?

[Cleretic]

Given they don't keep getting slapped with civilizational resets due to the rejoinings, you would think that the shards would be more advanced than us on the whole. 12'000 years is a long time.

Shards drift in and out of sync with the Source (about a hundred years passed on the First between 3.4 and 5.0), so twelve thousand years may not necessarily have passed in the shards. Also keep in mind that they didn't have nearly as much Ascian meddling and manipulation, which was the usual source of leapfrogging tech on the Source with civilizations like Allag and Garlemald.

Twelve thousand years is a long time, but keeping in mind that civilization was not purely contiguous in the First (Ronka and Nabaath Araeng confirm at least two pre-Flood fallen empires), and that we don't actually know how far the Sundering knocked civilization down the proverbial tech ladder, I can buy twelve thousand years if they were knocked down to 'figuring out agriculture' levels, which is entirely plausible. Especially since Norvrandt isn't even at its peak when we visit (Crystarium aside, the Crystarium is cheating); it's entirely possible that the Flood wiped out most major population centers, and Eulmore just happened to be the biggest thing left standing.

[Kranel_San]

Shards drift in and out of sync with the Source (about a hundred years passed on the First between 3.4 and 5.0), so twelve thousand years may not necessarily have passed in the shards. Also keep in mind that they didn't have nearly as much Ascian meddling and manipulation, which was the usual source of leapfrogging tech on the Source with civilizations like Allag and Garlemald.

Twelve thousand years is a long time, but keeping in mind that civilization was not purely contiguous in the First (Ronka and Nabaath Araeng confirm at least two pre-Flood fallen empires), and that we don't actually know how far the Sundering knocked civilization down the proverbial tech ladder, I can buy twelve thousand years if they were knocked down to 'figuring out agriculture' levels, which is entirely plausible. Especially since Norvrandt isn't even at its peak when we visit (Crystarium aside, the Crystarium is cheating); it's entirely possible that the Flood wiped out most major population centers, and Eulmore just happened to be the biggest thing left standing.

Lets not forget they had airships and trains and a giant elevator. Should speak about them being generally more advanced back during their peak.