As the release of patch 3.4.1 and Ulduar approaches, players have been discussing the transfer and new character creation restrictions on some of the largest realms in the US and EU. While these realms are not currently experiencing queues, their population is still larger than what the realms were designed for and queues could return with the release of future content.
However, the developers of World of Warcraft (WoW) have recognized that PvP has been cross-realm for almost the entirety of WoW’s existence and that realm restrictions hinder players from utilizing team-less Arena that was added in Wrath of the Lich King Classic. As a solution, they have implemented a system that allows players to group with players on other realms and queue into Arena matches and Battlegrounds together.
This functionality has been enabled on the Wrath Classic PTR, and the developers encourage players to test it out with friends. To invite a player from a different realm, players need to type /invite playername-realmname. For example, if a player on the Classic PTR Realm 1 wanted to invite “Aggrend” from the Classic PTR Realm 2, they would type /invite Aggrend-ClassicPTRRealm2. The group leader can then queue for Battlegrounds or Arenas as normal, and players will join the same match and be placed on the same team.
Please note that this system can only be used to allow players on the same faction to group with each other cross-realm. Additionally, this system can only be used to queue for PvP and will not allow players to join the group leader’s layer in the outdoor world or enter non-BG, non-Arena dungeons or raid instances with the group leader. Party chat functions as expected, but group members on separate realms may not directly interact with each other outside of Arenas and Battlegrounds.
The developers of WoW welcome feedback and bug reports for this new system. They thank players for their bug reports and feedback for patch 3.4.1 and look forward to seeing players tackle Ulduar, Titan Rune Dungeons, and everything else present in Phase 2 of Wrath Classic when 3.4.1 releases soon.
Read the full update on the WoW forums.