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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBlizzCon 2009: Blizzard announces cross-server instances
by Michael Sacco 
Aug 22nd 2009 at 4:47PM
In what will certainly be the be-all end-all solution to "additional instances cannot be launched", Blizzard announced cross-server instances and LFG at the Dungeons and Raids panel at BlizzCon 2009.
By taking advantage of brand-new hardware separate from your realm's instance servers, not only will you be able to find groups from pools of players in your entire battlegroup, your realm's specific instance servers will be free of the stress of mass heroic-running.
On top of the convenience factor, Blizzard says that rewards will be in place for players who lead groups through instances successfully. The nature of the rewards is currently unknown but Blizzard promises more information soon.
Blizzard says that the feature will be used for 5-mans only at this time. It'll be launched with 3.3, not with Cataclysm.
Fantastic news! No more "additional instances" errors, a larger pool of players to choose your groups from, and rewards for good party leaders. Great news for everyone.
BlizzCon 2009 is here! WoW.com has continuing coverage, bringing you the latest in Cataclysm news, live blogs, galleries, and reports right from the convention floor. Check out WoW.com's Guide to BlizzCon for the latest!Filed under: Instances
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 5)
Sumanai Aug 22nd 2009 5:24PM
It's for 3.3, not 4.0
regisfrost Aug 22nd 2009 4:58PM
And now all they have to do is simplify the LFG system, like using checkboxes for instances you want to queue for instead of all these lagging dropdown menus that disappear when you are trying to select an instance.
Zan Aug 22nd 2009 5:05PM
The idea behind rewarding the party leader is nice, but I can see it backfiring in PUGs. Whenever I pugged there wasn't any hassle about who was leader because it didn't really matter, beyond assigning raid symbols to mobs. Now that the leader supposedly gets rewards for completing the instance I can totally see two people bickering about it and causing one more problem that PUGs don't need. You can argue that if they're bickering then they aren't worth the time and effort, but some people only have a certain amount of time to play and finding more people would take too much time.
Right now it's not enough information to blow a fuse over; I'm just going to keep an eye on it and hope the drama queens don't kill each other for whatever this reward is.
Alja Aug 22nd 2009 5:00PM
Can someone please tell me if all servers on a particular battlegroup are the same in reference to PVP, PVE, or RP? I ask this because if this feature works well I may take my toons and put them on a PVE server (world PVP makes my clothies cry) while having the option to still run instances w/ my friends on my current server - because that is just quite nifty.
Yaimano Aug 22nd 2009 5:18PM
They're mixed. http://www.wowwiki.com/Battlegroup
usagizero Aug 22nd 2009 5:01PM
"for 5-mans only at this time"
With raids coming later if i heard right. I love rewarding people too, hopefully though it won't lead to people just saying they will lead to get the reward but actually helping. Hopefully this will solve all my pug problems and the inability to find groups at lower levels. Now i just wish you could LFG for dungeons in a wider range, would love to be able to use this for older raids and dungeons for accomplishments.
Squirrelbot Aug 22nd 2009 5:03PM
Big thing they forgot to mention is how do you qualify for LFG automatic pugging?
Can a terribad that does 600 dps join LFG and ruin my 5-man Heroic?
I don't think it would be that hard to do some kind of basic qualification on a dummy or a patchwerk. Don't check gear ilvl, just say "do 1200dps" or whatever to qualify for X tier of content.
Yeah, someone could still qualify and then AFK for the instance. But it'd be great for the majority of bads who just don't have recount or have any idea that they're bad. A lot of em are nice people, there's just nothing in game to indicate when or if you're ready for the next tier of dungeons.
Otto von Ultima Aug 22nd 2009 5:04PM
Not keen on the idea of rewards for party leaders - it's just going to encourage the kicking of people for the smallest reason. Hell, if you're not decked out in the latest Tier you can probably forget about it.
Loren Aug 22nd 2009 5:04PM
This is a tremoundous announcement.
I left WoW after about 9 months of playing back in March and one of my biggest gripes was I felt like I spent more time LFG than I did actually in a group. Now I had guildies but a lot of the time our schedules or agendas didn't mesh for the day. I'm hoping with this implemented it can diminish those wait times like it planned to do.
Now only if they can create a system in the new battle.net that shows a Did Not Finish statistic. I think a lot of groups would benefit from this stat before the healer in your group has to get off because Mom told them it's bed time.
Squirrelbot Aug 22nd 2009 5:06PM
I would be extremely surprised if they let automatic LFG groups use anything other than Group Loot. Hopefully a slightly smarter and improved Group Loot that won't let, say, the DPS DK roll need on a defense trinket over the tank. This is especially a problem for tanks, with so many plate class face rollers who "might tank some day".
Nebalee Aug 22nd 2009 5:12PM
With the upcoming changes to how stats work I guess there wont be any dedicated tank items anymore.
jbodar Aug 23rd 2009 6:11PM
@Nebalee
So far, Defense and Block Value will get the proverbial axe, but things like Dodge, Parry, and Block Rating should stick around, not to mention tank-friendly procs. So I don't think tank trinkets are disappearing.
b Aug 25th 2009 11:58AM
You must be running with the wrong people. The person playing the tank should have first dibs. If he passes on it, then the others can roll for it.
Xigageshi Aug 22nd 2009 5:07PM
what I really wanted someone to ask was if this will tie into battle.net at all.
because if battle.net lets you communicate with your friends on other servers, and this lets you run instances across servers... are they looking at letting you run instances with your battle.net friends from other servers? that would be possibly one of the greatest additions to the game imo.
Scott Aug 22nd 2009 5:14PM
Well, this is going to introduce a new wave of ninja looting. As if being able to change your name on one server isn't quite anonymous enough, now we have to worry about an entire battlegroup of asshats.
Love the idea, but man the griefers are going to have a field day.
Hoern Sep 24th 2009 7:26PM
^^^ this. X-server BGs introduced AFK, botting, and chat inanity, backed by the fact that whatever small repercussions would happen before one one's own server were unlikely to happen now.
Luckily, unlike X-server BGs, you're not forced to do X-server instances. Stick with your friends list or guild, and nothing will change.
Alice Aug 22nd 2009 5:18PM
Im a little bit confused. Does leader refer to the person who actually started the group, or the tank who will be made th leader for the majority of the instance so they can mark.
Otome Aug 22nd 2009 5:19PM
End of instance problems = Good
Rewarding PUG leaders = Huh?
Giving ninjas more ways to be jerks - Baaaaaaaad
Like most, I'm wary of the whole system so far. Yet, I'm going to go ahead and trust that Blizzard has anticipated all those situations and will, hopefully, have a solution by the time it goes live.
Azizrael Aug 22nd 2009 5:21PM
I hope the "rewarding PuG leaders" thing works more like a ranking system than "physical" rewards.
A PuG rating system like in the Arenas would be an amazing advance - it might hurt fresh 85s for a while, but for experienced players just looking to farm emblems it'd be a Godsend to know that everyone in your group could actually play their class before you wipe on what's supposed to be a simple boss, or even trash pull.
Dan Aug 22nd 2009 5:30PM
I think I peed myself a little.