Battle.net integration before Cataclysm
by Matthew Rossi 
Apr 28th 2010 at 2:00PM
Zarhym - Re: Cataclysm Friends List Idea This is exactly what we are working on implementing with Battle.net and real-life friends. You'll be able to add friends at the Battle.net account level and talk to them while in-game whether they're on the opposing faction, a different realm, or another Blizzard game entirely. This is coming prior to Cataclysm.
This is correct. No one outside of your faction on your realm will be able to communicate with you unless you accept their friend request, or they accept yours. You will still have your normal World of Warcraft Friends list, but we'll be adding in the ability to have Battle.net players on your Friends list as well. The characters on your Friends list will allow the same communication functionality which exists today. It's only when you've confirmed someone as a Battle.net friend that you can take advantage of the additional communication features.
Q u o t e:
Please tell me that people will not be able to "friend" me without my consent. I don't care to be tracked across servers and factions except by a couple people I know IRL.
This is correct. No one outside of your faction on your realm will be able to communicate with you unless you accept their friend request, or they accept yours. You will still have your normal World of Warcraft Friends list, but we'll be adding in the ability to have Battle.net players on your Friends list as well. The characters on your Friends list will allow the same communication functionality which exists today. It's only when you've confirmed someone as a Battle.net friend that you can take advantage of the additional communication features.
The real surprise for me is that people playing, say, StarCraft II or Diablo III will be able to chat with people playing World of Warcraft via their Battle.net accounts. It's a definite extension of their Real ID program mentioned during the StarCraft II preview, and I'm even more surprised that it's going to be out before Cataclysm ships. I know that even if I don't play Diablo III (which is unlikely, how will I be able to resist the barbarian?), being able to talk to the various friends I have across six servers will be a positive boon for me.
Filed under: News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
(cutaia) Apr 28th 2010 1:40PM
Sweet...now when I see my friend playing Starcraft 2, I can harrass him to come raid with me. He's gonna ****ing hate me. ;)
Wowcoholic Apr 28th 2010 2:17PM
w00t.
That is all.
Hollow Leviathan Apr 28th 2010 4:44PM
My question is: can you make battle.net level channels, so that the whole raid can harass your SC2 friend into raiding?
Daethar Apr 28th 2010 2:06PM
So will we finally get the language barriers removed in WoW, or at least the ability to learn another language "skill"?
There is currently nothing stopping cross-faction communication (you can have a level 1 alt on either faction), and with this new battle.net friend system the language barrier is largely obsolete.
Daethar Apr 28th 2010 2:07PM
the language barrier *will be* largely obsolete.
Moonfaxx Apr 28th 2010 2:12PM
I disagree. The barrier exists in full effect for everyone that hasn't chosen to accept you as their friend. So unless you have more than a handful of friends playing on the opposite faction, this change won't mean much in terms of communicating with that faction.
Jamie Apr 28th 2010 2:16PM
If I made an undead friend (IF!!), he better not holla me back with all that gutterspeak bra...
(cutaia) Apr 28th 2010 2:19PM
Moonfax is right. The language barrier stops you from saying to random hordies, "Hey...I need more kills in the Cauldron of Flames for my Wintergrasp Ranger achievement. Wanna trade HKs?"
Sure, if happen to have a friend on the same server with an appropriate leveled Horde you can still technically do that, but do you really want random Horde and Alliance being able to pug their way to PvP achievements together?
grimolf Apr 28th 2010 2:33PM
I've been a long proponent of a Brewfest quest where you pass out and wake up naked in an opposite faction city, with a buff making you neutral while you search for your clothes and some flowers or something to apologize to the person whose home you woke up in. The quest reward would be the ability to learn that race's language. I think it would be awesome.
Also, I think druids should be their own faction with their own language, but that's a topic for another thread.
(cutaia) Apr 28th 2010 2:42PM
Blizzard,
I vote Grimolf for lead quest designer, 2010. Thank you.
Daethar Apr 28th 2010 3:09PM
"I disagree. The barrier exists in full effect for everyone that hasn't chosen to accept you as their friend. So unless you have more than a handful of friends playing on the opposite faction, this change won't mean much in terms of communicating with that faction."
I would like to be able to understand them if I really wanted to, though. My point is, if I really REALLY need to, I can currently go roll an alt and just /w them. Now I can have friends to talk to cross-faction, and even ask those friends to /w someone or /s something on my behalf. There really is not much of a barrier anyway, and it seems kind of dull for language skills to just "be there" but have so many routes around the barrier anyway.
"Moonfax is right. The language barrier stops you from saying to random hordies, 'Hey...I need more kills in the Cauldron of Flames for my Wintergrasp Ranger achievement. Wanna trade HKs?'
Sure, if happen to have a friend on the same server with an appropriate leveled Horde you can still technically do that, but do you really want random Horde and Alliance being able to pug their way to PvP achievements together?"
The only problem with this thinking: there is nothing stopping it now, only slowing it down, and it will become even less of an inconvenience when the new Battle.Net friend system is put in place. As I said above in this comment, replying to Moonfax, you can do EXACTLY what you are saying already, and it will be easier in the future. Do I want them to pug their way to PvP achievements? No, but (I assume) this is being done already, so in my mind that little bit of sacredness is compromised.
What I want is one good reason why you shouldn't be able to communicate cross-faction that the current liberties with cross-faction characters on PvP realms, the Battle.Net friend system, and ventrilo do not completely circumvent.
To me, RP realms would be more immersive with this. Battlegrounds and arenas already have people who trick the system with reverse-engineered messages ('I love you' and whatnot), and please tell me it would not further your desire to kill the enemy faction if they were just as annoying as all the trade chat trolls, AND you could understand their taunts, but you knew there was opportunity to go out and find them with a red name for some payback.
Eli Apr 28th 2010 3:24PM
Moonfaxx, I miss you.
Come back into my life.
(cutaia) Apr 28th 2010 3:45PM
"What I want is one good reason why you shouldn't be able to communicate cross-faction that the current liberties with cross-faction characters on PvP realms, the Battle.Net friend system, and ventrilo do not completely circumvent."
Uh...the scenario I already laid out where strangers are involved?
Like I said...we understand that people can get together with their friends under the "right circumstances" and do easymode PvP achievements (like killing 20 mounted players in WG or something).
What they CANNOT do is just stand around Dal yelling, "LF Hordie to stand in WG while I shoot at you."
Do you really think that the "potential" to circumvent the language barrier when playing with your friends justifies removing it completely?
Think of the achievement Duel-icious and how little it means because anyone can get it by trading duels with random strangers in Goldshire, etc. I would prefer if all PvP achievements didn't become a matter of chatting up the nearest Horde to lay down and die for you.
Another reason? During legitimate PvP, I really don't want to get whispers from random pissed of strangers on the other side when they're losing (or idiotic gloating when they're winning). I hear enough crap in our own /bg chat without having to hear the other side cuss me out, too.
Can they go through the trouble of making a level 1 alt to harrass me with? Certainly. You have to look at "probability" though. While this is possible, it's not as likely that they will do that as it is if they can just type /t Cutaia.
Daethar Apr 28th 2010 4:08PM
@Cutaia
I suppose we will just have to disagree then. To me, achievements are nothing worth preserving if you can already game the system. Blizzard has expressed that achievement points will never have any worth other than an "oh, cool" factor. If you can already game the system, the "oh, cool" is gone from it anyway.
On the other side, languages as a skill is something many people, and many more RP players, have been longing for. To me, the 'benefits' of the barrier are all in the past, and many things the proponents of the language barrier cite as advantages are merely preventing annoyances in specific situations, and mostly situations where annoyances already exist.
"Another reason? During legitimate PvP, I really don't want to get whispers from random pissed of strangers on the other side when they're losing (or idiotic gloating when they're winning). I hear enough crap in our own /bg chat without having to hear the other side cuss me out, too."
To me, the fact that our own side is already annoying, coupled with the fact that anyone cross-faction who REALLY wants to get under your skin will figure out a way (/y spam, or translator tricks), means that this is a non-issue. Clearly, you do not agree, but I just wanted to respond.
Moonfaxx Apr 28th 2010 4:29PM
@Eli
Help a brother out! What name will I recognize you by? :P
(cutaia) Apr 28th 2010 5:08PM
"I suppose we will just have to disagree then"
I wasn't really disagreeing, per se. You asked for specific examples of things that cross-faction communication would allow that wouldn't be possible via battle.net friend lists and ventrillo, so I gave a couple.
But if you insist that we *have* to disagree...I suppose I'll oblige:
If you contend that the occasional "N O G O A L" yell from a hordie is even remotely close to the amount of irritation you'd have to put up with if they could whisper you instantly and directly...you're quite simply mad as a loon.
Guruda Apr 28th 2010 5:20PM
@ Daether
So, to make this a straw man arguement, simply because drug smugglers find ways to smuggle drugs in the country despite laws and law enforcement, we should totally just allow it, right?
Also, if I'm not mistaken, the language barrier was put in to stop the kind of smack-talking (cutaia) is talkig about. I know that what I really want is every horde member being able to gank me, then sit there and harass me via text, too.
And lastly, the language barrier, if nothing else, keeps the horde and alliance identity going. If all that is different between the two factions is association, with open communication between all of us (and no, being able to only talk to the people I trust enough to friend on my Bnet account is not the same, not even close) then why the hell should we even have factions on non-pvp servers?
Cuzog Apr 28th 2010 2:12PM
WTB Battle.net chat through armory web app, or better yet, Jabber. PST.
Migo Apr 28th 2010 2:12PM
this isn't a new idea.. steam has been doing this for years, I even have all of my blizzard games added to steam so I can still talk to alot of my friends while playing.
Edge Apr 28th 2010 2:42PM
Who said it was a new idea?