Real ID grouping feature out of beta, remains free
by Mathew McCurley 
Aug 16th 2011 at 10:38AM
When the service was first announced, a premium price was going to be attached to the service, but since launching, Real ID grouping is not part of the premium package -- it's free for everyone. Blizzard reserved the right to add features to the premium suite of WoW services, but this one is here to stay for free.
I was skeptical about the costs associated with the service in the beginning, but after trying out the service with fellow WoW Insider editors, I was hooked. Paying for the service, however, was not something I would have done. Players have a certain expectation about what they get with their monthly subscriptions, and in a world where free-to-play MMOs and games charge small amounts all over the place for items and boosts, a subscription game in the vein of World of Warcraft has a harder time justifying the extra costs because of the nature of the monthly subscription beast. It is nice to see that Blizzard is adding this feature for all players, no cost attached. Hit the jump for the full announcement and FAQ.
Real ID grouping feature now live!
We're happy to announce that the testing period for World of Warcraft's new Real ID Party system is now complete, and the feature is now officially live! We received a lot of great feedback from the community throughout the course of our testing, and we appreciate everyone taking the time to share their thoughts and experiences with us.
For those who haven't yet had a chance to try it out, the Real ID Party system allows players to invite Real ID friends of the same faction to a 5-player normal or Heroic dungeon, regardless of what realm their friends are on. This new feature makes it easier than ever for real-life friends to play together, and it's available to all World of Warcraft players at no additional charge -- all you need to do is have Real ID enabled.
To learn more about Real ID, visit the Real ID web page and read the FAQ.
For more information about how the Real ID Party system works, check out the FAQ below, updated with a couple new questions that came up during the testing period.
Q: How do I invite Real ID friends to a Real ID Party?
A: Inviting a Real ID friend to a Real ID Party is simple. Just open up your friends list to see which Real ID friends are online. Click on the "Plus" button to send an invitation to a Real ID friend to join your group. You can continue to add Real ID friends to your party until the group is complete. If you cannot complete the group with Real ID friends, you are free to join the Dungeon Finder to fill in the missing roles.
Q: Does a player need to have Real ID enabled to accept a Real ID group invite?
A: Yes, a player must have Real ID enabled, and both players must be Real ID friends to accept or initiate Real ID party invitations.
Q: Can a party leader invite a mix of Real ID friends, character-level friends, guildmates, or random players to the same party?
A: A party leader can invite any combination of Real ID friends from any realm, guildmates from the same realm, or other characters from the same realm to the same party. If the party leader isn't able to fill up the entire party, the Dungeon Finder can fill in the missing roles.
Q: Can I invite someone who is not a Real ID friend?
A: You can only invite members to a party if they are on your Real ID friends list or if they are on the same realm as you are.
Q: Can I invite a friend of a Real ID friend?
A: No, you can only invite your own Real ID friends the party.
Q. Are you considering expanding the system to work with raids, Battlegrounds, Arenas, or to allow cross-faction play?
A: We're always looking into ways to improve features like this to make it more convenient for real-life friends to play together. However, we don't have any further announcements to share at this time.
Q: Will any future aspects of the Real ID Party system be premium-based?
A: It's always possible that we'll add features and functionality that could have a premium component, but we don't have any specific details to share at this time.
For those who haven't yet had a chance to try it out, the Real ID Party system allows players to invite Real ID friends of the same faction to a 5-player normal or Heroic dungeon, regardless of what realm their friends are on. This new feature makes it easier than ever for real-life friends to play together, and it's available to all World of Warcraft players at no additional charge -- all you need to do is have Real ID enabled.
To learn more about Real ID, visit the Real ID web page and read the FAQ.
For more information about how the Real ID Party system works, check out the FAQ below, updated with a couple new questions that came up during the testing period.
Q: How do I invite Real ID friends to a Real ID Party?
A: Inviting a Real ID friend to a Real ID Party is simple. Just open up your friends list to see which Real ID friends are online. Click on the "Plus" button to send an invitation to a Real ID friend to join your group. You can continue to add Real ID friends to your party until the group is complete. If you cannot complete the group with Real ID friends, you are free to join the Dungeon Finder to fill in the missing roles.
Q: Does a player need to have Real ID enabled to accept a Real ID group invite?
A: Yes, a player must have Real ID enabled, and both players must be Real ID friends to accept or initiate Real ID party invitations.
Q: Can a party leader invite a mix of Real ID friends, character-level friends, guildmates, or random players to the same party?
A: A party leader can invite any combination of Real ID friends from any realm, guildmates from the same realm, or other characters from the same realm to the same party. If the party leader isn't able to fill up the entire party, the Dungeon Finder can fill in the missing roles.
Q: Can I invite someone who is not a Real ID friend?
A: You can only invite members to a party if they are on your Real ID friends list or if they are on the same realm as you are.
Q: Can I invite a friend of a Real ID friend?
A: No, you can only invite your own Real ID friends the party.
Q. Are you considering expanding the system to work with raids, Battlegrounds, Arenas, or to allow cross-faction play?
A: We're always looking into ways to improve features like this to make it more convenient for real-life friends to play together. However, we don't have any further announcements to share at this time.
Q: Will any future aspects of the Real ID Party system be premium-based?
A: It's always possible that we'll add features and functionality that could have a premium component, but we don't have any specific details to share at this time.
The news is already rolling out for the upcoming WoW Patch 4.2! Preview the new Firelands raid, marvel at the new legendary staff, and get the inside scoop on new quest hubs -- plus new tier 12 armor!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
SylvEU Aug 16th 2011 10:59AM
That is very good news!
renehillege Aug 16th 2011 10:55AM
In addition I hope this will extend to BGs and such in the future =).
Darky Aug 16th 2011 10:54AM
Awesome move.
Sleutel Aug 16th 2011 7:08PM
I'm glad they realized what a PR nightmare it would have been if they'd made a feature like this part of a premium package.
Haro Aug 16th 2011 10:54AM
My doubt now is: is it region-limited? and version limited?
I mean: can i play with people in oceanic servers (who share game version with the americans)
And with european servers? (who do not share the same game version)
Vandell [XBL: Keazra] Aug 16th 2011 12:21PM
No, you can't, since you aren't even able to add friends from a server that you are not on.
Scomparsa Aug 16th 2011 12:44PM
Oceanic and Latin American, I believe so, but not Europe. There are COMPLETELY different servers for Europe.
(Correct me if I'm wrong folks, but I'm fairly certain this is the way it works)
Derek Aug 16th 2011 2:46PM
Since I already regularly find myself randomly grouped with people from Latin American (I actually get to practice more Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese that way than in "real life") and Oceanic servers, I'm going to say "Yes" to grouping between those and the North American servers, but "No" to grouping between any of them and European (or other) servers, since we can't do that anyway.
It would be kinda awesome to have world-wide groups, but, version differences aside, wouldn't the lag be awful?
Dude Aug 16th 2011 10:56AM
If I pay a sub in these austere times I should hope it's free or hello Age of Conan.
Drakkenfyre Aug 16th 2011 11:40AM
That line of threatening is 3 years old.
Bill Aug 16th 2011 12:21PM
Seriously? Threats with Age of Conan? You're about 4 years off-beat champ.
Brett Porter Aug 16th 2011 1:02PM
Plus, I mean, it's Age of Conan. Really? At least go with a fun F2P! :)
Daethy Aug 16th 2011 11:13AM
Got to say, I did not see that one coming. GJ Blizz.
Vitos Aug 16th 2011 11:29AM
You know, your comment may be why they did this. Now that I think about it, it may be that they announced it as a premium service for the bonus PR and good rep for making it free. #conspiracyTheories
Charlie Aug 16th 2011 11:15AM
I'm really glad they chose to remain free also. I'm not sure why but it left a really bad taste in my mouth even though i'd barely use it. If ever.
I can justify most of Blizzards choices. I just couldn't figure out how or why they would charge you extra money to play a game with your friends where they already charge you money to do that.
Good decision on their part
Vitos Aug 16th 2011 11:15AM
I still wish I could invite my friends from SC2.... who needs a tank when you have a bunch of Ultralisks?
Sumadin Aug 16th 2011 2:14PM
Can't read that without linking this:
http://www.thedailyblink.com/2011/07/cross-server-connection/
Then again would you really want a tank with just 500 life and no Avoidance?
Mell Aug 16th 2011 11:26AM
Wonderful! Now I can keep running random dungeons for fun with friends who play in big raiding guilds on other servers! We tried out the service the first week and loved it! I've never said this before but Thanks, Blizzard!
Loss of 1 million is a statistic Aug 16th 2011 11:45AM
Of course its free. The backlash from the announcement that it was going to be a premium feature and the loss of 1 mill subs over six months kinda forced them to rethink the "premium services" model they were planning on
Philster043 Aug 16th 2011 11:51AM
Good for them. It is a great service.