Cross-realm raids coming in patch 4.3.2
by Alex Ziebart 
Jan 6th 2012 at 9:30PM
Coming in Patch 4.3.2 -- Cross-Realm Raids
We previously introduced the ability to form cross-realm parties with Real ID friends, and now with Patch 4.3.2, we're adding the ability for players to use that same functionality to form raids to run older normal or heroic raids, or participate in Battlegrounds!
This will allow you to join up with your Real ID friends from other realms and:
As we look forward to the BattleTag system, it's a very exciting time for World of Warcraft. No matter what realm you and your friends are on you'll be able to team up and take on group content throughout the game.
This will allow you to join up with your Real ID friends from other realms and:
- Form a cross-realm raid and use Raid Finder
- Jump in to any classic dungeon or raid and be automatically placed in the same instance
- Join forces and dominate the Battlegrounds
As we look forward to the BattleTag system, it's a very exciting time for World of Warcraft. No matter what realm you and your friends are on you'll be able to team up and take on group content throughout the game.
Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Filed under: News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Hollow Leviathan Jan 6th 2012 9:37PM
"Please note, you will not yet be able to run normal or Heroic Dragon Soul with cross-realm Real ID raids."
I eagerly await an about-face on this in 9-12 months.
kingoomieiii Jan 6th 2012 9:53PM
At first I thought it was a selling-prevention measure (people advertising carrying people from around the world through H-DS for loots), but you can't trade cross-realm.
Then again, if they already have to exchange real emails, maybe it's an RL currency concern... right now the server boundaries prevent that sort of nonsense.
kingoomieiii Jan 6th 2012 9:56PM
Also, if a few players from a realm with no Madness kill raid with, say, Blood Legion (hypothetical), you have the issue of the Realm First achieve. Is it disqualified if you have cross-raid members? Only if they're in the majority? Same requirement as guild credit?
Bauxite Jan 6th 2012 9:58PM
My guess is you'll see an about face on this as soon as most or all of the realm and world firsts for achievements and kills etc have been had.
Arrohon Jan 6th 2012 11:27PM
My server is pretty much raiding crap. Server first Heroic Lich King 25 didn't happen until Cata. There hasn't been a server first Heroic Rag kill yet, or it was after 4.3, and the most progressed anyone is in DS right now is 1/8H. Please, don't wait for us. It wouldn't be fair to you guys.
~Guy That Doesn't Raid Currently (To His Disdain)
Soeroah_the_second Jan 7th 2012 12:58AM
Can it be considered an 'about-face' when they explicitly said "you can't YET"?
Sounds like they could allow it in a few months and it wouldn't be contradictory to what they said here.
Paul Jan 7th 2012 1:50PM
"Can it be considered an 'about-face' when they explicitly said "you can't YET"?"
No, you can't, but some of the WoW community tends to ignore subtext AND context when looking at what they're told.
For the initial period, it's still a testing ground for the system, and just like the raid system, it's unlikely to ever settle down for a long while, but for the first few raid tiers, I wouldn't expect it to be available for at least 4 months. Just to appease the "server community" nutjobs.
I seriously look forward to the day when WoW can finally be played globally. It's still only a micro MMO by design ;)
logicalfundy Jan 7th 2012 11:43PM
I read "yet" as "Not right now, but still planned."
thebl4ckd0g Jan 6th 2012 9:38PM
be nice if you could at least run normal dragon soul...otherwise, there is not much of a point for this unless you wanna group with friends who are on other servers... :(
rhorle Jan 7th 2012 2:35AM
That is what the point is. So instead of being limited to 5 cross server friends you are limited to 10, 25 and 40 cross server friends. The only point of this change is to group with realID or Battletag friends cross server.
wiedmaier Jan 7th 2012 11:36AM
Actually, it lets you jump into any content with friends. I have two friends around level 50 that I ran through BRD last night. Getting everyone there was a huge pain, now we can just jump in. My brother in law loves to solo old raids, and I'd love to duo with him, but he's on another server. I would really like a bronze drake on an alt, but haven't wanted to ask my friends to run all the way down to tanaris. Problems solved.
For trying to group with your friends, whether on your own server or not, this is going to be an amazing quality of life change.
devonaelick Jan 6th 2012 9:40PM
Sweet! Well done, Blizzard.
Now I need to make friends on other servers to make full use of this feature...
almoderate Jan 6th 2012 9:43PM
This is going to be a GOD SEND for guilds (and players) who are in the recruiting process. Previously, we've always had the possibility where someone might transfer, have their first raid and not mesh well or perform to standards (and again, this could apply to the guild a person is applying to as well), and they're out some real money on a transfer.
Now you only have to hook up via Real ID, try them out, and find out whether or not it's a good fit before a transfer is wasted.
Rai Jan 6th 2012 9:44PM
"Please note, you will not yet be able to run normal or Heroic Dragon Soul with cross-realm Real ID raids."
How specific...nevertheless, I have a lot of Real ID friends on different servers and I can't wait to finally be able to play online with them with my main.
Braydon.bubnick Jan 6th 2012 9:46PM
While I don't necessarily agree with the no heroic/normal ds cross realm raids, I can see why they put that limit on there. Firstly it would severely cut their xfer rate from raiders transferring to be on a raid team and secondly I think it would make it too easy to get/sell carries thru the raid.
lazymangaka Jan 6th 2012 9:49PM
This is a big deal. The day is soon approaching where we'll be able to do virtually anything in the game with anybody, no matter what realm they hail from.
djsuursoo Jan 6th 2012 10:10PM
they're more or less negating the concept of separate servers while still maintaining them.
granted they've separate servers right now mostly because the latency is lower than trying to gang all the servers together into an uber-realm.
nevermind the city lag... imagine 5 million twatwaffles hanging out outside the trade district AH?
Mycroft Jan 6th 2012 9:53PM
Hooray! Now if my friend tells me, "Check out my new transmog set" I don't have to log out and log into an alt on his server, or queue for a dungeon together (which we're obligated to finish, naturally). Can just group invite, and hop in RFC or Stocks.
I eagerly await the arrival of this paired with the BattleTag system. Then maybe I can find forum communities that run old content, so I'm not restricted to my server.
I also have to wonder if I get a second account, if it'll let me trade boa items cross-server this way, or if it'll stick to just conjured items and loot generated inside the instance.
kingoomieiii Jan 6th 2012 10:01PM
You can do that now. That's been working since 4.2. Until 4.3.2, "Convert to Raid" doesn't work if you have people from other servers in the group, but you can do whatever you want in a 5-man.
Mycroft Jan 6th 2012 10:26PM
Which part are you referring to that already works? By "old content" I mean specifically raids, where you have to be in a raid group to access.
Are you saying I can trade boas in a dungeon?