One of the technologies that has kept me coming back and back to WoW was the cross server battlegrounds and dungeons, this allowed everyone to get quicker dungeon queue times and quicker battlegrounds.
Now the Blizzard team are taking it one step further. Cross Realm Zones. If anyone is following Guild Wars 2 then this might seem familiar to the World v World mechanic they are introducing, but it is different.
Here is a quote from Blizz about how they will work.
When you’re in a zone that is set as a ‘cross-realm zone’ you’ll notice that in addition to the players you’d ordinarily see from your realm, you’ll also see (and be able to play with) players from other realms. This will happen seamlessly, and players will be able to group and quest as they normally would with players from their own realm.
Cross Realm Zone – Key Points
- Zones will be matched by their server type (PvE with PvE)
- You can form groups with cross realm players
- Group up with real ID friends
- Capital Cities will not be cross realm zones
- Trading will be restricted
- You can form groups with cross realm players
For the full article from Blizzard, then check out the following link: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/5393667/Cross-Realm_Zones_Coming_to_Beta-5_10_2012
Cross Realm Zones should allow people to seamlessly connect with their friends, regardless of server, of course there will be restrictions like the server type matching and trading. If like me you enjoy playing with other people more than on your own, then this is going to be a great addition to WoW. This could also be something that has been developed with another game in mind. Maybe for, oh I dunno, Project Titan?
Will you be using the Cross Realm Zones heavily? Let us know in the comments below.
