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Social features added to Battle.net desktop client
Our friends over at Adriacraft have had the chance to test a newly datamined version of the battle.net desktop client. They have various in-depth screenshots on their article, but it looks like the current friends list has undergone a needed overhaul. You can now add and remove friends, report other players, accept and decline friend requests, and see recommended friends, which are friends of friends. Although you can't see an actual chat window in any of Adriacraft's screenshots, you can see that there are the options to edit "toast" settings, including messages, which implies that chat, or at least notifications of messages received, could be coming soon to the desktop client. There is also the option to remember status, but before we get excited about offline mode finally arriving, remember that there are already statuses in battle.net -- away, busy, etc. There is, however, an image of the user being offline, but this could just be because he wasn't logged in when it was taken. If you are concerned by any of this, or feel that you would not want the friends of friends option, setting up parental controls on your account can be an excellent way to tailor battle.net communications to your personal preference. You can disable it, or even selectively disable various elements, including parental controls.
Blizzard's 'appear offline' functionality coming soon
Have you ever wanted to wander Azeroth in virtual seclusion, flying completely under the radar of folks who may have you on their friends list? If so, Blizzard's new "appear offline" functionality will likely put a smile on your face. "All of your Real ID friends, BattleTag friends, and character-level friends will see you as offline in their friends list whenever you're logged into the game," Blizzard says on its Battle.net website. This is assuming you don't set your social status option to available, busy, or away, of course. The new functionality is slated for World of Warcraft as well as StarCraft II and Diablo III. WoW's version of the feature should surface sometime after Mists of Pandaria.
"Appear Offline" coming soon to Battle.net
A much asked for feature is on its way into the game -- you will soon™ be able to set your Battle.net status to "appear offline," letting you have some much needed peace and quiet from the clamor of all those friends playing Blizzard's various games. Currently, if you're logged in and have Real ID, Battle Tag, or character-level friends, then they can see you online no matter what. While this doesn't present a huge problem, sometimes people just want to go in a game and play by themselves, without the presence of a group. And even though WoW will never be a single player game, this upcoming change will certainly allow you to disappear into the masses when you want. Blizzard's full release as follows: Blizzard In the coming months, we're planning an update to Battle.net that will give you more control over your online presence when playing Blizzard games. Soon, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Diablo III players will be able to select "Appear Offline" as one of their Battle.net social-status options (along with Available, Busy, and Away) for those times when they want to wander Azeroth by their lonesome, dominate the galaxy in radio silence, or slay demons in solitude. When you choose this option as your status, all of your Real ID friends, BattleTag friends, and character-level friends will see you as "Offline" in their friends list whenever you're logged into a game. The "Appear Offline" status option will be added to World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Diablo III separately in future updates for each game. For Diablo III, we expect to add the feature in a patch after 1.0.5. For World of Warcraft and StarCraft II, we expect to add the option sometime after the release of each game's upcoming expansion. Thanks for your continued feedback, and we'll share more information on the availability of this new feature in the months ahead. source
