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Officers' Quarters: Celebrating connected realms
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. As Blizzard connects more and more realms, the communities on those realms are waking up, becoming livelier and more social. It's a great opportunity for guilds to make a name for themselves within the newly combined populations. Last month I offered advice on how guilds could leverage the upcoming connections to add new members and establish a positive reputation. This past Monday, Blizzard connected the realms Llane and Arygos. The guild Spectacular Death on Llane took advantage of the opportunity and threw a realm connection party. Their guild leader wrote to me to share their experience: I'm Gimmlette, the guild leader of Spectacular Death on Llane. Prior to the start of Blizzard doing these server connections, you posted a column suggesting things a guild could do to make themselves known when servers get connected. One of the things suggested was a server connection party. I posted the column to the Officer's section of the guild web site, which we have dubbed the "Executive Washroom", and we decided a party is what we'd do. I thought I'd share some photos from that party. We connected with Arygos on Monday. We announced the party upcoming two weeks ago and when Blizzard announced the connection date, we went back to the server forums with a date. We opted to have the party the day after the actual connection, to make sure things were okay and to run tests on trading things with people from Arygos.
New set of US Connected Realms Announced
A new set of US realms have been announced by CM Nethaera as slated for the Connected Realm service next week. Players on the following realms will have a scheduled maintenance on Monday, November 25, from 6am PST through 11am PST, during which the realm connections will be made. Keep in mind that the ending time listed is an approximate one -- if you're on the list below, be prepared for maintenance extensions if the connection process warrants it. Azshara and Azgalor Arygos and Llane Cairne and Perenolde Nathrezim and Anub'arak/Chromaggus/Garithos/Smolderthorn Zangarmarsh and Hellscream In addition to the November 25 connections, a list of realms have also been slated for connection on Monday, December 2. For a full list of those realms, as well as a list of future realms slated for connection, read on after the break.
More EU Connected Realms coming soon
Still waiting for your low population EU realm to be connected? Blizzard has just announced a new batch of realm connections coming soon. There have been 10 successful connections to date in the EU, with another dozen on the way. If you see your realm on this list, and don't know what a connected realm is, it essentially connects two or more realms together so they behave as one. You can join guilds, enjoy a fuller auction house, and run raids with each other. The below realms will be connected shortly, but Blizzard has not provided an exact time: Uldum and Shen'dralar/Zul'jin Boulderfist and Chromaggus/Shattered Halls Rajaxx and Anetheron Agamaggan and Emeriss/Hakkar/Crushridge Terrodar and Dethecus/Mug'thol/Theradras Alexstrasza and Nethersturm
More US realms to be connected
More connected realms have been announced for the US. Coming up this Monday, November 18th during a scheduled maintenance time that begins at 6 a.m. PST through around 11:00 a.m. PST., the following realms will be connected: Draenor and Echo Isles Gorgonnash and Balnazzar/Warsong Lethon and Blackwing Lair/Dethecus, Detheroc, Haomarush Lightning's Blade and Burning Blade/Onyxia Smolderthorn and Anub'arak/Chromaggus/Garithos Two more batches have also been announced, one of which includes Zangarmarsh, the home for the WoW Insider guild It came from the Blog. The two new batches plus a list of all of the realms that have already been connected are after the break.
More Connected Realms announced for EU
The rollout of connected realms has been a little slower in the EU with only 3 connections made so far, but Blizzard has just announced a new batch of 13 connections. If you see your realm on this list and don't know what a connected realm is, it essentially connects two or more realms together so they behave as one. You can join guilds, enjoy a fuller auction house, and run raids with each other. If you have the same character name or guild name as someone from your connected realm, you will both be able to keep using your names. I recently went through a realm connection myself and it completed without a hiccup. The problems some players on US realms Nesingway and Vek'nilash have experienced seem to be isolated incidents. View the full list of realms after the break. Keep in mind there is currently no ETA for these connections.
Blizzard lists more upcoming connected realms for the US
Waiting for your low population realm to get connected to another? Blizzard has just updated their connected realm information with more upcoming connected realms. So is your realm on the list? Here are the newly added connections: Azshara and Azgalor Nathrezim and Chromaggus/Garithos/Anub'arak/Smolderthorn Nazgrel and Vek'nilash/Nesingwary Fenris and Dragonblight Arygos and Llane And one previously announced connection, Undermine and Anvilmar, has been removed from the list with the note it's on hold. There aren't any dates for these connections to actually happen, but safe to assume it's on Blizzard's usual "when it's ready" schedule. If your realm is on the list, keep your eyes open for further updates.
More US Connected Realms on the way
Blizzard has just announced another two batches of US connected realms, and has provided a time table for the previously announced connected realms. If you see your realm on this list and don't know what a connected realm is, it essentially connects two realms so they behave as one. You can join guilds, enjoy a fuller auction house, and run raids with each other. If you have the same character name or guild name as someone from your connected realm, you will both be able to keep using your names. The realms below are scheduled to be connected on Monday, November 4: Haomarush and Detheroc/Dethecus/Blackwing Lair Stonemaul and Bloodscalp/Maiev/Boulderfist/Dunemaul Daggerspine and Aegwynn/Hakkar Tortheldrin and Frostmane Dentarg and Whisperwind Check after the break for the next two batches of connected realms.
Connected Realms: Cause for caution as characters disappear
Many players have wondered, after the announcement of Connected Realms, and the slow creep of connections taking place, why it isn't all moving faster. Why isn't their low-population realm on the list? When can they start recruiting? Why is it all taking Blizzard so long? Are they just resting on their laurels? Are they just being lazy? Well, I have a cautionary tale that might help to clarify the situation. Yesterday, after maintenance in the US, inhabitants of very recently connected realms Nesingwary and Vek'nilash happened upon some highly unusual issues. Players were logging in and discovering their characters were gone. Disappeared. And players who could still see all their characters on the login screen could only access a few of them. Other players weighed in with their stories of being unable to access guild banks, guild bank logs being years out of date, and more. 14 hours later, at the time of writing, and it only seems to be getting weirder, with characters flagged for rename, and duplicates or copies of long-deleted characters starting to appear. Players are starting to panic and grabbing their names with level one alts for security. Blizzard blue Vrakthris has been doing his best to help, giving players a code to put in tickets so they could all be dealt with swiftly, but this doesn't seem like it's been resolved just yet.
Updates about US Connected Realms
The list of successfully connected US realms is growing and it's getting to be an impressive size. Blizzard's most recent update includes a complete list of existing connected realms, plus a list of the next few realms up for connection. The connections announced earlier as being scheduled for October 28th have successfully been completed. There is as of yet no concrete schedule for the other batch of known connections, but Blizzard assures us that they will announce them as their dates are finalized. The complete list of existing connected realms is after the cut:
Updates on US Connected Realms
By now, several US realms have been successfully connected with Blizzard's new Connected Realms feature. In case you've been out of the loop, Blizzard released an update in regards to the new feature, which seamlessly connects two realms so that they'll behave as one. That means players on realms that are connected can join the same guilds, use one Auction House, and run raids and dungeons with each other -- a pretty big bonus for realms that have been suffering from lower populations. The list of successfully connected realms is as follows: Auchindoun and Laughing Skull Black Dragonflight and Skullcrusher Aegwynn and Gurubashi Balnazzar and Warsong Burning Blade and Onyxia Chromaggus and Garithos Dalvengyr and Dark Iron Dethecus and Detheroc Dunemaul, Maiev, Boulderfist and Bloodscalp Hakkar and Aegwynn Rivendare and Firetree It's a sizeable list -- but if your realm wasn't on the list, not to worry. Blizzard is revving up for more realm connections, and soon. Two new batches of realm connections are on the way, and the first batch of connections will be taking place on Monday, October 28.
Vaneras on the merging of high-pop realms
As we reported the other day, connected realms will soon be coming to WoW's EU servers. As expected, there have been a bevy of questions regarding the upcoming changes, and the EU community managers been busy keeping on top of updates. Connected realms represent a number of potential benefits that have many folks hopeful that their servers might get an injection of vitality, so Vaneras took some time to give a clarification of what the current intentions are behind the use of connected realms. Some players on high-population realms, particularly high-pop realms with an enormous faction imbalance, have been looking toward connected realms as a potential way to correct that imbalance. Alas, Vaneras explains in his post that this functionality is not currently a way in which Blizzard intends to use connected realms technology. Connected realms are specifically focused on improving the situation of small-population servers. If you play on a small server, you're likely familiar with many of the problems they face: few guild options, stagnant economy, very high prices for essential raiding supplements such as gems, glyphs, and enchants, as well as increased difficulty in tackling group content. These are the types of problems connected realms are intended to alleviate. Vaneras further explains that, because of the limitations of the existing technology, merging very high population servers just is not physically possible at the moment. The technology may expand or evolve in the future in ways that may make it possible, but for now, it's not an option. The full blue post is under the break.
Connected realms arrive in the EU
Connected Realms have been slowly creeping across the NA servers, linking communities as they went, and now Blizzard has begun to cautiously extend their reach into the EU. Following the latest announcement of US Connected Realms, Blizzard Community Manager Takralus has posted the following update for the EU: Takralus We're kicking off the Connected Realms implementation here in Europe, and below you can see a list of the first realms to be connected. We don't yet have a specific date for when these connections will occur, but we'll provide another update once we do. Realm Connections: Hakkar and Emeriss Taerar and Echsenkessel Burning Steppes and Kor'gall Theradras and Dethecus We'll provide updates on the next batch of realm connections as they're available. For more information on Connected Realms, please read the preview blog post here. source If you don't see your realm on that list, fear not, it could still be coming. As Blizzard has said in the past, they are being extremely cautious with this new feature, rolling it out in small chunks, trying to cause a minimum of disruption. But we're doubling the links every time, one server to two to four, so who knows how fast it might ramp up.
More connected realms on the way for WoW
Blizzard has plans to connect more World of Warcraft realms, according to a post on the Battle.net forums. Five pairs of servers are due to be linked, though the company doesn't yet "have a specific date on which these connections will occur." What's a realm connection? It's basically Blizzard-speak for cross-server tech wherein two or more standard realms have been permanently and seamlessly linked. "These linked realms will behave as if they were one cohesive realm, meaning you'll be able to join the same guilds, access a single auction house, run the same raids and dungeons, and join other adventurers to complete quests," the company explained previously.
Next wave of Connected Realms announced
Following Monday's successful connections, the next wave of realms to be added to the Connected Realms feature have just been announced. While Community Manager Nethaera had the names of the realms available for players, as of yet there still isn't a fixed date for the realm connections to take place. However, given the faster turnaround that we've been experiencing, players may see these connections happen sooner than one would think. Nethaera As a part of our ongoing Connected Realms implementation, we will be connecting additional realms as listed below. We don't have a specific date yet on when these connections will occur, but we'll provide another update once we do. Please be aware that as a part of the connection process realm times may change to match each other. Next Realm Connections: Dethecus and Detheroc Auchindoun and Laughing Skull Hakkar and Aegwynn Rivendare and Firetree Dunemaul and Bloodscalp/ Maiev/Boulderfist We're currently evaluating further realm connections and will provide updates as they're available. For more information on Connected Realms, please read the preview blog post here. source It looks like the Maiev/Bloodscalp/Boulderfist triad can expect another addition to their happy little family with Dunemaul. In addition, Hakkar will join Aegwynn, which was connected to Gurubashi last week. If you're a player on one of the realms slated for connection, you might want to keep an eye on the official thread for future updates.
Officers' Quarters: 6 tips for officers on soon-to-be-connected realms
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. Blizzard began the process of connecting realms a few weeks ago. After two successful connections, Blizzard is finally picking up the pace. Last week, they announced six more pairs that will soon become one. For officers, the weeks before and after a realm connection will be a crucial time. Here are some tips to put your guild in the best possible position within your newly forged community. 1. Don't wait for the connection. If you intend to recruit from the new population, the time to do so is right after the connection is announced. Players who are looking for guilds on the combined realms will start shopping around immediately. The guilds who are proactive in this phase are more likely to land those players. Visit the other realm's forums and say hi. You can post a recruiting announcement there, certainly, but you can do more than that. Introduce yourself. Ask questions about the realm you'll be connecting to and get to know the players there. Strike up conversations and become someone that forum users not only recognize, but like and respect. They will be far more likely to consider joining your guild when the time comes if they already know that an officer in the guild is a decent human being. You can take that one step further and roll an alt on the other realm prior to the connection. There's no better way to get to know a new realm than to play on it and meet the players there "in person."
Latest round of Connected Realms coming Monday
The latest sizable batch of realms slated for the Connected Realms feature will be going under maintenance on Monday, October 21 from 5:00 a.m. PDT until approximately 11:00 a.m. PDT, according to the official thread on the feature. Community Manager Bashiok also added that once these realms return from maintenance, the realm connections should be complete. The realms scheduled for this round of connection are as follows. Balnazzar and Warsong Gurubashi and Aegwynn Dalvengyr and Dark Iron Garithos and Chromaggus Onyxia and Burning Blade Maiev and Bloodscalp/Boulderfist If you happen to be calling any of these realms home, be prepared for a brief bout of maintenance come Monday. However, Tuesday's regular maintenance should simply be a set of rolling restarts for everyone, so realms that are in the process of being connected should be hit with double downtime. This seems to be a pretty quick turnaround -- will we be seeing more realm connection announcements next week? For more information and updates on the process, keep an eye on the official forum thread.
New wave of Connected Realms announced
After the connection of the Skullcrusher and Black Dragonflight realms earlier this week, Blizzard has announced the next set of realms to be connected -- and this time, there's quite a list of them. Twelve realms total are slated to be connected, although a specific date for the connection has yet to be announced. However, Community Manager Bashiok provided the full list, noting that these are all US realms -- no EU realms have been slated for connection at this time. Bashiok As a part of our ongoing Connected Realms implementation, we will be connecting additional pairs of realms as listed below. We don't have a specific date yet on when these connections will occur, but we'll provide another update once we do. Please be aware that as a part of the connection process realm times may change to match each other. Next Realm Connection Pairs: Balnazzar and Warsong Gurubashi and Aegwynn Dalvengyr and Dark Iron Garithos and Chromaggus Onyxia and Burning Blade Maiev and Bloodscalp/Boulderfist We're currently evaluating further realm connections and will provide updates as they're available. For more information on Connected Realms, please read the preview blog post here. source Note that the Maiev realm will be connected with the Bloodscalp/Boulderfist connection that was the first to be made in this process. Although an exact date for the connection has not been set, given the connection that took place during this week's maintenance, we can hope that these connections will also take place during regularly scheduled downtime. Players on these realms should continue to check back with the official thread on the forums for more updates as they become available.
Black Dragonflight, Skullcrusher realms to be connected tomorrow
Black Dragonflight and Skullcrusher, the two latest realms to be announced as slated for the Connected Realms feature will be connected tomorrow, October 15, during standard maintenance. The two realms were next in line after the success of the Bloodscalp and Boulderfist realm connection. Given that the realm connection will take place during regular server maintenance, one would hope that this means that the wrinkles have been ironed out of implementation -- but just in case, Blizzard will be providing updates on any potential delays. The rollout for Connected Realms has been considerably slower than most players were expecting. However, it's nice to see that Blizzard is taking its time with this one, making sure that everything is functioning correctly and all potential issues have been addressed. Of course the question on everyone's minds now is which realms will be slated for connection next, and when will it occur? Are you hoping for the connected realm feature on your server?
Black Dragonflight, Skullcrusher realms to be connected
After the successful integration of the Bloodscalp and Boulderfist realms, Blizzard is continuing with the slow rollout of connected realms. Although no date has been finalized, CM Nethaera has announced that Black Dragonflight and Skullcrusher will be the next two realms to be connected. Nethaera As a part of our ongoing Connected Realms implementation, we will be working toward connecting our next pair of realms, Black Dragonflight and Skullcrusher – we'll provide another update once we've finalized the date. We will also update this thread with any additional information that becomes available. Please be aware that as a part of the process, realm times may change to align better with each other. We are currently evaluating additional realm connections and plan to provide a more complete schedule at a future point in time. For more information on Connected Realms, please read the preview blog post here. source CM Bashiok stepped in later in the thread to clarify some details on the connected realms process. While many are eager to see this new feature give a boost to realms with lower than optimal populations, the process is far more complicated than you'd think. Blizzard is taking its time with each connection in order to evaluate possible issues with the process -- and the choice of realms was specifically to help identify potential issues. In other words, at this point in the process it's not so much a matter of how much a realm would benefit from a connection, as it is how much that connection will help clarify any potential issues with the process itself. Check out the full forum thread for more information and updates on the process as it continues.
Connected realms start September 25
Blizzard Community Manager Nethaera has updated the world today, as we wait anxiously for Connected Realms to revitalize our low population homes. We've known for a while that Boulderfist and Bloodscalp would be the guinea pigs, but we now have a timeframe, and Blizzard are sticking to the redefinition of Soon(tm). The connected realms will launch tomorrow, as Nethaera clarifies: Nethaera Update: In order to implement our first Connected Realms, Boulderfist and Bloodscalp will be taken down for an extended maintenance beginning Wednesday, September 25, at 3:00 a.m. PDT until approximately 11:00 a.m. PDT. During this time these realms will be unavailable for play. Additional realm connections are planned for the near future, and we'll be posting a full list at WorldofWarcraft.com as soon as we've finalized the details. source So, if you're on either of those realms, be aware of the additional downtime, and do keep an eye out for the folk from the other realm. If you are on Boulderfist or Bloodscalp, let us know how the Connected Realms are working out! As Neth mentions, there are more Connected Realms planned for the future, probably depending on how this works out, so keep an eye on the official site for that list, and of course we'll keep you up to speed as best we can.
