Virtual Realms / Connected Realms now on the 5.4 PTR
Hello again ladies ! I haven't posted in a while mostly because (a) I'm a guy and (b) I didn't have anything to post and (c) I stopped checking LJ. Sorry ! It's not your fault it's me :)
Aaaaanyways you may of heard about the coming Virtual Realms which is now the Connected Realms feature. Well it's now active on the PTR as of Build 17260. Which is the build from about a week ago.
So I’m going to commit guide suicide here by not fully explaining what a connected realms is. But chances are you’re wanting to find out the answers to burning questions you have that Blizzard has yet to answer. So I’m not going to cover ground already covered by Blizzard.
This is based on my observations on the 5.4 PTR and should not be taken as official word on the subject. All this does not mean Connected realms is going live with 5.4 either. The questions answered here will be updated for each new build that comes out for the PTR.
Official Blizzard Blogs :
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/10551009/Patch_54_Feature_Preview_Connected_Realms-8_5_2013
Gallery of 5.4 Connected Realms related images :
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0h7zig7p3ppoaw5/vHKJbcQuUr
What works cross Connected Server :
If you are in a Connected Realm relationship with another server you can :
Does this mean I can mail BoA and other items to a toon on a Realm i’m connected with ?
Current tests done on the 5.4 PTR suggest you can. I was able to mail a BoA item from one toon to another toon then back again.
Here's a tweet I put out about it :
https://twitter.com/bluspacecow/status/364468075497668608
Mailing someone on a Connected Realm ?
For mailing a player from a connected realm you put in the toon name , then a dash "-" and a popup menu comes up. You then either press tab or select the server you want it to go to. EG I type in "Bluspacecow" then dash and I see a little menu with "Bluspacecow-Anasterian(US)" and "Bluspacecow-Brill(EU)".
You must select either one from that menu or the mail won't go through. For the PTR this means making sure the (EU) or (US) or (KR) are appended to the server name. The easiest way of doing this is making sure you select a name/server combo in the popup list.
This system is used anytime you need to put a toons name in (eg whispers, sending mail , /who , /target , /invite , /ginvite etc etc). One hour cool down for mailing other people attachments , instant for mail to your own toons.
Whispering someone on a Connected Realm ?
Same way. You must select a name/server combo otherwise it won’t allow you to whisper them
Inviting someone to guild from a Connected Realm ?
/ginvite should work with the above method as would when you put them into the guild invitation field. Right clicking should work also.
Friending someone from a Connected Realm ?
Same as above as well as same as usual. Name/server combo with the dash method.
How do I tell someone's from a different server then me ?
Generally because they'll have a server name tacked to the end of their name on their tooltip. In LFG toons from the same connected realm will have a # after "Coalesced Realm" on the tooltip while toons from your Battlegroup will have a * after the "Coalesced Realm" on the tooltip
Have yet to test LFR but I assume it's the same.
Auction House - hows that work with Connected Realms ?
Exactly like it does now. When you search for items on the AH and mouse over the name it has the name + server the seller is on in the tooltip. When you get the mail from the AH the mail message you get as a receipt of sorts will list the name + server the seller is on.
The tooltip in the AH only appears if the seller is on a different realm server then you. If they're on the same server as you the tooltip doesn't appear
How about zone boundaries ? Does it still phase you in/out as it moves you to a different world server like with CRZ ?
There is no phasing stepping from one zone to another. Unlike CRZ when you are Connected to another realm you share world servers. There’s no phasing as there’s no copying of your toon from one world server to the next.
It really is seamless - I see toons from another PTR server inside Stormwind which wasn’t possible before. I have even had a member of my party from a different server follow me inside SW and inside the mage tower to show me the portal trainer.
LFG - Hows that work now ? Does it pull from just your Connected Realms ? Or all in your battlegroup as it does before ?
Works like before - pulling toons from all PTR servers , not just the one I was connected to. On Anasterian I saw toons from Broxigar , Nobundo and Anasterian. Anasterian is only connected to Brill at this stage.
I’m logged on the 5.4 PTR servers on one of the US servers. Why am I seeing people from the EU PTR servers ? Does this mean you could have both EU and US on the same server once it goes live ?
Unfortunately not.
You’re seeing this as all PTR servers are all based in the LA Data Center. The US, UE & KR designations are just convenient labels for default realm server selections depending on which locale’s PTR installer you use.
They’re all in the same data center probably a few racks down from each other. And not all PTR servers are connected to each other - Anasterian is connected to Brill , Broxigar to Kalaran and the last 2 PTR servers (Naralex and Nobundo) aren’t connected at all.
Technical Data :
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgyVINZYxvDpdGl6bHN6eV82Y1NwUU1COTJiRXNUSEE#gid=0
Aaaaanyways you may of heard about the coming Virtual Realms which is now the Connected Realms feature. Well it's now active on the PTR as of Build 17260. Which is the build from about a week ago.
So I’m going to commit guide suicide here by not fully explaining what a connected realms is. But chances are you’re wanting to find out the answers to burning questions you have that Blizzard has yet to answer. So I’m not going to cover ground already covered by Blizzard.
This is based on my observations on the 5.4 PTR and should not be taken as official word on the subject. All this does not mean Connected realms is going live with 5.4 either. The questions answered here will be updated for each new build that comes out for the PTR.
Official Blizzard Blogs :
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/10551009/Patch_54_Feature_Preview_Connected_Realms-8_5_2013
Gallery of 5.4 Connected Realms related images :
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0h7zig7p3ppoaw5/vHKJbcQuUr
What works cross Connected Server :
If you are in a Connected Realm relationship with another server you can :
Send mail to your own toons on the other server (instantly)
Send mail to someone else on the other server (incurs 1 HR cooldown)
Sending a BoA item to your toon on the other server (http://t.co/oyBHtunagF)
Sign a Guild Charter from a toon on the other server
Send a Guild Invite to a toon on the other server
Accept a Guild Invite to a toon on the other server
Teleport someone from the other server
Whisper someone from the other server
Post in a Chat channel that people from the other server can see
See people posting in a Chat Channel from the other server
Buy an item off the Auction House from someone on the other server
Seamlessly following someone inside a traditionally CRZ zone (no phasing)
See people inside a traditionally CRZ free zone (eg Stormwind)
Does this mean I can mail BoA and other items to a toon on a Realm i’m connected with ?
Current tests done on the 5.4 PTR suggest you can. I was able to mail a BoA item from one toon to another toon then back again.
Here's a tweet I put out about it :
https://twitter.com/bluspacecow/status/364468075497668608
Mailing someone on a Connected Realm ?
For mailing a player from a connected realm you put in the toon name , then a dash "-" and a popup menu comes up. You then either press tab or select the server you want it to go to. EG I type in "Bluspacecow" then dash and I see a little menu with "Bluspacecow-Anasterian(US)" and "Bluspacecow-Brill(EU)".
You must select either one from that menu or the mail won't go through. For the PTR this means making sure the (EU) or (US) or (KR) are appended to the server name. The easiest way of doing this is making sure you select a name/server combo in the popup list.
This system is used anytime you need to put a toons name in (eg whispers, sending mail , /who , /target , /invite , /ginvite etc etc). One hour cool down for mailing other people attachments , instant for mail to your own toons.
Whispering someone on a Connected Realm ?
Same way. You must select a name/server combo otherwise it won’t allow you to whisper them
Inviting someone to guild from a Connected Realm ?
/ginvite should work with the above method as would when you put them into the guild invitation field. Right clicking should work also.
Friending someone from a Connected Realm ?
Same as above as well as same as usual. Name/server combo with the dash method.
How do I tell someone's from a different server then me ?
Generally because they'll have a server name tacked to the end of their name on their tooltip. In LFG toons from the same connected realm will have a # after "Coalesced Realm" on the tooltip while toons from your Battlegroup will have a * after the "Coalesced Realm" on the tooltip
Have yet to test LFR but I assume it's the same.
Auction House - hows that work with Connected Realms ?
Exactly like it does now. When you search for items on the AH and mouse over the name it has the name + server the seller is on in the tooltip. When you get the mail from the AH the mail message you get as a receipt of sorts will list the name + server the seller is on.
The tooltip in the AH only appears if the seller is on a different realm server then you. If they're on the same server as you the tooltip doesn't appear
How about zone boundaries ? Does it still phase you in/out as it moves you to a different world server like with CRZ ?
There is no phasing stepping from one zone to another. Unlike CRZ when you are Connected to another realm you share world servers. There’s no phasing as there’s no copying of your toon from one world server to the next.
It really is seamless - I see toons from another PTR server inside Stormwind which wasn’t possible before. I have even had a member of my party from a different server follow me inside SW and inside the mage tower to show me the portal trainer.
LFG - Hows that work now ? Does it pull from just your Connected Realms ? Or all in your battlegroup as it does before ?
Works like before - pulling toons from all PTR servers , not just the one I was connected to. On Anasterian I saw toons from Broxigar , Nobundo and Anasterian. Anasterian is only connected to Brill at this stage.
I’m logged on the 5.4 PTR servers on one of the US servers. Why am I seeing people from the EU PTR servers ? Does this mean you could have both EU and US on the same server once it goes live ?
Unfortunately not.
You’re seeing this as all PTR servers are all based in the LA Data Center. The US, UE & KR designations are just convenient labels for default realm server selections depending on which locale’s PTR installer you use.
They’re all in the same data center probably a few racks down from each other. And not all PTR servers are connected to each other - Anasterian is connected to Brill , Broxigar to Kalaran and the last 2 PTR servers (Naralex and Nobundo) aren’t connected at all.
Technical Data :
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgyVINZYxvDpdGl6bHN6eV82Y1NwUU1COTJiRXNUSEE#gid=0