Blizzard heard you.  You said you loved World of Warcraft, and play a ton, but are bummed you can't play with your friends on different servers.  It's great that you know when they log on and all, but that still doesn't let you use your beloved main character in their 5-man Zul'Aman run.  Now there's a new solution to this problem, or at least a solution is being tested.

Enter Real ID Party: A system that will allow you to group with your Real ID friends even if they play on a different server than you.  Currently the system allows players to group for 5-man and Heroic dungeon groups, as long as you are in the same faction.  Personally, I love this idea.  I keep rolling new characters on servers to play with my friends, but they either already are max level or outlevel me as I get pwned by the real life boss.  Now there's at least a chance that we can group together, if our gear is compatible, we are at the same level, and don't have our heroic lockouts mismatched.  Man, that's a lotta ifs.

There are some major questions that arise with this new service, and Blizzard is answering some of them in the form of an FAQ.  If you're interested in trying out the Real ID Party feature now, head on over to the test realm and check it out.

Real ID Party Feature -- Test Phase FAQ

 

Q: What is the Real ID Party feature?

A: Players can now invite Real ID friends of the same faction to a 5-player normal or Heroic dungeon group, regardless of what realm their friends are on. This system is designed to make it easier for real-life friends to play together.

 

Q: How do I invite Real ID friends to a Real ID party?

A: Inviting a Real ID friend to a Real ID Party is simple. Just open up your Friends list to see which Real ID friends are online. Click on the “Plus” button to send an invitation to a Real ID friend to join your group. You can continue to add Real ID friends to your party until the group is complete. If you cannot complete the group with Real ID friends, you are free to join the Dungeon Finder to fill in the missing roles. 

 

Q: Does a player need to have Real ID enabled to accept a Real ID group invite?

A: Yes, a player must have Real ID enabled, and both players must be Real ID friends to accept or initiate Real ID party invitations. 

 

Q:  Can a party leader invite a mix of Real ID friends, character-level friends, guildmates, or random players to the same party?

A: A party leader can invite any combination of Real ID friends from any realm, guildmates from the same realm, or other characters from the same realm to the same party. If the party leader isn’t able to fill up the entire party, the Dungeon Finder can fill in the missing roles. 

 

Q: Can I invite someone who is not a Real ID friend?

A: You can only invite members to a party if they are on your Real ID friends list or if they are on the same realm as you are.

 

Q: Can I invite a friend of a Real ID friend?

A: No, you can only invite your own Real ID friends to the party.

 

Q: How long will the testing period last?

A: We haven’t yet determined how long the testing period will last. We'll keep you updated on the status and inform you when the test period is going to end in the future.

 

Q: Will aspects of the Real ID Party system be premium-based?

We'll have information on this toward the end of the testing period.