Blizzard’s innovative “Real ID Party” feature allows Real ID friends of the same faction on any server to join 5 man instances is now opened for testing.
World of Warcraft with over 12 million subscribers, you’re bound to meet several friends and acquaintances in real life that plays as well, but with hundreds of servers, the odds of playing on the same server as your friend is quite slim. The Real ID Party may break the long time social barrier that has prevented friends from gaming together on different servers.
The feature is currently limited. Only the party leader can invite their Real ID friends. No friends of friends. The group may consist of Real ID friends as well as guild mates and other players from the same server.
In addition to grouping for 5 player dungeons, support for cross-game communication will also be included. Say hello to your Starcraft 2 friends and when Diablo 3 launches, you can hail back to your World of Warcraft buddies as well.
According to a response in the Real ID Party FAQ, it looks like Blizzard will have plans to monetize on the feature, “We’ll have information on the premium-based aspects of the Real ID Party system toward the end of the testing period.” Looks like there may be a chance of cross-server arenas or instance raiding.
The FAQ can be found below. More details on Real ID can be found at the official Battle.net website.
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 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?
A: We’ll have information on this toward the end of the testing period.