The newly announced patch 9.2.5 lets you play together with players of the other faction in World of Warcraft after a long time.
Old enmity rusts after all! After the division between the Horde and the Alliance seemed irreconcilable for a long time, this is now to change: World of Warcraft has announced the (Successor patch 9.2.5), which will enable cross-faction groups in dungeons and raids, even before the release of patch 9.2. With this, WoW is breaking with an old tradition – and its own declared will not to introduce such mixed groups
What exactly this news means for WoW and why these changes are coming now?
What exactly is changing?
First, let’s take a detailed look at the changes planned for Patch 9.2.5.
Where is the cooperation of factions possible?
In the future, you will be able to form organised groups for dungeons, raids and rated PvP from members of both factions. However, you will still be able to join your Horde or Alliance counterparts in battles without this option. So there will probably be an option to basically disable mixed groups.
There will also probably be some restrictions on the joint groups:
- In order to invite a member of the other faction directly into a group, you must be friends with them via BattleTag or Real-ID, or you must be a member of a cross-faction WoW community.
- Generally, groups in the Dungeon Browser are open to members of both factions. However, the leader of the group may choose to limit it to one faction.
- Mixed groups are only possible in Mythic Dungeons, Raids or Rated Arenas and Battlegrounds. Guilds and activities where players are randomly assigned, such as Heroic Dungeons or Skirmishes, are still limited to one faction.
Cross-faction groups will work for all levels and also in classic instances, although some exceptions have already been announced. You can still only go on the following adventures with your faction companions:
- The Battle of Dazar’alor
- The Test of the Crusader
- The Icecrown Citadel
- Some other instances not yet known
The reason for this is that these instances contain extensive faction-specific elements that make cross-faction groups impossible. However, they are already announcing the possibility of revising these to offer a shared experience for members of different factions as well.
How does the cooperation work?
In a cross-faction group, all members are friendly to you as usual. You can also exchange information with participants from another faction in the group chat. In dungeons, raids and the other compatible game modes, cooperation with group members from the other faction will then also work in the same way as you are used to with allies: You can help each other in battle, share loot and earn achievements together.
What about the rest of the world?
Outside of the cross-faction groups, everything should remain as it is. The Horde remains hostile to the Alliance and vice versa. Communication between the factions will therefore continue to be restricted and in war mode you can still expect to get punched in the nose by supporters of the enemy.
When is the patch coming?
So far it is only known that patch 9.2.5 will be released after patch 9.2 End of Eternity. But no release date is known yet for Patch 9.2 either. The only speculation is that it will come in March 2022, which seems realistic given the long time on the PTR and the new patch announcement.
Those who are now wondering why the cross-faction groups are not part of Patch 9.2 receive their answer in the announcement of 9.2.5: It says that the changes are too extensive to be integrated before the completion of Patch 9.2. Therefore, it will probably be several months before the new feature is introduced.
But the fact that it is coming at all is exciting. After all, when 9.2 was introduced, they were already talking about the last chapter of the first Warcraft book. Many assumed that the new expansion would be announced sooner than a new interim patch. How to assess the recent leaks here.
Why is this coming now?
In the announcement, the reasoning behind the change of heart remains rather vague: they had come to the conclusion that the former statement that the division between Horde and Alliance was part of the pillars that made Warcraft Warcraft was too simplistic. A more important role is played by the identity of the factions, which is shaped by their conflict, but also allows for cooperation.
According to the developers, the new feature should even contribute to strengthening the identity of Alliance and Horde: Because, if players no longer feel forced to choose a faction in order to play with their friends, they will be more likely to be able to make their own decision.
We learn more about the decision in a recent interview Game Director Ian Hazzikostas did with IGN Here, another understandable reason is given for the time of the decision.
For example, communication between players would have changed fundamentally. While in the past you would have met your online acquaintances in the game, over the years WoW communities also formed outside the game, in forums, on Discord or via Twitter. So players kept networking and getting to know each other outside of personal encounters in the game.
While in the beginning it was accepted as fate if you couldn’t play together with a friend because he or she played on another server or was a member of the other faction, over time it became more and more difficult to justify these hard limits.
In the meantime, Hazzicostas admits in the interview that the time had long since come for changes. But they simply found it difficult to shake such an entrenched tradition.
Other possible reasons
Besides the official reasoning behind the decision, there may also be things that Blizzard prefers to leave unmentioned, but which the developers’ statement points out:
For example, faction imbalance and apparently declining player numbers certainly play a role in the desired freedom of choice in faction selection. Cross-faction matchmaking solves this problem, at least in the short term.
Things could soon change at Blizzard anyway in view of the takeover by Microsoft.
Microsoft buys Activision and things couldn’t be better for us gamers
What do you think of the announced feature? Are you looking forward to fighting battles with all your friends, or are you all fighting for the Horde anyway?
