Battlegroup Changes

[chaos5061]

From Blizzard:
To facilitate better matchmaking for the Whirlwind and Emberstorm Battlegroups, players on the following realms will now have a chance to be matched together when using the Dungeon Finder or the Random Battleground system.

Whirlwind
Anub'arak, Blackwater Raiders, Bladefist, Cenarion Circle, Cenarius, Darrowmere, Echo Isles, Fenris, Hyjal, Korialstrasz, Lightbringer, Maiev, Misha, Ravenholdt, Shu'halo, Sisters of Elune, The Forgotten Coast, Uther, Vashj, Winterhoof

Emberstorm
Antonidas, Borean Tundra, Cairne, Drak'Tharon, Drenden, Farstriders, Garrosh, Hydraxis, Mok'Nathal, Moon Guard, Nazgrel, Nordrassil, Quel'dorei, Rivendare, Shandris, Tortheldrin, Wyrmrest Accord

We feel this change will reduce wait times and provide players on these realms with a more enjoyable dungeon and Battleground experience. While Whirlwind and Emberstorm are currently the only Battlegroups sharing a matchmaking pool, we expect to link all Battlegroups within a region once we've determined the effectiveness of this change within these first two Battlegroups.

[garrett30328]

Cant they just mix match all the Realms for fast play times?

[wowvern]

Within a battlegroup, yes. Overall, no. Each battlegroup is essentially a group of servers that are located at various places throughout the country. You can't match a server that is located in Irvine with a server located in Dallas because of the time difference. At least it should be that way. Blizzard knows what they're doing, so I'm not going to complain.

[Skippyninja]

Actually I HAVE noticed a difference in queue times since Echo Isles joined Whirlwind, my DPS classes actually get in within 5-8 minutes as opposed to 10-17

[dudedafool]

Actually I HAVE noticed a difference in queue times since Echo Isles joined Whirlwind, my DPS classes actually get in within 5-8 minutes as opposed to 10-17

Same, I'm on Antonidas alliance and I've been getting 5-8 minute queues as well. I'm very happy with this change, plus I get to meet additional people I never would have played with before. Some have currently been bad but others have been great.

[chaos5061]

More from Blizzard:
As we previously announced, we're in the process of rolling out region-wide battleground matchmaking. Once completed, all realms for our North American players will be matching together for battlegrounds, and four larger groups for dungeon finder use. This is a large technical undertaking, and while we're extremely excited to see this huge advancement in connecting players within World of Warcraft completed, the complexity means we'll be rolling it out slowly in a staggered approach.

Battlegroup listings and which realms are within each can be found at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/pvp/b.../battlegroups/


Phase 1 - Completed 10/26

Battlegrounds
The below battlegroups are now linked for battleground matchmaking.
Whirlwind
Emberstorm

Dungeon Finder
The below battlegroups are now linked within their group for dungeon finder matchmaking.
Group A
Whirlwind
Emberstorm


Phase 2 – Completed 11/3/10

Battlegrounds
Two additional battlegroups are added and all four are linked for battleground matchmaking.
Whirlwind
Emberstorm
Vengeance
Bloodlust

Dungeon Finder
The below realms are linked within their groups for dungeon finder matchmaking. In the final phase, all realms are expected to be grouped in this manner.
Group A
Whirlwind
Emberstorm

Group B
Stormstrike
Nightfall
Retaliation


Final Phase – TBD based on performance of previous phases

We'll be updating this thread as these phases progress.