Shadowmoon Valley Preview, Alliance Garrison, Connected Realms, Forging Frostmourne

As previously announced, we’ve been working toward connecting realms to increase the number of players on low-population realms. Here's a continuously updated list that contains currently planned connections, future plans, and completed realm connections, all in one convenient location.

*Please note this list does not encompass all potential future connections. Please check back for further updates.

Next Connections
We will be connecting the realms listed below on Thursday, July 3 during a scheduled maintenance beginning at 5 a.m. PDT through approximately 1:00 p.m. PDT. Once maintenance is finished, these realm connections will be complete.

• Alterac Mountains and Balnazzar, Gorgonnash, The Forgotten Coast, and Warsong
• Gnomeregan and Moonrunner

We will be connecting the realms listed below on Thursday, July 10 during a scheduled maintenance beginning at 5 a.m. PDT through approximately 1:00 p.m. PDT. Once maintenance is finished, these realm connections will be complete.

• Zuluhed and Andorhal, Scilla and Ursin
• Ysera and Durotan

Warlords of Draenor Theorycraft Discussion
With the changes to haste breakpoints, how will temporary haste buffs like the one from elemental blast affect HOTS or totems? Will we see the additional tick or heal long after the temporary buff is gone?
Haste is checked at the beginning of each cast, and on each tick of periodics.

Is there any way that you can set the healing dummies to put you into combat whenever you heal them and for something like 30 seconds after your last healing event to them? It would make healing testing a lot more accurate and let us test combat regen/sustainability of different spell selections.
Ah, hmm... I'll see what I can do about that. In the meantime, easy solution should be to just stand between the healing dummies and some damage dummies and throw a spell on a damage dummy. As long as you stay within 50yd of the damage dummy, it'll stay in combat with you. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

PvP
On the good news front, currently working on something awesome we haven't even told you about. (holinka)

e.g. brand new PvPer goes in at 1500 MMR. Gets wrecked 10x. Better experience if they start at ~1000 or so, win as they learn?
You are bootstrapped at the beginning of the season. You are actually 800 MMR. (holinka)
Admittedly poor transparency. Discussing that. (holinka)
ah, well, fair enough IDK, from friends starting arenas, losing a lot right off the bat is a reason why several don't continue.
Yeah agree with that and common complaint. Something we are discussing going forward. (holinka)

The objective of the developers should be to get more people playing pvp, not pissed off at the gearing process
Removing MMR tanking could be argued as helping there as new players aren't facing ppl that tanked. (holinka)

Have you considered matching by ilvl and then by rating? Does that extend queue time too much?
MMR adjusts on winning/losing so gear gets taken into account. There are all kinds of edge cases/exploits to gear matchmaking. (holinka)

MMR is MatchMaking Rating, and by tanking I think he means it's going to lower everyone's rating a LOT initially.
Tanking MMR means deliberately losing games to lower your MMR for easier wins against lower skilled players. (holinka)

Make Prideful Conquest achievement account wide? Would boost bg queues and reduce the amount of players tanking
The average player queues to earn conquest. Making them not need conquest will not improve queues. (holinka)

So you are turning 5hours+ into atleast 24hours. Because honor gear will be required, which u will replace later
Yes you have to devote time into making your character more powerful in WoW. It's a pillar of the genre. (holinka)