WoW Classic Is Letting Players Change Realms (With Some Caveats)

So you probably know the story by now: World of Warcraft Classic is insanely overpopulated. Players are waiting hours to log in, even days after launch. And though Blizzard is working to get more servers online, it's not doing so fast enough. Fortunately, the studio is enabling character moves, letting players change which realm they're currently assigned to.

Unfortunately, there are some boxes that have to be checked off and some other restrictions that have to be considered.

To start, players are locked into their current realm if they have some unfinished business; say, some mail that's waiting or auctions that are still unsettled. Guild leaders — as long as they hold that title — can also look forward to staying put. These are minor hurdles to clear, however, so you should be able to get your character unshackled and ready for a move in short order.

But you won't have much of a choice as to where you're going. And that could present a whole host of other issues.

Let's say you move to a new realm that somehow becomes just as overly populated as the one you left. Then you're in the same spot all over again. What if you want to join the same realm as a friend who also plays World of Warcraft Classic? You'll have to cross your fingers that there's a realm in common you both can move to. And what if you just want to sit down and play the game without waiting an eternity? You may think changing realms would solve that problem for you (at least temporarily) but, according to Blizzard, even that "may take up to several hours to complete."

It seems apparent that no one — not even Blizzard — expected WoW Classic to blow up as it did. While its success is great for both Blizzard and the Classic player base, actually playing this game right now must be immensely frustrating. 

We hope relief comes soon in the form of more servers and shorter wait times. Until then, the realm change option is there, flaws and all.