Cross-realm arenas and battlegrounds could be coming to a World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King Classic near you, thanks to the news that Blizzard is testing the feature. In an update via the forums, the feature is being put through its paces on the Wrath PTR.
Arenas and Battlegrounds have been cross-realm in regular World of Warcraft since almost their inception, though the current realm restrictions in Wrath of the Lich King Classic make it so transfer and character creation on some of the largest realms isn't possible. As a way of getting around this restriction, Blizzard is testing the ability to group with cross-realm players, as well as queue into Arena and Battleground matches.
"We do recognize however that PvP has been cross realm for almost all of WoW’s existence, and that realm restrictions get in the way of utilizing team-less Arena that was added in Wrath of the Lich King Classic. As a result, we’ve implemented a system to allow you to group with players on other realms, and queue into Arena matches and Battlegrounds together. We feel that this is a sensible change considering that Arenas have been cross server since their inception in 2007, and Battlegrounds have been cross-realm since shortly after they were introduced back in original World of Warcraft."
As a result, the feature is being tested on the Wrath PTR, with instructions listed on the forum post with exactly how to invite them. However, it should be noted that cross-faction play isn't available like it is in retail WoW. As such, you'll need to jump into a group with your fellow Alliance or Horde-mates, and while this does allow you to queue for PvP matches, it doesn't necessarily let you join your group leader's layer and enter content other than Arena and Battlegrounds.
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is entering into the final stages of testing patch 3.4.1, which will include Ulduar, which Blizzard states should be releasing "very soon." You can check out the full post on the Blizzard forums.
