For the characters out of phase with me, I don't see them at all until we occupy the same point in the storyline (while in the area the phasing applies to, everything is normal elsewhere). When grouped with someone out of phase with you, there is sometimes a little icon next to their party bars that lets you know they're in a different phase from you. But I haven't tested it fully.
This is the sort of thing I'm interested in. I guess it doesn't affect gameplay much, but it seems very unusual. Take the Eastern Plaguelands, for example. When you first walk in, there's a cart. If a friend and I (ungrouped) walk up to that cart, and I take the cart, do I disappear? Probably, from what I'm reading. And then I make it to the first tower, and I appear again, but he can't see the cart. Maybe there's some other object in his phase where the cart is in mine, so that he can't just walk through it...
And what about Andorhal? That whole middle town is a big phased place. If I'm at a different phase from someone else, that would be like a black hole to them. I walk up to the town, and disappear. I take a step back, and there I am! Is that really how it works? Having this sort of thing all over the place seems like it would kill the social aspect of an MMO. It moves things in the Guild Wars direction, where everything but a few central hubs are completely instanced. Obviously it's not to that degree yet, but implementing phasing in all the major quest lines means you're more and more unlikely to interact with players out and about in the world. Isn't that what MMOs are all about?
Clean for two years. . .but Cataclysm got me.
07/12/2010 11:14:12 AM
- 1115 Views
A friend of mine is considering it, but my reply on joining him is an emphatic no.
07/12/2010 02:15:27 PM
- 745 Views
The "mini-instanced" thing you refer to is what they call call "phasing".
07/12/2010 02:19:04 PM
- 698 Views
Sure, I understand that part, I just don't know how it works when you pull in other players.
07/12/2010 04:07:50 PM
- 673 Views
From what I saw previously...
07/12/2010 06:07:53 PM
- 856 Views
Huh.
07/12/2010 06:42:58 PM
- 717 Views
The funniest thing...
07/12/2010 10:46:19 PM
- 727 Views
*NM*
08/12/2010 03:12:41 PM
- 324 Views

Re: Huh.
08/12/2010 07:45:46 PM
- 698 Views
You noticed the examples I gave were from the plaguelands, right? Did you catch that? *NM*
08/12/2010 08:07:13 PM
- 650 Views
Great.
07/12/2010 02:21:54 PM
- 734 Views
If you've tried it and didn't like it, the changes won't convince you to play.
07/12/2010 04:15:04 PM
- 685 Views
Get me excited then kick me in the head then.
*NM*
10/12/2010 12:32:54 AM
- 326 Views

I haven't installed it yet, but it's dead week so I probably won't get to play much for a while
07/12/2010 02:53:23 PM
- 719 Views
I am excited, they are going to have werewolves
*NM*
07/12/2010 03:51:23 PM
- 338 Views

I'm predicting one Worgen-only guild named Team Jacob per server. *NM*
07/12/2010 03:53:21 PM
- 351 Views
I was excited about that initially.
07/12/2010 04:23:47 PM
- 774 Views

pallies are still ridiculously OP
08/12/2010 02:12:18 PM
- 687 Views
Re: pallies are still ridiculously OP
09/12/2010 01:37:29 AM
- 744 Views
yah, I always forget DKs. I haven't been in BGs since the breaking
09/12/2010 02:09:52 PM
- 717 Views
On the plus side, DK glyphs sell like hotcakes, so I'm fine with some OP DK fun.
*NM*
09/12/2010 04:58:11 PM
- 367 Views

EVERYTHING is selling like hotcakes.
10/12/2010 02:14:37 PM
- 661 Views
Yeah? On my server I can't get much other than DK glyphs to go.
10/12/2010 03:23:07 PM
- 679 Views
swiiiming swiimming swiiming swiiming!
11/12/2010 11:20:47 AM
- 670 Views
You LIKE swimming? Yech.
*NM*
11/12/2010 07:47:20 PM
- 313 Views

You haven't seen Vashj'ir yet, have you?
*NM*
11/12/2010 10:20:38 PM
- 324 Views

Nope. 71 now, though. Exams are over on Wednesday, and then I'll make some serious progress.
*NM*
13/12/2010 06:42:36 AM
- 353 Views

WotLK and Cata zones are amazing.
13/12/2010 02:12:07 PM
- 695 Views
I actually like group quests, as long as I can solo them.
14/12/2010 02:19:48 PM
- 657 Views

Before the end of Wrath
17/12/2010 05:31:36 AM
- 758 Views
haha, yeah, I remember being able to solo just about anything in BC with my pally.
17/12/2010 08:54:15 PM
- 648 Views