Leaving a group moves the leader to a new layer
Layering in World of Warcraft: Forever draws complaints from beta players. Leaving a group moves not only that player to another layer, but the group leader too. Bordering zones can also sit on different layers. Blizzard speaks of incremental steps.
What changed
A layer is one of several copies of a zone, each running on its own. Forever already brought one improvement: the game warns five minutes before a forced layer change, with a Refresh Now button. Players, and Hardcore players in particular, welcomed that.
Grouping works differently. In earlier versions of Classic, a player who joined a group moved to the leader’s layer and stayed there after leaving. In Forever, leaving a group sends that player to another layer, and the group leader moves as well.
Groups that drift apart
A Reddit post from 11 October calls the new system one of the biggest issues of the beta. Joining a group can move you to the others, or pull the whole group to you. When the group disbands, everyone goes back to the layer they started on.
The post gives examples. Whoever runs to help a friend who is being ganked in Stranglethorn Vale can just as well pull that friend away from the fight. General chat is layered too, which makes it harder to find someone to group with. And according to a comment, a declined group invite often moves a player to another layer, which in a cave can mean a room full of fresh spawns.
Every zone has its own layers
Layers are now tied to a zone, so crossing a zone border can mean a new layer. Content creator HelloJTello filmed it at the border between Dalaran and Silverpine Forest, where other players fade in and out of view. HelloJTello expects Blizzard to adjust it in time.
The same happens between Tirisfal Glades and the Ruins of Lordaeron above the Undercity, as a Twitch clip from JurdiJD shows.
Incremental steps
In episode 4 of the developer podcast, a guest asked about raid groups that suddenly land on another layer. “We’re making incremental steps,” said Lead Designer Tim Jones. Blizzard has made huge improvements so world PvP works at scale, according to Jones.
The team wants to give players more control: groups larger than a raid, no random phasing out of a group, and PvP at zone borders. Jones hopes to get as much of it as possible into the launch on 4 November, and calls it a continued effort after that.
Which of these changes make the launch, Blizzard does not say. In the first episode, Josh Greenfield already called two other layering problems bugs: a rare mob that vanishes when two players group up, and an opponent in world PvP who fades into another layer.
Source: Wowhead