- Not to be confused with Layer.
Layering is a game design tool to alleviate player overcrowding in outdoor areas. It is effectively the same as sharding, but covers the entire outdoor world of a realm. Layering was used at the launch of World of Warcraft Classic, but was later disabled.[1]
Behavior[]
At the launch of Classic, players on overcrowded realms were grouped into different "layers". Each layer is a copy of the outdoor world,[2] with minor differences:
- Players can only see other players on the same layer.
- Each layer has its own set of NPCs. As such, rare NPCs may respawn at different times on different layers.
- Each layer has its own set of objects such as herbs and mining nodes.
Players can move to a different layer by joining a party with a party leader on a different layer.[3]
Blizzard originally intended to merge the layers of each realm before Phase 2.[4] This was made effective in November 13, 2019.[5]
Patch changes[]
Patch 1.13.2 (2019-08-26): Added.
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Guys calm down!. Retrieved on 2019-11-02.
- ^ Wowhead - Blizzard Clears Up Layering Tech Misconceptions in Classic WoW
- ^ Anshlun 2019-05-14. Layering in Classic WoW. Wowhead. Retrieved on 2019-05-15.
- ^ perculia 2019-08-21. Blizzard Clears Up Layering Tech Misconceptions in Classic WoW. Wowhead. Retrieved on 2019-08-22.
- ^ Wowhead - All Realms Down to a Single Layer in Classic WoW