Phase 2, layering removed, & free character moves coming next week

Furious • Published November 8, 2019

Today Kaivax, a Blizzard CM, posted on the official WoW Classic forums the final schedule for the rollout of phase 2.

They are beginning with free character transfers on the 11th in order to minimize queue times for the realms that still have layering enabled due to high populations and mitigate queues.

On Tuesday they will be removing layering on all realms where it is currently enabled. This should give players a couple of days to get an idea of the queue times they can expect if they choose not to transfer their characters to another realm.

On Thursday the remaining items in phase 2 will be released which are the PVP Honor System and World Bosses.

UPDATE:

Blizzard has updated their post to take into consideration faction imbalances when it comes to the free server transfers. The following servers only have faction specific transfers enabled per this current update.

FROM	TO	FACTION
Fairbanks	Anathema	Horde-only
Fairbanks	Arcanite Reaper	Horde-only
Fairbanks	Earthfury	Horde-only
Fairbanks	Heartseeker	Horde-only
Herod	Arcanite Reaper	Horde-only
Herod	Heartseeker	Horde-only
Kromcrush	Arcanite Reaper	Horde-only
Kromcrush	Heartseeker	Horde-only
Skeram	Arcanite Reaper	Horde-only
Skeram	Heartseeker	Horde-only
Stalagg	Arcanite Reaper	Horde-only
Stalagg	Heartseeker	Horde-only

References

Source

Next week, we will take multiple steps to prepare for the release of the PvP Honor system and World Bosses at 11:00 a.m. PST on Thursday, November 14. Here’s an outline of those steps.

Monday, November 11 – Updates to Free Character Moves**
At 11:00 a.m. PST on Monday, we will update the Free Character Move service.

Free Character Moves from all realms to Sul’thraze (Brazil) and Loatheb (Mexico) will be closed at this time.
Free Character Moves will no longer be available from Atiesh, Benediction, or Yojamba (Australia).
The following Free Character Moves will be available:

FROM	TO
Arugal	Felstriker
Bigglesworth	Anathema
Bigglesworth	Arcanite Reaper
Bigglesworth	Earthfury
Blaumeux	Anathema
Blaumeux	Arcanite Reaper
Blaumeux	Earthfury
Faerlina	Anathema
Faerlina	Arcanite Reaper
Faerlina	Earthfury
Fairbanks	Anathema
Fairbanks	Arcanite Reaper
Fairbanks	Earthfury
Fairbanks	Heartseeker
Grobbulus	Anathema
Grobbulus	Arcanite Reaper
Grobbulus	Deviate Delight
Herod	Arcanite Reaper
Herod	Heartseeker
Incendius	Anathema
Incendius	Arcanite Reaper
Incendius	Earthfury
Kromcrush	Arcanite Reaper
Kromcrush	Heartseeker
Mankrik	Azuresong
Mankrik	Windseeker
Pagle	Azuresong
Pagle	Windseeker
Skeram	Arcanite Reaper
Skeram	Heartseeker
Stalagg	Arcanite Reaper
Stalagg	Heartseeker
Sulfuras	Anathema
Sulfuras	Arcanite Reaper
Sulfuras	Earthfury
Whitemane	Anathema
Whitemane	Arcanite Reaper
Whitemane	Earthfury

We strongly suggest that any players planning to use a Free Character Move do so as soon as possible. Free Character Moves may be disabled without warning at any time.

Tuesday, November 12 – All Realms to One Layer
With scheduled weekly maintenance beginning at 7:00 a.m. PST on Tuesday, all WoW Classic realms will be set to a single-layer. We expect some realms listed above to experience long queues after this step. We especially encourage players on Arugal , Faerlina , Herod , and Whitemane to use the Free Character Move service to avoid excessive queues.

Thursday, November 14 – PVP Honor System and World Bosses
At 11:00 a.m. PST on Thursday, the update will occur for all realms in this region. The PvP Honor system will come online, and it will become possible for Azuregos and Kazzak to spawn.

Thank you very much!