Merging realms would be to transfert all characters from server A to server B as well as the AH and a few other things then close server A. Different and much more disruptive solution don’t you think ?
Tried to find sources about that but it’s hidden within a sea if recent posts and connecting realms articles… Afaik Blizzard did it at least once, suffered backlash and then made the connect realm tech in 5.4
But they could use the “connected realm” tech they used previously and avoid all that, right? Aren’t connected realms pretty much the same server, except they keep their server tag and thus do not require renaming, new guilds and all?
Yes, already replied something similar to Violeta so allow me to be lazy on this on :
OP asked why there were no merges, i gave the reasons why imo Blizzard isn’t doing them anymore. Dunno why they stopped connecting servers tho but yeah i think that’s the best solution.
Only issue now is sharding but it’s kinda requiered to run the game until they fix the classes/combat
Right, sorry, should have read the whole thread. :)) I too think the connected realms thingy really is a decent solution.
But that is what actually happens internally with connected realms. Characters are moved and servers closed but you didnt notice because the number of realms in the login screen is the same. And that is Blizzard intention, remove innecesary servers but keep the illusion that servers are not closed down
But we both agree than in a connected server there may be two jadzía from two servers but on a merged one one of the two would have to rename right ?
As for how it works iirc it’s more or less a new xrealm server you will join if you play any of the connected realms.
Anyway this debate lasted far too long already, merge ~= connected realms but merge bad and connected realms good. We good ?
I sweaar that if they keep warmode and don’t merge the only two italian servers i’m gonna be sad, there’s not much people in either of them anyway, at least i’d have a semi functioning AH, can’t even buy enough materials to max a profession from AH most of the time …
They actually done something like that before?
All I can recall is free transfers or connecting realms.
I remember that they did it years ago for a few servers but couldn’t found a source as the key words “wow” & “merge” only lead to recent posts like these or connecting realms =/
Connecting =/= mergning.
Connecting a server is just like connecting 2 water pipes, mergning is like getting rid of those 2 pipes and get a bigger one where all the water will flow through just one pipe.
You sure you don’t mistake it for some private server? 
Really, the only thing I remember is them connecting realms (after introducing cross-realm).
Yes, people have been asking for merges long before that, but Blizz didn’t do that and instead came later with the connecting tech.
Yeah, thanks, I explained that in like 4th post of this thread 
The fix I feel would be,
Merge realms
Allow surnames.
Then everyone renames keeping their original name plus and added surname.
CRZ needs to die. It feels bad when phasing in and out constantly.
No. Connecting is merging 2 water pipes into a biigger one but telling both house that use that pipe they still have an individual when in fact the original pipes were removed without anyone realize the pipe in both houses is the same pipes.
Connecting realms is merging realms at the same time they make you beleive those realms have not been merged and specially making you believe no realm has been close down.
Now that just sounds like a conspiracy theory.
If connecting realms was the same as merging them you wouldn’t be able to have the same name on both connected realms.
Fun fact, we could all be named Bob and the system would still be able to tell us apart…
That would solve everything when it comes to character names, but no, Blizzard cba with that, good solutions? Preposterous!
Given how some realms are completely dead,even the conected ones,one has to ask them self is it more worth while paying the upkeep for those servers as oposed of them earning from server transfers.
But with sharding in place they even fixed that problem for them self,just to keep the scam going on,i wouldnt be supriesed if they are running couple of realms on the same server with sharding,given how low the trafic on some of them are,and how the servers go into overload if they need to process more then 40 people in one zone.
Fun fact, the name is not the unique key using internally to indentify characters or guild. The key is a guid, is like a big random number, that is unique not only in one realm, it is unique for every character in any server.
The unique name is a secondary restriction that has been changed and now the server check that the combination of name and original realm is unique.
So, before conected realm two players cant have the same name in the same realm, but today two players can have the same name in a realm if both have a different realm of origin. That means there can be two Jadzias in the connected realm of Uldum and Shendralar if one is Jadzia-Uldum and another is Jadzia-Shendralar
Actually, I transfered over from EU-Mal’Ganis, a German realm, and after all these months I’m still really annoyed about the fact that my name is taken by some level 80 character that hasn’t been actively played in almost a decade. Yet I can’t claim it because the owner is still playing other characters…
Slowly getting used to this name though
I know how it works.
My point is, connectiong realms is still different than merging them. If 2 realms were merged people would be forced to change their character and guild names if there were 2 people/guild with the same name.
Kinda like on my first MMORPG. It has player housing on the open world, so there’s a finite amount of houses on the world that could be rented. When servers were merged the houses were reset and players had to, once again, fight a bid war to rent their old house. It just didn’t had the names issue because on that game the names are global and not server based.