Yes, Battleground Blitz is fully cross-faction. Horde and Alliance players queue into one shared pool, and the matchmaker builds both 8-player teams from whoever is available, mixing factions freely. Each team is assigned a side for that match only, so you can be teamed with, or against, your own faction. Your character's race and faction never change.
Cross-faction Blitz at a glance
- Queue type: solo, or with one partner (a party of two). No 8-stack premades.
- Team size: 8 vs 8 on the standard rated battleground maps with Blitz rule tweaks (faster matches, shorter respawn timers, extra map-specific objectives).
- Faction mixing: one merged queue for both factions. Your team gets a temporary side label (Horde or Alliance) for that game only.
- Duo queue partner: can be from the opposite faction. You need to be able to group together, which cross-faction party invites already allow.
- Rating: a dedicated Blitz rating and MMR, separate from Rated Battlegrounds, 2v2, 3v3 and Solo Shuffle.
- What does not carry over: your racials still work exactly as they always have. Being placed on the "other" side changes nothing about your character's abilities.
How faction assignment actually works in a Blitz match
When the game fills, the matchmaker sorts sixteen players into two teams by rating and role, not by faction. One team is then flagged as the Alliance side and the other as the Horde side so the map objectives, spawn points and team colours make sense. In practice that means a Night Elf Druid and an Orc Warrior can spend the whole match holding the same flag room.
Chat, raid frames and markers all work normally inside the match because for those twenty minutes you are simply one team. Once the scoreboard drops, everyone goes back to their home faction and nothing about that game follows you into the open world.
Can I queue Blitz with a friend from the other faction?
Yes. Blitz accepts solo players and parties of two, and cross-faction grouping is allowed in rated PvP, so an Alliance player and a Horde player can queue together and will land on the same side. The pair is matched as a unit, and your ratings should be reasonably close or the queue will take longer and the match will be placed around the higher rating.
Does cross-faction Blitz give one faction an advantage?
Not in any structural way. Since every team is a mix of both factions, the old debate about which faction has better racials for a given map mostly stops mattering. Strong racials still exist, but they end up spread across both sides of every match instead of stacking on one faction. The practical edge comes from role balance and communication, which is why healers and a coordinated flag carrier matter far more than what banner your team spawns under.
Are Rated Battlegrounds and random battlegrounds cross-faction too?
Rated Battlegrounds allow cross-faction groups, so a 10-player RBG team can include both Horde and Alliance players and queues into the same merged pool as Blitz. Random, unrated battlegrounds have historically used mixed queues as well, with teams flagged per match in the same way. If you are unsure about a specific unrated brawl, check the queue tooltip in the PvP tab, which states whether the mode is cross-faction.
Do Blitz rewards or titles depend on my faction?
No. Blitz rating rewards, seasonal titles, the rated PvP gear track and the end-of-season mounts are tied to your character's rating and progress, not to which side you were assigned in any given match. Faction-specific PvP cosmetics you already own still display normally; the temporary side assignment does not override your transmog or your tabard.
Rather have a vetted pro alongside you?
If cross-faction Blitz has you climbing slower than you would like, PewPewShop offers Battleground Blitz rating help from experienced human PvP players, from EUR 25.04, with a Midnight Season 2 Blitz rating track from EUR 60.01. It works as play-together or rent-a-pro style progression help, so you learn the map calls and pacing while the rating goes up. No bots, no cheats, and a long zero-ban record.