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PTR build 5.0.4 available and forums are live
The PTR discussion and bug report forums are live, and Cataclysm patch 5.0.4 is ready for download. The version may initially show up as 5.0.3 but will change to 5.0.4 "soon." Blizzard Community Manager Kaivax says the Public Test Realms will be up "Soon. Very soon." Kaivax also reminds us that those of us with accounts that are linked to the Mists of Pandaria beta will not be able to download or otherwise access the PTR. Some forum posters report that the PTR realms are coming up right now. So if you don't have access to the beta but do want to check out what will develop into the final Cataclysm patch, head on over to Battle.net and download the PTR build from your Account Management screen. All relevant blue posts are after the break. Editor's Note: The patch 5.0.4 PTR patch notes were just made available, you can find them right here.
Sunday PTR update: Test realms coming "in the new week"
Players stayed up late into the night auto-refreshing the PTR forums looking for any sign that the patch was dropped (or, at the very least, their character copies weren't wiped again.) Finally, European CM Wryxian responded that it was not going up on a weekend night when all the developers had gone to bed, but did offer something close to a timeline. He said: ''I'd advise expecting it in the new week, but not to be surprised if it comes sooner." Other blues were busy on the forums posting a round up of the class changes coming in Patch 3.1 (our analysis here) and fielding questions about the appearance of the Test NPC that provides raid consumables for those that didn't transfer over with enough (probably, but not definite.) If you are planning on heading into the Test realms, you should read over our post on how to be an effective tester.At this point you may be asking what the image in this article has anything to do with the Test realms. Nothing, I just think it's an excellent Photoshopped piece done by our own Zach Yonzon. Enjoy!
PTR forums up, more beta invites going out
As a few of our readers have noted (thanks Nicholas!), the Public Test Realm Forum is back up and running, apparently in anticipation for the impending test cycle of patch 3.0.2, the pre-Wrath content patch set to release in the next few weeks or months. As of this writing, Blizzard hasn't posted anything in there yet, but considering Blizzard apparently likes to break open servers right before the weekend, we could have access to 3.0.2 as soon as tomorrow evening.And more folks are getting into the Wrath beta as well -- we've heard from quite a few people on our tips line, and there's been lots of murmuring on the forums that new beta invites are going out. Looks like Blizzard is ratcheting up testing of the new content in a big way. That doesn't mean that we'll move our expectation of the release date up, as there's still a lot of work to be done on what we've seen in the beta. But if you've been waiting patiently for your chance to check out some of the new content, it could be right around the corner.
Official PTR boards and character copy are up, but no PTRs are active
Late last night, without fanfare or blue announcement, the official PTR forum went up, and the PTR character copy function became operational. Unfortunately, nobody is sure quite what to make of this, as there are no PTRs up, no patch announced, and no post from Hortus or any other blue on the PTR Forums themselves. It's certainly possible that someone threw the wrong switch, although for now, people are holding out hope for an announcement later this morning. It's certainly a bit late now to do some last minute testing on Season 4 gear or the Midsummer Fire Festival, likely, and it's far too early to expect any of the WoTLK stat adjustments or other mechanics changes to see the light of day on live, so it's likely that this will a minor bug fix patch. Perhaps the fix to all those Hunter growl bugs is finally incoming, or maybe they'll add the Brewfest Kodo to the live servers. We'll keep you updated as we hear more, but it looks like it's a safe bet that we'll have a PTR patch 2.4.3 coming soon enough. [Via Mania's Arcania]
