public-test-realm
Latest
PTR goes up
Usually Blizzard is pretty definitive when they take something down. However today they've decided to take down the PTR (Public Test Realm) in the morning, and then put it back up early tonight. I'm reminded of a recent Simpsons episode I watched where Homer is sitting in his hospital bed awaiting a heart bypass surgery and goes "Bed goes up, bed goes down. Bed goes up, bed goes down." PTR goes down, PTR goes up. All of these announcements come from the same person, Hortus, so it's not an issue of him being confused or anything (unless the whirly jig in his head has gotten to him). Hortus does tell us that they've put it up for "some additional testing," which really isn't a surprise given it's a test realm.This probably means that patch 2.4.2 won't go live tomorrow if there is maintenance. Once we know more we'll post and keep you updated.
PTR is closed
Hortus just posted that the PTR server for patch 2.4.2 has been taken down, and that the PTR phase for the patch has ended. This is a strong indicator that patch 2.4.2 is on its way soon, perhaps during some expected maintenance tomorrow.Take a look at the official and un-official notes for a comprehensive look at what will change. Nothing in the patch is game-breaking, in my opinion, but there are some nice changes. Some of the major highlights include: Changes to the way arena points are calculated. Void Shatter no longer has a cooldown, and other cooldowns have been reduced. If you are sheeped / polymorphed by a mob, you will no longer gain back health (ie: the mass sheep in Aran, which regens your health before he fire blasts the raid). Many main hand weapons are now one hand weapons. WoW Insider will carry the latest on the patch, including as soon as we know when it's set to go live. Stay tuned!Edit 3:24 p.m. EDT: It should be noted that the final version of the patch notes have not been released yet, however they are usually close to what the PTR patch notes are.
Patch 2.4.2 notes released
Blizzard has released tonight the patch notes for patch 2.4.2, which means the PTR will probably be up and running sometime soon. Patch 2.4 will likely be the last major patch before Wrath of the Lich King, and we expect to see a couple more of these minor patches before WotLK comes out.Highlights of 2.4.2 include: Changes to the way arena points are calculated - essentially what Drysc talked about earlier. Void Shatter no longer has a cooldown, and other cooldowns have been reduced. Illidan will no longer despawn if a raid wipes during his death speech. If you are sheeped / polymorphed by a mob, you will no longer gain back health (ie: the mass sheep in Aran, which regens your health before he fire blasts the raid). This is a potentially large change. Many main hand weapons are now one hand weapons. A good list of bug fixes, including several problems associated with sounds. Full patch notes for your convenience after the break!
Exclusive Interview: Nihilum, the Sunwell, and the future of high-end raiding
After writing one of my first articles on an essay penned by Neg, one of Nihilum's resto Shaman, I was surprised and heartened to see him get in touch. We talked about a few matters related to our pieces and I asked him if he would mind answering some questions about what the guild's been up to since we spoke to them last. We hadn't heard much about Nihilum on the PTR (Vis Maior was the guild steamrolling the content this time out), but they've been upgrading and expanding their website, and one of the 2.4 raiding screenshots on Wowwiki belongs to them, so they've obviously been busy. It had also become clear that Awake, arguably their most high profile member, had left the guild, and I was curious about what was going on.Neg very graciously answered my questions, which you'll find below the cut. Read on for his take on Sunwell Plateau and his favorite boss, Awake's departure, resto Shamans versus holy Paladins, picking up an enhancement Shaman and the class in PvP, various boss encounters, and WoW as an e-sport.
WoW Rookie: What the hell is going on today?
We heard from a few people either new or returning to WoW that the amount of information overload on our front page was reaching critical mass, so it occurred to us that it might not be obvious why the fabled Patch Day is such a ("Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! Details at 10!") big deal in these here parts. Here's an older WoW Rookie on "What is a patch?" from Amanda Dean if you're new to the business of how Blizzard updates its content.For the uninitiated, Patch 2.4 is what is known as a "content patch," which is a sanitized version of saying "A ton of stuff gets added to the game and all hell breaks loose." This particular patch doesn't contain a lot of new content for people still leveling their first character, so you're unlikely to notice any differences unless you have a fairly high-level toon being affected by the class changes coming in or one who was beginning Karazhan attunement, which is no longer required. Apart from that, a rare new-5 man is being added (Magister's Terrace), a new endgame 25-man raid (Sunwell Plateau), and a host of new quests and a rep grind if you've got a toon at nearing 70.The official patch notes are here, and WoW Insider has full coverage on the changes if you want a more in-depth look. Enjoy Patch Day!
Magister's Terrace round-up
If you're like me, you'll be running the brand-new 5-man dungeon of 2.4, Magister's Terrace, as soon as you can. How can you not love a 5-man with four bosses borrowing elements from 25-man raids, a cutscene, and a guaranteed epic even on normal? If you're looking for more information on what to expect, here's a round-up of WoW Insider's coverage to date and our Magister's Terrace gallery.Follow the cut for a host of helpful articles on bosses, drops, videos, and scenery!
PTR is down, TTR is up
Hortus, the spinning whirly jig wearing gnome, announced on the forms today that the PTR will be closed until further notice. This closure is in order to encourage more people to test out the TTR, which will remain open for the time being.This is important news. First, it signifies that Blizzard is at least comfortable in stopping the testing of PvE content. This might not be the best news for those that were still engaged in PTR activities; or for those that think there are still serious concerns regarding the content and class changes. We might be seeing the Druid Cyclone nerf stay.Secondly, we can infer that the two stress tests they've held might not have been everything they wanted. If they're asking for more testing we can make an educated guess that Blizzard either did not see the kind of numbers they were hoping for, or they have made additional server changes that warrant additional tests. Judging from the lack luster stress test that went on Wednesday night, I'm leaning towards the former as being the reason for the change.
The Light and How To Swing It: Build you own TTRadin
Hi folks, it's me again. Somehow, Liz's computer got unplugged from the Light at the last minute and wiped her draft for this week clean. The task has fallen upon me once to swing the Light and wreak havoc upon these pages with blood and fury. Or something like that. In the wake of the admittedly lackluster (what, no giant GMs or gnome-transfigurations or demons run amuck?) second take on the TTR stress test, I've decided to write up the experience about making your own Paladin on the Tournament Test Realm, aka the TTRadin. If you haven't logged on to the TTR, now's a good time to download the PTR client and get yourself started.Paladin without the painIf you've never played a Paladin before, the TTR is an excellent way to experience some Paladin goodness without having to go through the entire leveling experience -- some parts of which even self-confessed altaholic and column co-writer Chris Jahosky admits to having a dislike for. Of course, leveling is part of the education process, so don't expect to know all the abilities and talents a Paladin -- or any class you make, for that matter -- right off the bat if you don't have a max-level character of that class on the live servers. That said, making a character on the TTR is well worth the effort and is definitely something any player can use to explore their options. Getting a taste of a max-level character, in our case a Paladin (this is a Paladin column, after all), is something players can learn from. So where do we start? We have the usual racial choices: Human, Dwarf, or Draenei for the Alliance; and Blood Elf for the Horde. Because it isn't a PvP server by definition, you can make an Alliance and a Horde character. The tournament server also isn't like the live realms in that there are no quests or NPCs aside from the trainers, vendors, and arena representatives. I haven't explored the tournament realm completely, but it's safe to assume that it's a barren world. The NPCs are all Goblins, by the way, which is a bit unsettling and bizarre. There are few things stranger than seeing little green men and women in full Tier 2.
March 12th PTR changes
A new PTR build hit the test realms today, and just in time for the second stress test that'll be getting underway later tonight. A few of the big highlights: The Druid Cyclone spell has had the range reduced to 20 yards, from 30 yards. The newly purchasable epic gem crafting patterns have had their prices dramatically increased. For example, the epic gem patterns used to cost 1.5g each to buy, now they're 50g each. This will make them harder for casual players to acquire. A few BoP crafted items have had a profession requirement of 350 placed on them. All in all, it looks like Blizzard is winding down the changes. They seem to be targeting some very specific areas right now, and the list of changes each week is getting shorter and shorter. This might mean the patch will be going live soon. And remember, as soon as it goes live, we'll select a winner from the Patch 2.4 release date contest we held.Any thoughts on the cyclone change? I for one am happy, considering how I hate being cycloned in arena battles.
Blizzard says bring it on! (aka TTR mayhem take 2)
Drysc has issued a challenge to the World of Warcraft community to meet Blizzard teams out on the Tournament Test Realm and compete in the 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5 Arena brackets. This follows a relatively successful worldwide brawl over the TTR last Sunday, where WoW Insider fielded a team of its own, although most of the time was spent waiting for the realm to get back online. Blizzard reached record numbers for the TTR tournament, prompting hardware upgrades which will be put to the test on Wednesday, between 5:00pm and 8:00pm PDT. Blizzard employees will make special appearances on the TTR near the vendors and Arena promoters, easily spotted as they will be the only characters with Guild tags -- <Blizzard Entertainment> for their Horde team and <Blizzard> for their Alliance team. If you can't spot the Guild tag, you still probably won't have trouble finding them and their gigantic mounts. Drysc says he expects problems to crop up -- it is a stress test, after all -- but that Blizzard is ready to resolve any issues that might arise.If you haven't gotten onto the TTR, now's a good time to download the PTR client and make your own pimped out Level 70 characters. The more players log on to the TTR during the tournament, the better Blizzard will be able to test their new build and hardware. Plus, it's always good to see what crazy antics Blizzard employees will be up to.
WoW Rookie: What is a patch?
Here at WoW Insider, we've had extensive coverage of changes and updates that are being tested for the release of patch 2.4. It occurred to me that many of our newer players may not know what patching is all about. Blizzard regularly releases updates to World of Warcraft to add new content, fix problems, and otherwise improve the game. The game has evolved considerably throughout since its launch over 3 years ago. Many quests, instances, battlegrounds, events, items, and tools have been added through various patches. Clicking through the historical patch notes can be a source of nostalgia for many players.
Adventures on the TTR told in pictures
We've added a gallery of screenshots just in time for the worldwide Arena battle. The battle will take place tomorrow, Sunday March 9 from noon until three PM Pacific time (GMT -8). The latest patch gives players full sets of merciless gladiator gear for each spec for their given class. This change should reduce some of the frustration in gearing up a character. Each player is given 5000 gold. You must still purchase you gems, enchantments, and accessories. These are available for purchase from vendors as there are no trade skills on the TTR. If you want alternative armor and weapons, you will have to buy those from their respective vendors. It's still crowded, but it seems more manageable than earlier in the week.
That object is busy and other TTR tales
If you've been to the Tournament Test Server (TTR), you might have noticed a few things. Like lag the fact that your previous three characters have been deleted. According to Eyonix, Blizzard's latest push of the TTR sees a new character template whereby newly created characters will have existing sets of gear. In the previous build of the TTR, newly-created characters start out at Level 70 but are equipped with starting equipment like Acolyte's Robe or Worn Mace. Hybrid classes or classes with healing and DPS talent trees will have two to three sets of gear, based on the Merciless Gladiator sets from Season 2. Oddly enough, after creating multiple characters, it appears to me that the default gear equipped on hybrid classes is healing gear -- a hint from Blizzard to spec for healing? Maybe. One of the new features Blizzards wants to test is the random spawning upon character creation. After creating a Horde character, I would find myself randomly starting anywhere from Sunstrider Isle to Sen'jin Village. Part of Blizzard's test must also be the effectiveness of placing item vendors on a pedestal as opposed to being on the same level as player characters. Some spawn locations have the vendors on pedestals, such as Razor Hill or in front of Orgrimmar, while others have them on the ground such as Red Cloud Mesa in Mulgore. Strangely, the NPCs on the ground no longer have collision detection, as opposed to previous builds. While adding more spawn locations and randomizing them has eased congestion somewhat, Eyonix goes on to state that Blizzard plans to add more spawn locations in future builds. The same hiccups that were there before still exist, particularly the "That object is busy." response when attempting to purchase an item from a vendor. Lag will also prevent you from seeing that clicking multiple times (out of frustration, I swear) has garnered you bags full of an item you only really wanted one of. Despite these problems with lag and little quirks -- creating characters for the first time sometimes shows your character dressed in Season 2 gear and starting outfits in a mismatched ensemble -- Blizzard continues to encourage players to test the server. Hortus also popped onto the forums to say that not all the Alliance areas have received the makeover, so expect more changes soon. If you're not yet on the TTR, get on and give it a go. Hopefully, all the testing will help Blizzard get everything sorted out for the big brawl coming up on Sunday.
Essence of the Immortals gone from the Test Server
While we reported a while back on the use of the Essence of the Immortals as a method to unlock the Sunwell Plateau 25-man, progressive patching has continued its march, as Tigole explains to us in a recent forum thread. The Essence of the Immortals itself is now gone, and instead, all gates will open automatically over time on each server. Tigole explains that although they like the idea of cross-server competition, and plan to implement in the future, The Essence of the Immortals concept wasn't working out as well as they'd hoped. Of course, servers can still compete to unlock the daily quests the fastest.
Worldwide Arena Battle announced for Sunday on the TTR
Blizzard Poster Tyren has announced that this coming Sunday, 12pm to 3pm, Blizzard will be holding a Worldwide Arena Battle on the Tournament Test Realm in order to focus testing on the server. Members of the community and development teams will be queuing up to fight, so if you've always wanted to show Kalgan or Tigole what for in the Arena, this looks like your chance. You can expect a battle between the various CMs as well, so we'll have to watch to see who gets stickied and who gets banned. If you're not sure how to access the TTR, you can read Zach Yonzon's guide here on the site. Don't worry if you don't have a character transfer slot left, every character created on the TTR is automatically level 70, and will spawn next to a selection of vendors that will let them buy a wide variety of gear to outfit themselves for battle. Assuming the TTR doesn't collapse under the stress, we'll see you there!
Congestion relief on the TTR: more vendor locations
Vaneras over at the European forums has announced that some planned changes to the starting spawn locations on the Tournament Test Realm are in the works to address congestion issues. At the moment, the current spawn areas and vendors are located in each race's starting area, which is heavily populated upon character creation and log-in. The high density of players population cause heavy lag and much difficulty purchasing items from vendors. To address the situation, Vaneras reports that Blizzard is working on randomizing spawn locations (e.g. creating a Tauren won't necessarily start you off at Red Cloud Mesa) as well as adding new places for item vendors. The current list of vendor locations is as follows (subject to change):1. Ammen Vale2. North Shire3. Coldridge Valley4. Shadowglen5. Goldshire6. Sentinel Hill (Westfall)7. Kharanos8. Ironforge9. Stormwind10. Deathknell11. Sunstrider Isle12. Red Cloud Mesa13. Valley of TrialsThere are currently more Alliance vendor locations than there are Horde, but it's likely that more locations will be added in the future. So if you haven't visited the TTR yet, why don't you get the PTR client and try it out. Even if only to check out your toon dressed in phat lewtz.
How to get on the TTR
The Tournament Test Realm or TTR is now live and it's where players can create up to three max-level (70) characters of any class and have a cool selection of epic gear. Some readers have written in about having a little trouble actually getting on the server itself. It's really a simple process, and we'll show you how. In order to access the TTR, you first have to download the PTR client on Blizzard's download page. You don't need to have copied any of your characters over to the test realms -- the TTR is a completely different realm with various armor and other item vendors located at each race's starting area. As long as you have the PTR client, you should be able to access the TTR (although all test realms are down as of this writing).Once you've finished downloading the PTR client, you should find it nestled within a folder called WoWTest inside your World of Warcraft folder. It's pretty much the same as the normal World of Warcraft application but with a bunch of extra files that include the changes to the game. You shouldn't have trouble identifying the client as it will be clearly labeled 'TEST', just so you don't confuse the two (those Blizzard folks are so clever!). When you log on, you can access the TTR by toggling the "Select Realm" option which will open up a selection window with two tabs: Test Server and Tournament. Simply toggle the Tournament tab and you will see the Realm named "Arena Tournament" -- select it, press Okay, and you should be good to go. If you have trouble logging in, note that the PTRs remember your password around the time when it went live, so if you changed your password within the last few weeks, try using your old password. Have fun with on the tournament server!
Mortal Strike for all!
In the wake of the most recent PTR change to Flametongue Weapon applying a -50% healing debuff over 5 seconds and -- it now appears -- the Flametongue totem itself doing the same for others' melee attacks, a number of forum threads have popped up questioning the increasing number of these debuffs in the game. The funniest asks, "Is there some sort of Mortal Strike non-proliferation treaty that stops me from having Mortal Strike on my priest?" (short of Hex of Weakness, I guess). Suggestions include an MS effect on Crusader Strike, "MORTAL SHEEEEEEEEP!", and "Mortal Portal" for mages.The best argument I've seen is not that Mortal Strike or MS-like effects like Aimed Shot are themselves imbalanced, but they're bound to seem that way if healing is overpowered in PvP. Healing per second is nearly always more efficient than damage per second if you're specced for it, although that's cold comfort to yours truly while resto-specced and under heavy fire in battlegrounds or arena. Nobody knows if the newest version of MS is really going to help Shamans in arena, but between this and the nerf to drinking, it does look more and more as if PvP is increasingly being balanced around the notion of healers staying exposed (and vulnerable) for longer.
Shattered Sun Offensive phase 4: Monument to the Fallen
It's been awhile since I've had the time to hop on the patch 2.4 PTR and a lot has changed with the Shattered Sun Offensive. Sun's Reach Harbor has been captured, bringing with it several new quests and conveniences to the Isle of Quel'danas. For one thing, the harbor building now acts as an inn, with a water/food vendor, a place to set your hearthstone, a mailbox, a poison vendor for rogues and, of course, the granting of rest experience. Of course, the main attraction of the new phase is undoubtedly going to be the four new quests, three of which are repeatable dailies.Two of the new quests directly relate to the last new structure to be built on the isle, the Monument to the Fallen. One of them, "A Magnanimous Benefactor", is a non-repeatable quest, available at exalted reputation, that allows you to purchase the title "of the Shattered Sun" for 1,000 gold. The other quest, "A Charitable Donation", can be repeated every day and is probably the most simple and straightforward quest found in the game so far. In order to earn some quick reputation, you simply have to give 10 gold to the quest giver. I suppose Blizzard decided they need new gold sinks with the limit on daily quests being raised to 25 from 10. Regardless, this second quest is tied to the construction of a statue near the other buildings you've helped capture. The Monument to the Fallen, pictured above, has a statue of a Draenei on one side and a Blood Elf on the other to commemorate the unity of the Aldor and Scryers against Kael'thas.
PTRs going down for another new push
The public test realms have really been going offline a lot over the past week or so. Though it seems like they just came back up, and we don't even know what the current changes are, aside from a Shaman de-nerf, they're going down again, as of a few minutes ago (noon PST). Hortus merely says the downtime is "to apply a new build," and the patch notes still haven't been updated, so I can't tell you what's coming, although tipster Khanmora's guess that we may see the promised Life Tap modifications is one that I share. The downtime is expected to be between four and six hours.
