Battle Blizzard on the Public Test Realm!

Update: Thank you everyone that attended! We had a great a time and hope you did too. Please don't forget that this event was to get some additional testing for the new battleground matchmaking system which is not live on the public test realms, and so if you have or are going to try it please post any thoughts, comments, bugs, or other issues in the Test Realm Forum. Thanks again everyone!

On Friday, May 4, we’re going to be enabling the battleground matchmaking system on the public test realms (PTRs). The matchmaking system will help match teams against each other based on their gear and level of organization. To usher in this new feature and help aid in testing, we’re going to be sending in World of Warcraft community managers and other Blizzard employees to take on any teams willing to challenge us. Come onto the PvP test realm on Friday, May 4, beginning at 2:00 PM PDT, with your level-70 characters and queue for the Warsong Gulch battleground.

We're going to be spending about half the time as horde, and about half the time as alliance, or as best we can by swapping about halfway through in between games.

To begin downloading the PTR client and copying your characters, go here: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/ptr And, to learn more about the upcoming patch, you can view the PTR patch notes here: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/test-realm-patchnotes.html

Once you’ve tried out the new content on the PTR, please be sure to post any feedback, bugs, or issues concerning the Black Temple patch and the matchmaking system in particular in the Test Realm forum: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?sid=1&forumId=11572

I plan on being the target for focus fire, so that my team may hax it's way to victory!

Q u o t e:
Lol you guys are going to get smoked.

Well if past cases where we've challenged players on the PTRs is any indication, then yes, yes we will. It's always a fun time though, and you know, sometimes we go a little crazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXVAAwL_lOs

Q u o t e:


You coming in giant statue form and all?

I prefer the over-sized peasant.

Q u o t e:
Lol you guys are going to get smoked.

Yeah, but we'll do it with style darnit!

Q u o t e:
Who has the bucket of water ready to douse Candle?

That's just not right!

Q u o t e:


/removes earrings

/cracks knuckles

Oh, it's on, girlfriend!

Bring it on spots.

Q u o t e:

Another issue is queue times. The BG queue times haven't been all that bad since cross server BG's. They are slowing down lately since most people run EoTS and not much else. If you start forcing people to wait in queue because "your gear is too much better or worse to play against that person!" then the queues will be crazy.

Don't do this. "Testing" it on the PTR for 1 day is not a realistic judge of the consequences.

You are misunderstanding a few things.

First off, the matching is going to be relatively forgiving so that BG queue time shouldn't be a problem. Also, if your group is comprised of multiple armor sets of different qualities, it's going to work on an average (or at least should). So, you and your friends will still be able to play together and you won't have to worry about making sure everyone has the "right" gear to go into the battleground. All the system should do is help balance out the disparities slightly and make things more fair between teams. There are no "Brackets" involved. You aren't labeled as being a part of a bracket, it's just an average of values weighted against others going into the battleground.

Our event is simply to kick things off and get people involved as well as have a little fun. We will be watching closely to see how well the system works and what tweaks need to be done to it to make it work better. The testing is ongoing and won't be for just one day.

Actually, I was playing a Shaman. ;)