#1 - March 10, 2017, 11 a.m.
Blizzard Post

We need you on the Public Test Realm (PTR) this Friday from 3–5 pm PST to join the brawl in Dalaran as a part of a focus test to push our server technology to its limit — and perhaps beyond.  During this time, Dalaran will be a free-for-all PvP zone allowing you to take on all-comers —both other players and NPCs alike— so we hope you’re ready to jump into the fray! It’s a come as you are, no-holds-barred grudge match in the floating city.

Pushing the Upper Limits

Prior to the release of the Legion expansion, we performed server infrastructure upgrades and now, with patch 7.2: The Tomb of Sargeras, we’re doing it again. As a part of these upgrades, we plan to do some testing and push the very upper limits of our new backend architecture to find out where they are. That’s where you come in.

To fully test what the architecture can handle, we need a lot of players in one location and that’s where Dalaran comes in. We’ll also be purposefully setting very high thresholds during the test and expect that the large amount of players in one location will cause the servers to become overwhelmed. By doing this, we’ll be able to debug these failures and fine tune the thresholds to provide for as optimal of a player experience as possible when patch 7.2 goes live.

Joining the PTR

For those that want to take part in the test, it’s important to make a few preparations well before the time of the test. Those who have not done so may find themselves unable to take part in the test.

Preparing Ahead:

Please make sure to log into your Battle.net account and select the Public Test Realm (PTR) within Game Accounts then-

  • 1. Download the PTR client from within the Battle.net App.
  • 2. Log in to any of the available Test Servers.
  • 3. Copy over a level 110 character from your live account. The Copy Character option can be found in the Character Selection screen.
The Day of the Test:
  • 4. Log in with your copied character and travel to Dalaran.
  • 5. Join the PvP pandemonium from 3-5 pm PST (6-8 pm EST).
  • 6. Repeat step 5 until the end of the test.

Setting Expectations

It’s important to keep in mind that during the test, we will be expecting to deliberately crash the test realms. You may find yourself frequently disconnected during this test or running at a low FPS rate, but we would encourage you to continue to log back in and reengage in the mayhem within Dalaran.

Your patience and participation as we work on turning dials and knobs during this test is greatly appreciated.