Welcome to the WoW PTR realm forum!

This document is intended to answer the most commonly asked questsions on the PTR forums. Please review this document before using the Public Test Realms or the Public Test Realms Forums.
FAQ – Forum Info and Rules

FAQ – PTR Info and Rules

FAQ – Setting up the PTR

FAQ – Reporting Bugs

FAQ – Character copies and Pre-Mades

FAQ – PTR Forum Info and Rules

FAQ – PTR Forum Info and Rules

Forum Info

This forum is a tool used by the Blizzard QA team to gather information regarding bugs encountered by players on the current PTR servers. Issues regarding the current live servers should be reported in the appropriate forums.

Forum Moderation
This forum will follow the same general code of conduct as all other World of Warcraft forums:
http://us.battle.net/en/community/conduct

Additionally these forums are moderated much more strictly than many of the other World of Warcraft forums. Please only post constructive comments or bug reports here. Any off-topic or non-constructive posts will be deleted (yes deleted, not locked, not moved) in an effort to keep the forum from being cluttered. Players who insist on being disruptive in this forum will have their posting privileges removed.

Posting Unreleased Content
Part of the experience of World of Warcraft is in discovering new content through the game. We wish to preserve this experience for our players. Please be aware that it is an explicit violation of the Terms of Use to use third party programs to mine and publish information regarding World of Warcraft.

FAQ
• Q. Why haven’t you responded to my thread?
A. Generally we only respond to threads if more information is needed or if a resolution is already available. We do not normally comment on issues that are currently being researched.

• Q. Why was my post deleted?
A. As said before this forum is more strictly moderated than other World of Warcraft forums there are a variety of reasons your post may have been deleted:

• Duplicate posts


• Non-constructive or combative posts


• Off-Topic Posts


• Inappropriate language


• POSTING IN ALL CAPS

Questions already covered in any of the stickies

• Q. Who are the blue posters in this forum? Are they GMs or Community Managers?
A. This forum is moderated by the Blizzard QA team, primarily blue posts in this forum will be made by QA testers in an attempt to gather information.

• Q. I need help right now.
A. These forums are not monitored in real time, often it will be many hours or even days before a QA representative will be able to read your thread.

• Q. I can not download the PTR patch, can somebody post a mirror?
A. No. As Blizzard can not verify the integrity of files downloaded from other sites please refrain from posting links to alternate downloads of the PTR client.

• Q. Nobody has responded to my thread, can I bump it?
A. No. All threads are read in the order that they are posted, bumping does not accomplish anything and can slow down our attempts to gather appropriate information.

• Q. I heard a rumor…
A. Unless you read it from a Blizzard representative then the rumor is most likely untrue. Reposting it in this forum only spreads misinformation.

PTR Info and Rules

Test Realm Availability
As the test realm is a development tool it will not always be available to the public. It is often necessary for us to take the realms down for extended periods of time with little or no warning. During these outages we encourage you to be patient and suggest playing on the live realms while you wait. No amount of posts in this forum will get the servers up faster and typically we’re aware of server related issues immediately.

Test realm behavior
Using the Test Realm is by invitation. It is an invitation that we currently extend to all of our users but it is an invitation that we can revoke at any time.
Players who act inappropriately on the test realms will be dealt with quickly and severely. This is a test environment and those who interfere with testing in any way will be removed.

PTR FAQ
• Q. When will this patch go live?
A. When it’s ready.

• Q. When will the PTR go down permanently?
A. When the patch goes live. Please see the previous question.

• Q. Is feature X in this build?
A. If new features have been implemented they will be listed in the patch notes.

• Q. I cannot connect to the servers what should I do?
A. These are test realms and they will often be taken down or crash, this is normal for testing. Please check the stickies for an announcement about any current planned downtime. If there is not already a sticky post regarding the outage you may create a new thread to let us know of the problem. Please do not create multiple threads as they will all be deleted.

• Q. Why does it say my password is wrong when I try to login?
A. If you've changed the password on your account within the last 3 weeks, you won't be able to log onto the Public Test Realms. You can try to use your old password, but there's no guarantee that it will work.

• Q. I was banned without a warning.
A. The PTR is a tool for Blizzard QA, and as such players who are disruptive will not be tolerated and will be removed without any warning. The normal Customer Service escalation procedure does not apply here. PTR Bans will last at least until the next PTR phase, if not longer.

• Q. Are there GMs on the PTR? I submitted a GM ticket and never got a response.
A. There is no normal GM support on the PTRs, there are monitors who watch for inappropriate or disruptive behavior. The EULA that applies to the normal realms also applies to the PTRs. Any tickets submitted on the PTR will be closed automatically without response.

• Q. People are spamming or otherwise acting inappropriately on the PTR what can I do?
A. As stated before players who act inappropriately on the test realms will be dealt with quickly and severely. To report inappropriate behavior please email customer service at WoWGM@Blizzard.com be sure to include in your email that you are reporting from the test realms.

• Q. I saw someone cheating what can I do?
A. The Terms of Service agreement for World of Warcraft applies the same to the Test Realms. http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html

It is a common misconception that because there is no standard GM support on the test realms that there are no consequences for cheating, this is untrue. We actively remove players who are cheating or otherwise acting inappropriately on the test realms. Actions taken against players who do not follow the terms of service will be quick and severe.

Players who suspect cheating of any kind should report it via the Blizzard support webform located here: http://www.blizzard.com/support/?id=eHacks000

Setting up the PTR

Q. Where can I find a great guide to getting onto the PTR?
A. Player Kaydeethree has written an excellent step-by-step guide and posted it on Wowpedia:
http://www.wowpedia.org/Accessing_the_public_test_realm

Q. Will installing the PTR have any effect on my live wow client?
A. No. The PTR installs as its own version and will be located inside the WoWtest folder inside of your World of Warcraft directory.

Q. What should I do before installing the PTR?
A. Delete your old WoWtest folder from within the World of Warcraft directory. Many problems can be caused by overwriting old test data with new test data.

Q. Where do I download the PTR from?
A. From the Battle.net "Game Clients Download" page. You should select the "Public Test Realm Client", and be sure to select PC or Mac depending on your operating system:
https://us.battle.net/account/management/download/

Q. The Blizzard downloader is not working.
A. Check here for troubleshooting the downloader:
http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=aww0819p

Q. I downloaded the PTR now what do I do?
A. You need to run the file you downloaded to install the PTR files.

Q. I get an error when installing:
The file "C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\WoWTest.temp\Data.temp\enUS.temp" could not be renamed to "C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\WoWTest.temp\Data.temp\enUS".
A. You need to have administrator privileges in order to install the PTR.

Q. I get an error “Unable to initialize storage.”
A. You either do not have enough hard drive space, or you do not have permission to writ to the hard drive that the PTR installer is currently trying to install to. Move the PTR installer file to your World of Warcraft directory and try running it again.

Q. I get a version error when installing.
A. First make sure you have the latest version of WoW by connecting to the live realms. If the error continues then move the installer to your World of Warcraft Directory and run it from there.

Q. Once I have it installed, how do I start the PTR?
A. Launch World of Warcraft normally via the Launcher, and then click on the Public Test button. Alternately you can start it via the wow.exe inside your wowtest folder.

Q. I keep downloading the same patch over and over, what is wrong?
A. This is normal, as updates are made to the PTR more patches are required, just be patient and keep going once they are all installed you will be able to play.

• Q. Why does it say my password is wrong when I try to login?
A. If you've changed the password on your account within the last 3 weeks, you won't be able to log onto the Public Test Realms. You can try to use your old password, but there's no guarantee that it will work.

Q. How do I re-install the PTR?
A. Follow these steps:
1. Delete the WoWtest folder from within your World of Warcraft Directory.
2. Go to the PTR download page: https://us.battle.net/account/management/download/
3. Download and run the appropriate installer.

Q. How do I un-install the PTR?
A. Delete the WoWtest folder from within your World Of Warcraft Directory.

Q.I’ve done everything and I still can’t get on the PTR, can you help me?
A. This FAQ and the linked guides are the only source of technical support for the PTR, if your problem is outside the scope of these documents then you may not be able to participate in the PTR.

PTR Bug Reports

The Primary purpose of the PTR forum is reporting bugs in the new content. Please use these guidelines when reporting bugs.

The more information you can provide to us about the bug you are experiencing, the more likely it is to get addressed by us and subsequently, the developers. This includes but is no limited to: a full description of what happened, steps for reproduction if possible, screenshots, crash logs, etc.
I can not stress how useful screenshots can be for helping us reproduce a bug.

Also, feel free to post on other players bug reports if you have similar reports to file or simply more information on that particular issue that was not provided by the original poster.

If a reported issue is already known, one of the moderators may lock the thread at their discretion.


PTR In-game Feedback Tool
In the some Public Test Realm builds we include a new tool for reporting player feedback in the form of bug reports, suggestions and player surveys.

You can find this new tool via the blue “B” button to the right of your mini-map, clicking on it will bring up the Feedback UI. You can also access the tool by typing “/bug” or “/suggest” in the chat bar.

Please use this tool whenever you encounter a bug in the game, this tool gathers character and location information that QA uses to identify and document issues. Even if you intend to post about an issue here in this forum (which is still being monitored) please also submit an in game report at the time the issue occurs.

Some tips when using the tool:
- Submit any issue you encounter immediately, not only will the details be fresh in your mind but the information the tool gathers will be most relevant.
- There is a limited amount of space to describe your issue, refrain from including information not directly related to the issue.
- Make sure to accurately answer the initial questions this helps us classify issues and see trends.
- Be sure to submit bug reports and suggestions appropriately so they will reach the correct people.

PTR Bug Reporting FAQ
• Q. I crashed, what do I do?
A. Whenever you crash you should be presented with a window to send the crash information to Blizzard. Please always do so. Also please always be sure to fill out the description of what led up to the crash. We track crash logs very closely and descriptions of the circumstances are very valuable to us.
Although it is not necessary to post your crash log here in the forums you can if you would like.
• Q. What type of information should I provide in my bug report?
A. First and most important is a thorough description of the problem and what occurred leading up the issue. The more information you provide us the faster we can reproduce your issue and start working on a fix.
Always provide what Operating system you are running when encountering the issue, Mac or Windows and the version.
Screenshots are very valuable to us and help speed the process of identifying bugs.
Any additional information that you feel might be useful to us, such as testing results on other hardware or by other players on different accounts.
• Q. How can I provide you with more information about my computer?
A. On windows PCs please provide the DXDiag information.
To test and obtain the DXDIAG information, please follow the instructions below:

Important Note: Please reboot your system prior to creating the dxdiag and files.

1. Click on Start.
2. Click on Run.
3. Type in DXDIAG and press Enter or click OK, this will open the DirectX diagnostic tool. Run the DirectDraw, Direct3D and DirectSound tests found under the Display and Sound tabs before creating the dxdiag.txt file.
4. Click on the Save All Information Button (save this file to your windows desktop and name it dxdiag).

On Macs please provide the type of Mac you are using (PPC or Intel) and the version of the Mac OS.
• Q. I have a screenshot or video of my bug, how can I get it to you?
A. There are a number of free image and video hosting services available on the internet that you can use to display your screenshots and videos.
• Q. I have a bug with one of my add-ons.
A. As UI add-ons are not provided by Blizzard we do not support their uses on the PTRs. You should contact the Add-on creator for assistance.
• Q. Why isn’t this bug fixed yet?
A. Identifying a bug is merely the first step in a long process before a fix can be added to the PTR, do not expect bugs to be fixed immediately.

PTR Character Copies and Pre-Made Characters

Character copies and pre-made characters are a tool used by QA to provide an adequate testing environment on the PTR. They are used at our discretion and will not always be available.

When available you can find them on the PTR character copy page here:
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/charcopy/character-copy.html

Character Copies and Pre-Made Character FAQ
• Q. How do I get character copies or pre-mades?
A. Go to the character copy page and follow the instructions.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/charcopy/character-copy.html
• Q. Can I keep my copied character?
A. No when the next phase of testing starts all characters on the PTRs will be wiped.
• Q. Are Pre-mades available?
A. Pre-made characters are not available for all patches. If pre-made characters are available for this patch it will be shown on the PTR character copy page and announced in this forum.
• Q. Can we get more pre-mades?
A. Additional pre-mades are only made available when we deem it necessary to meet testing needs.
• Q. How many Characters can I copy?
A. Normally we allow four character copies per account. Sometimes additional copies are allowed based on our needs.
• Q. I’ve used up all my character copies, what does it mean when it says I need to wait until the next testing phase to copy two more characters?
A. The term, "Testing Phase" refers to each major content patch that is available for public testing. For example: patch 2.1, 2.2, etc. We do not announce the next testing phase until the current one is over.
• Q. If I delete a copied character or pre-made can I make a new one?
A. No. Deleted characters are gone and you will not be reimbursed for them.
• Q. Why is it taking so long to get my characters copied?
A. For many patches character copies are in high demand, especially so when pre-mades are available. If there are many characters queued up for transfer it may take as long as a week before they are available to play. Please be patient.
• Q. I get and error when trying to copy a character.
A. This means the copy queue is full, please try again at a later time.
• Q. Will playing on the PTR affect how long it takes to transfer my characters?
A. No. Feel free to play on the PTR while the character transfers are pending.
• Q. Why are my characters locked?
A. In order to use level 80 pre-made characters you must have The Wrath of the Lich King installed and activated when the phase starts. There is no way to unlock characters once a test phase has started even if you purchase and install The Burning Crusade.
• Q. Do we get gear for our characters?
A. In some cases when testing requires it vendors will be provided to sell appropriate gear to qualified characters. If these vendors are available an announcement will be made.
• Q. Can we get different gear for our pre-mades.
A. No, gear is determined for pre-made characters before the PTR is started, it will not normally be changed while a patch is in test.