#1 - July 20, 2012, 4:55 p.m.
FAQ – Forum Info and Rules
FAQ – PTR Info and Rules
FAQ – Setting up the PTR
FAQ – Reporting Bugs
FAQ – Character copies and Pre-Mades
WoW 5.0 PTR FAQ
FAQ – Forum Info and Rules
FAQ – PTR Info and Rules
FAQ – Setting up the PTR
FAQ – Reporting Bugs
FAQ – Character copies and Pre-Mades
#2 - July 20, 2012, 4:55 p.m.
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://www.worldofwarcraft.com/policy/forum-coc.html
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:
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.
#3 - July 20, 2012, 4:56 p.m.
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
#4 - July 20, 2012, 4:57 p.m.
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 the WowWiki.
http://www.wowwiki.com/Getting_on_the_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. If you have an active WoW account it should be listed in the My Games portion of your Battle.net account.
Q. The Blizzard downloader is not working.
A. Check here for troubleshooting the downloader:
http://us.battle.net/support/en/article/battle-net-online-game-downloads
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 in your account on battle.net
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.
#5 - July 20, 2012, 5:01 p.m.
For reporting bugs please visit the PTR Bug Report forum here:
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/2359401/
#6 - July 20, 2012, 5:08 p.m.
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.
Character Copies and Pre-Made Character FAQ
• Q. How do I get character copies or pre-mades?
A. Go to the character copy page in your battle.net account and follow the instructions.
• 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 85 pre-made characters you must have Cataclysm installed and activated when the phase starts.
• 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.