Update: Nethaera tells us there will be no patch today [thanks, Alex]

The evidence continues to mount for patch 2.1 being released today. I had expected it to go at least another week or two just due to the sheer amount of new content being tested, but a few facts conspire to persuade me that this week is at least possible:

• The PTR is now closed to new character transfers (since at least 11:50 last night; thanks, Baxmaniac). Does this imply that they're bringing down the PTR soon? On the other hand, they might just think they have enough testers already. And even if they are bringing down the PTR, they might want to leave it closed for some time before they release the live patch.
  
• This week is a "full maintenance" week on the schedule, and the "Breaking News" box is already saying that the realms will be down for the normal interval of 5:00 AM to 11:00 AM Pacific time. Yes, this would undoubtedly be the case regardless of whether there was a patch this week, but in my opinion Blizzard are slightly more likely to release a patch when they don't have to cause any extra maintenance to do so.
• Finally, there's the whole authentication kerfuffle last night. Amanda is inclined to interpret that as patch-related mishaps, and I think I agree.

In the end, of course, this is all sheer speculation. The PTRs might just have reached capacity, with no relation to the patch timeline. And there is usually some amount of time between when the PTRs go down and when the patch is released. Also, on a patch day during maintenance logging in usually causes the patch downloader to download, and that is not the case at present. So perhaps 2.1 today is not so likely after all. Well, we'll find out in a few hours.

Tags: 2.1, patch, patch 2.1, patches, ptr, warcraft, world of warcraft, wow

Filed under: Realm News, Patches, Analysis / Opinion