Yes, Virginia, there will be premade characters, and other PTR Tidbits
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Jun 20th 2008 at 9:00AM
In case you were wondering, there will be premade characters for the 2.4.3 PTR before all is said and done, according to Hortus. There's no word for sure on why they're needed, what gear they'll have, or when they'll come along, but they'll be here. You'll need an account that had Burning Crusade activated before these PTRs went live, and when the time comes, you'll be able to sandbox it up with a fresh new premade while you help test the patch.
This phase, says Hortus, is also not intended for testing Season 4 gear, since it was already tested on a previous PTR. Besides, with 4 days left until Season 4 goes live, the 2.4.3 patch won't be on live servers until Season 4 is well underway. That said, it looks like most (but not all) of the Season 4 gear is still on the PTR right now, so if you want to go check it out, you can fly up to Area 52 on the PTR and check out Big Zokk Torquewrench's wares. Of course, you can also expect us to give you all the Season 4 news you need in the next few days here at WoW Insider as well, including gear guides.
Also, Mages and Warlocks are reporting that their self-buff armor spells are now no longer dispellable on the PTR servers. That's a nice chunk of mana you won't have to waste recasting after a stray Purge in PvP. We'll be watching the PTRs for more undocumented changes, oddities, and happenings, so be sure to keep it here for the rest of the testing cycle for all the news and analysis you'll need when the patch goes live.
Filed under: Realm News, Patches, Items, News items, PvP, Buffs, Arena
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kyudo Jun 20th 2008 9:07AM
Great...
An Arcane Shot nerf.
/sigh
Chuddy Jun 20th 2008 10:27AM
It shouldnt be 100% dispel on such a low cooldown. I play a hunter and laugh a little at buff's when I come across someone. You could tone it down without making it a huge loss. Say 50% chance to dispell.
Kyudo Jun 20th 2008 10:32AM
Maybe in battlegrounds, but in Arenas--it's quite warranted.
If this goes through, I may have to redo my PvP spec. :/
In a 1v1 situation, sure, it's a bitch--but when you've got someone in your face with a healer, dispelling those buffs as fast as possible is your only hope.
Try fighting a Druid without Arcane Shot and the relevant talent. Those HoT's will make you into a joke, if they don't already...
So far, the list is only Mage/Warlock armors, but that will already start to pose a larger threat--worse if this new change effects more "self-buffs". :(
mbenitez1992 Jun 20th 2008 9:10AM
Wait... that means that the 5% crit reduction and 3% crit strike from Molten Armor will last me more than a few purges or arcane shots into a match?!?
I'm a happy mage! ^^
Jenar Jun 20th 2008 9:19AM
Why would you fly all the way up to Arena 52? Why not just go to Nagrand?
Daniel Whitcomb Jun 20th 2008 3:36PM
I flew to Nagrand first, Jenar, they still only have a vendor for Vengeful stuff that I saw, no Brutal.
Jenar Jun 22nd 2008 1:29PM
Daniel the S3 gear is still on the same vendor. The vendor who sold S2 now sells S4 in Nagrand.
Nick Jun 20th 2008 9:28AM
Nice reference to 'Yes, Virginia, there is a santa claus.' :]. http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/
Lashay Jun 20th 2008 9:29AM
anyone else notice that the season 3 arena items have had their point cost reduced by 20%, instead of the 15% reduction cost that season 2 got?
Oar Jun 20th 2008 9:29AM
Odd seems my comment was deleted. :[; yet again.
Very nice reference to 'Yes, Virginia, there is a santa claus.' :].
http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/ . And thanks for clarifying things on the PTR realm.
Morthagrid Jun 20th 2008 10:06AM
personally i'd rather arcane intellect became undispellable.
Angus Jun 20th 2008 11:29AM
I was going to make a bitter post about expecting the mage and warlock self-buffs to now last half as long and occasionally do absolutely nothing while giving their buffs all the time on other occasions, but why bother?
/sigh
But hey, apparently our LO was doing too much when not at max level...
STereo Jun 20th 2008 6:52PM
I can see the self armor buff thing for locks. They have become easier to kill. But mages with that ice block DO NOT need this buff and should not get it. They've essentially been given, what, leather ? mail?
STereo Jun 20th 2008 6:52PM
Blizz is always on the lookout to find new ways to nerf hunters and keep them on the bottom of the arena stats.