Technical issues in Dalaran makes the PTR nearly unplayable
by Adam Holisky 
Feb 25th 2009 at 12:30PM
So you're on the PTR wanting to enjoy all the gooey goodness that is Patch 3.1. You have this urge to go to Dalaran. I mean, it's so pretty right? And there's a bank there, and your hearth stone is probably set to their as well if you don't have a Ring of the Kirin Tor.Wrong. Move.
There are hundreds of reports coming in from around the net going up on the official Blizzard forums, tons coming into the WoW Insider Tip Line, and the problem has been experienced by every staff member here that's been on the PTR.
You can move no more than a few dozen paces in Dalaran without there being a critical error that causes WoW to crash.
There were some early reported rumors that the problem is linked exclusively to ATI video cards, but I can say beyond a doubt that such is not the case – I have an nVidia GeForce GTX 260 I'm getting crashed every few minutes while in Dalaran.
The best way around this problem is to head to the landing pad and get the hell out of there. The problems seem to go away when you leave the city. I recommend heading to the north eastern corner of Icecrown and checking out the Argent Tournament.
We'll let you know when we see more than a "we're looking at it" blue response to the situation. In the mean time... good luck!
PS: If the blues are reading this, and I know several that do, I have some freshly made TPS reports which you can fill in. That might help expedite the fix.
Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.Filed under: Patches, Realm Status, News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Snakeman Feb 25th 2009 12:34PM
This problem is NOT limited to Dalaran. I transferred 3 characters to both the PVE and PVP PTR servers, and in every combination I am getting crashes almost anywhere in the game - Orgrimmar, Dragonblight, Undercity - and yes, Dalaran. I have been able to stay connected for maybe 15 minutes maximum on one occassion, but usually it's between an instant crash when I log in and maybe 2-3 minutes before the crash. It's pretty ridiculously screwed up.
lbizzle Feb 25th 2009 1:38PM
This is typical PTR behaviour. There is a difference between disconnects and client crashes.
DCs are to be expected on the PTR, especially when it is brand new and a novelty. They just mean that the server is overloaded, while client crashes mean there are game breaking bugs.
my2cents Feb 25th 2009 1:45PM
I'm getting error#132 critical error crash every few minutes no matter where I am. I'm just not going to bother until the next PTR build.
Ben Feb 25th 2009 2:26PM
This is my experience so far with two characters on two different accounts. I quickly went to Ironforge with both for respeccing and guild chartering and then to Stormwind with one of them for testing on training dummies and at best I have gone maybe 10 minutes without the game crashing. At worst I would go a couple of steps. (For example, I flew all the way from Ironfroge to Stormwind without a crash... Yet crashed 3 or 4 times before I got to the training dummies.)
There has been a blue post that indicates they are aware of multiple crashing bugs and will be addressed in a future patch. -I sure hope it is soon, it quite literally unplayable as is for me.
For what it's worth... I have seen crash reports from Win and Mac clients that look similar noting a bad memory access.
Pokeadot Feb 25th 2009 12:39PM
I have been having this issue all day yesterday
Rig:
Q6600 2.4 QUAD CPU
2 x 8800GT in Sli
4GB RAM
Vista 32
Gnosh Feb 25th 2009 12:51PM
32-bit operating system, running two video cards, and 4 gigs of ram installed? I'll betcha one of those RAM chips is just chilling out
Chuddy Feb 25th 2009 1:06PM
@gnosh, I was about to write the same thing. Get up to 64 if you're throwing a quad core at whatever it is you're doing. Two 8800's in sli whew. Gotta be doing some multi-track editing or video production with that much dough invested in a rig. If not. Learn! So much potential at your fingertips
mastercontrolcast.wordpress.com
Sonicandtails Feb 25th 2009 1:18PM
I would say the same thing but the problem with 64 bit is compatibility, a lot of older games and even some new ones (Including regular software) can have visual or general problems with 64 bit. So it's a tradeoff, which sucks.
Magius Feb 26th 2009 2:25AM
I'm using Vista 64bit without any issues here. All my software seems to work fine, even the ones that are not Vista compatible (well, some I had to put under XP compatibility, but the work fine).
I advice to try or look online if you use any custom software, but 64bit is a pretty safe bet now. XP 64bit is another story though.
BigFire Feb 25th 2009 12:39PM
Went to IF to pick up Dual Spec. Can't really move more than a couple of paces without crashing.
Jermayan Feb 25th 2009 12:40PM
Agreed. I crashed three times trying to get to the Dalaran portal to Undercity, made it on the fourth try. In Undercity, I lasted a solid five minutes until the crashes began again. After that I would log in, toss a shadowbolt at the test dummy, and crash.
Robert M Feb 25th 2009 12:41PM
And this is only a problem on the PTR? Dalaran sucks all te time, maybe it's just the mages telling us we all need to GTFO of their city.
nbcaffeine Feb 25th 2009 1:24PM
New PC. Get one.
h8rain Feb 25th 2009 2:17PM
I personally dislike Dalaran (same with Shat was before it came a ghost town). I can be anywhere and get 30-60fps (even in 25 man raids), but as soon as I get in Dalaran I drop to like 10 fps or less.
Plus as a nerdage, it has never made sense to have the horde and alliance share a city, ESPECIALLY a human city. Oh well, I thought they would have changed from BC, but I don't know.
Inc Feb 25th 2009 12:41PM
Just make sure to put the proper cover on said TPS reports.
Warren Feb 25th 2009 1:20PM
"Did you get that memo?"
T Feb 25th 2009 12:43PM
Sounds only marginally worse than Dalaran on the live servers.
Tiny city space, combined with a bank, arenas, battlegrounds, Wintergrasp portals, profession trainers and no flying allowed = my computer chugs and locks up to the point I have to do a hard reboot around 25% of the time I visit. And my computer is a mid-range machine that never has problems with the rest of Northrend. Not a big fan of Dalaran, or Blizz's sudden reversal on spreading people out to reduce lag and processing issues.
And don't get me started on what things turn into when Wintergrasp is going at the same time.
RogueJedi86 Feb 25th 2009 5:15PM
No flying is actually probably what's keeping your computer from dying outright. Imagine the lag if you had 20 dragons flapping their wings by both banks. The ground mounts don't have much idle animation, but the flying drakes have huge flapping wings. Your computer would just slap you in the face then shut down.
Are your graphics options bottomed out by chance? That can help on weaker rigs.
MykolW Feb 25th 2009 2:49PM
It's good to see that everyone is catching up to what I experience in the regular playing realm. I never crash in an instance, but have constant critical errors while in Dal or changing zone. I've deleted every folder, every add-on and it still happens. It's become part of the game. Maybe a new Blizz feature?
crayzeigh Feb 25th 2009 12:49PM
Threat Per Second reports are useful...
=)