Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsBreakfast Topic: Do you test patches on the PTR?
by Josh Rose 
Feb 27th 2011 at 8:00AM
Blizzard puts up public test realms (PTRs) for testing new content all the time. At times the PTRs are unplayable, either due to bugs or overcrowding. At times they are ridiculous because of the economy, because people transfer all the gold on their account to a single character before copying them. Some major guilds go whenever there is new raid content to practice it on the PTR, so they can get their world firsts whenever the content does go live. Some people seem to go just to stand around and complain about the changes yet not actually test anything. However, all the problems aside, the PTRs are the only way to experience the new content or class changes prior to live.
I tend to copy over to the PTR whenever there is a new raid instance or a major revamp of my class. Having been in the betas for the last couple of expansions, I tend to file lots of bug reports and hope that at least some of my issues are addressed. I have gotten frustrated with people attempting to make a ton of gold in the test realms because they do not seem to grasp the fact that the money doesn't come with them to live. Whatever is done on the test realm stays there and dies there.
The PTR is there for testing, and testing requires people to be able to have access to the new material. Because a lot of people don't actually test on the PTRs, we tend to have several mini-patches in order to fix bugs with a major patch. So actually use the PTR for testing, since it will only help cut out some bugs for when it goes live.
Do you actually use the PTRs? Do you participate in sending in bug reports? Are you one of these people who copy over all your gold and charge exorbitant AH prices on the PTR?
| Yes, I consciously try to test the new material. | |
|---|---|
| Yes, but only to sightsee or get an early shot at the content. | |
| No. | |
| Only if there's something specific to my class or character I want to check out. |
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Drakkenfyre Feb 27th 2011 9:40AM
I get seriously tired of the people coming to the PTR only to "play", and what I mean about that are the people on the PTR forums who scream abour when premades are available, or complain when the PTR server goes down temporarily and say "I WANT TO PLAY!"
The ones who think the PTR only means free level-capped characters to sit around and duel with. I have actually seen people on the official message boards who say they only play on the PTR, and don't like live servers anymore. I have seen people say "I pay to play on the PTR! I deserve to be on it!", and then they get corrected that no, they don't pay for the PTR.
When 3.0.2 hit the PTR, it caused no end of questions from people. The game's patcher has caused confusion because it downloads and automatically installs the patches. The PTR downloaded uses the same downloader, but does not automatically install. So you got endless questions about "How do I install the PTR?", and "I installed it, but can't run it, what's wrong?"
They didn't run the installer. Questions like these popped up dozens of times every day on the PTR forum. The idea of having to run an executable were lost on these people. They were used to the downloader and patcher. Every PTR there are questions like these, altho in the more recent days it's not so bad.
I am glad they fixed the way the installer works. Some people were telling it to install to their default game directory, and it overwrote the game, requiring them to reinstall the game.
vocenoctum Feb 27th 2011 10:12AM
I don't play the PTR's because;
1) I don't want to replay the material again
2) any rewards don't transfer back to Live (which makes the "everything is overpriced" seem even odder. You're overcharging for money that will be wiped...)
3) I don't spend enough time there to accurately report bugs anyway.
But, after thinking about it, I'm curious about a tangent. When I was in the Rift beta (and other betas), I've always used it more as a free trial, testing the game for myself, rather than the company. Do others enter betas for other games to actually help the other game?
(I would report bugs and stuff, but generally didn't find anything major since I didn't get far.)
FiredCylinder Feb 27th 2011 10:24AM
I got into the cata beta, and after a few days tooling around with my copied-over paladin, I quit. I maybe got to level 82. The problem for me came from realizing I'd have to do it all over again in a couple months. No thanks.
theDECk37 Feb 27th 2011 10:25AM
The only time I went into the PTR was for the pre-cata stuff, otherwise there smaller updates can be cool, but not are not big enough to pull my interest into the PTR again.
Elrandir Feb 27th 2011 10:36AM
I like testing out the PTR, I downloaded it recently and it's nice, like an alternate universe :p I wish skada/recount lag-issue in latest one would be fixed so i can test frost dps with death rune goodness, the runes too are currently a bit buggy though.
lishuss Feb 27th 2011 10:36AM
i tested the big Cat switch to see how bad the arcane changes would be to my mage and found out that i had absolutely nothing to worry about also made a shaman a bit before the ptr for it came out and wanted to see if it was a worthy choice so made a premade shammy and squealed like a little girl at the awesomeness
Trilynne Feb 27th 2011 10:48AM
I don't want to confuse myself with learning and relearning any class changes as the PTR is tweaked, I'd prefer to learn it once when it goes live and be done with it. So I stick to live. :P Not to mention the whole loss of anything I achieve once the PTR goes down again... feels like a waste of time to me. I know it's important for bug fixing, and kudos to the people who do, but I have enough to do in life in general let alone WoW to mess around with a toon I won't get to keep.
Jason Ralph Feb 27th 2011 5:13PM
I actually have thought of doing this, versus playing the game live. I hardly have enough time to play any video games, let alone WoW. Figure I'd get to see content I normally wouldn't see otherwise, and I'd get to help get it fixed when it goes live. Then again, I'd need to find time to play it. LOL
amnbrownie Feb 27th 2011 12:09PM
I personally don't like to see a lot of the new content because it spoils the surprises, and my guild likes to work through the encounters and learn them together. However, I will copy my main over and test new things happening with my class. I did a lot on the PTR patch before cata hit, and submitted some feedback/bug reports on a few things, as well as this previous patch.
Ice Feb 27th 2011 12:15PM
Thing I have with PTRs are that none of my friends actually be there.
I got cataclysm beta midway its life but I went there only once or twice before there was 2 months left to the beta. Firstly because there was no premades at all until very late on the game.
Secondly noone of my friends were there. Leveling can only occupy me so far.. but without guild chat, friends to group up with, to do dungeons with or just generally have fun and TALK TO it kills the mood.
For example when two of my friends finally got beta access it was most fun we had and most content we ever done. Doing PvP or heroics alone just felt lacking..
Recently I've tried to get my friends to join PTR but they are so focused on "nah I'd rather pvp/level alt/focus on raiding (which all seem to take 7 days and 5 hours a day)" or just plain "why would I bother lol".
Also the minorish things about gameplay for example. EU PTR servers are located on US..you have 200 ms lag base and your own lag added to that. Even if you had 50 ms at live you have 250ms on PTR. Not much but still it can go to crazy numbers.
Secondly EU PTR seems very minor and "not much we care about", I mean when I look at US PTR pictures I see GMs flying around with their mounts, "Lets do BGs/Heroics with blues!" (Heck, when beta had "BGs with blues!" event at US servers EU side for BGS werent even active half of the beta -_-)
EU forums are joke when it comes to suggestions and such that are vital on PTR. We only have community managers as blues.
No dev reads EU forums. And most threads gets locked because of "flame fest" because some troll pretends to be offended.
mibuwolf Feb 27th 2011 12:25PM
if they want us to test their ptr they should add add some kind of reward maybe a vanity pet or a mount to encourage people to play it, otherwise is more of a time sink
KJP Feb 27th 2011 12:35PM
The first question is, "how much do I really care about this next patch?" If we ever come back to the 1.x style "this is the patch where we revamp Class X" and that's one of my main classes, then sure, I'll be all over that. Beyond that, it sort of comes down to "do I have anything better to do", in terms of the live game, other games, real life, etc.
If I do decide to join the PTR I test to the best of my ability. Which may not be great, but I'm sure every little bit helps.
Quidamtyra Feb 27th 2011 12:58PM
I like to test out major patches but I'm either too busy with work to get any extra playtime, or there's too much going on on the live realm for me to warrant ditching it for the PTR. The last PTR I participated in was for ZA at level 70. I get enough info from my guild during raid to tide me over until patch hits.
raion Feb 27th 2011 1:11PM
i play on PTR to try new content because it's exciting and people are more relaxed about dying in PUGs. i just did a random ZG, have been at it since 2 days and finally we managed to figure out everything till the end boss. it's so much fun because this information is nowhere, you learn by making mistakes, wiping several times and actually going through your combat log instead of watching videos on youtube. there is actually a sense of achievement in trying to figure things out from scratch. i can't wait for ZA to open.
Mugutu Feb 27th 2011 2:48PM
I used to test patches, but ever since 4.0.1 I can't download the client. The installer just freezes at 3% and opens up Launcher.patch.app, whatever the hell that is, and won't let me finish the installation. When I post on the forums the thread is deleted, and when I call Blizzard they hang up on me. I think they just don't want me testing stuff anymore.
Azukazil Feb 28th 2011 4:00PM
Kinda makes you wonder why Wow Insider spend so much time and space on patches. Only a small percentage of readers are interested.
datgrl Mar 1st 2011 6:53AM
I've never played on the PTR. I have wondered about PTR every time the holiday special events were rolled out with all the bugs in place.