Breakfast Topic: Do you test new content on the PTRs?
by Nico Deyo 
May 26th 2011 at 8:00AM
It is pretty obvious that the public testing realms are a very useful tool for Blizzard in order to determine what exactly the kinks are in the newest content it is going to roll out -- and even a way to gauge popular opinion on new builds, talents, and bosses. However, the PTR seems to only really cater to one sort of personality: a personality that enjoys seeing everything before it is even brand spankin' new, possibly a little broken (or a lot broken, as the case may be).
There have been times when I've been so jazzed about the public testing realms that I've downloaded the server and patches as soon as they are available and jumped right into trying out the freshest raids or quests, and other times, I just don't give a hoot. PTRs are often the lifeblood of up-to-date bloggers and theorycrafters, but for me, it really all depends. Sometimes I like finding bugs; other times, it just doesn't seem worth the hassle.
Do you find yourself lining up to get into the latest quests and raids on the PTR? Hitting the testing dummies? Or is it all something you'd rather digest from the front page of WoW Insider instead and leave the testing to the experts?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
raposo02790 May 26th 2011 8:06AM
I'd rather wait
Therinor May 26th 2011 8:07AM
I did get access to the beta for Cataclysm, and I did that for a little while, and I WAS quite excited to do so, but for some reason, I never was interested much in using the PTR myself. I do follow the news on wow insider of course, but I never felt tempted to go there myself... betaing a new expansion, thats a different story, and I hope I get to do that again =)
nataswar May 26th 2011 8:27AM
Agreed. The only time I've played on the ptr was right before cata hit.
MusedMoose May 26th 2011 8:10AM
I understand why people play on the PTR, and I'm glad they do - without it, new content testing would probably take a lot longer and things would be more buggy when they were released. However, I don't play on it. This is partly because I only have so much time for WoW, and I'd rather spend it playing my existing characters, not characters that will disappear when the PTR goes away. Also, I'm an altaholic, so I'll be playing through the new Hyjal/Firelands content several times... why start earlier? ^_^
WoWie Zowie May 26th 2011 8:33AM
agreed. i would rather spend my time farming or trying to get a rare pet/mount than put my effort into content and then it all goes poof and i have nothing to show for my time spent. plus, its buggy as all hell and my addons are busted so PTR is really difficult to gauge how it will run on live servers.
i can easily see how a top raiding guild would benefit greatly from testing new encounters to be realm first though. a solid group would be able to learn the fights ahead of time and then apply it to live. so that knowledge is something that pays off for them.
loop_not_defined May 26th 2011 10:32AM
I would love to test on the PTRs, and actually did a lot of Profession datamining during Cataclysm Beta, but these days I hardly have time to even play Live. I try to make up for it by reporting every bug I come across on Live, and providing as many details as possible, as soon as possible.
Perusing the Bug Forums, it seems many "already reported" bugs are woefully lacking in details, and often run along the lines of "this thing is broken, please fix". Sometimes they explain what the bug is, but still fail to provide details like when it happened, on what character, whether they were in a group or not, etc. etc.
I've found that reporting bugs is a lot less cumbersome after having acquired a second monitor for dual screens. I no longer have to take screenshots or continually alt-tab back and forth. I can just move the cursor over and fill out the report while simultaneously looking at time stamps and NPCs involved (if any). Even minor bugs I normally would've overlooked are simple enough to take the time for.
vaitu May 26th 2011 8:11AM
im a tester... but on the retail version...
RedderTheEmoDK May 26th 2011 4:50PM
+1
Exactly. There are more than enough bugs on live to go out of my way to find more!
mazca13 May 26th 2011 8:12AM
Unless there's some major change to class mechanics that I want to test, I generally don't. When it comes to new quests, dungeons, and other content - I'd much rather wait and experience the finished version on the live servers.
Alphasim May 26th 2011 8:15AM
Totally depends on the content. If there's something new for me to see or a new power I want to see/learn, I'll be there. If it's predominantly about a class I don't play or introduces content I won't use or see (like raids) I'll skip it. I fall into the 'want to see the newest right now!' category. I used to run a WoW blog (Alazar) so that factored in, too.
Shinae May 26th 2011 8:24AM
For the longest time, I thought you needed an invite for it like a beta.
I never have, but I would like to. I would actually test and report things instead of taking advantage of well-geared premade characters, like so many testers. I currently don't have enough time to spend away from live servers (being a raider and a guild officer). If I did have the time, I would test and write about it on a WoW blog.
colepassey May 26th 2011 8:33AM
I've been on the PTR a couple of times, and I think a big chunck of people that use the PTR use it to try different classes at max level. I could be wrong, but everytime I'm on all I see in trade is people asking about classes. It's nice to just hop on and be max level and see how the class will be before someone spends time leveling, then deciding they don't like the class after they took a month to level. (been there) It can be confusing though to have a bunch of new abilites and not know what to do with them. Good thing we have WoW Insider to help! I also like to check up on professions..... Epic gems in 4.2?? I'm hoping!!
themightysven May 26th 2011 8:32AM
I would love to go on the PTR and I would actually test and give feedback (I know shocking) like ability a is broken, animation b is miss firing, the game theory behind change c is questionable (I'm a game theorist) or the new tooltip for ability d is written in such a way that it would take 17 linguists working round the clock for a month to decypher its meaning
Unfortunately I have yet to be able to find any kind of copy character to PTR or make pre-made character interface, much less a place to download said PTR client.
gaylen666 May 26th 2011 8:40AM
sad to say i don't do the PTR's cause 1. im lazy & 2. i have way way to much content still left undone on my main to even consider messing with the PTR
Xotzalqual May 26th 2011 8:40AM
I don't really do PTR's as my attention span is kinda short and if I start having to do things over and over and over again (dailies are the bane of my existence) I get bored. So personallyI prefer to wait until it's released so that I can enjoy the magnificence of the new patch when it really actually matters to my toons.
I think I would be more apt to trying to PTR if there was some sort of incentive over than being able to see new content sooner, something like free gametime for participation etc. After all, we're using our gametime to test the new stuff out for Blizz.
-X
Telwar May 26th 2011 11:24AM
I usually check out the pre-expac PTRs. One of my fondest memories is seeing Retribution on the 3.0 PTR.
Mr Obvious May 26th 2011 8:49AM
No
Koleckai May 26th 2011 8:48AM
Did once. However since then, the PTR never installs properly or I don't get character copies or my copy never finishes. Since it such a hassle, I don't even bother these days.
GmanZA May 26th 2011 9:01AM
Regardless on content, even during new expansion beta's. I have never stepped onto a PTR server. Not once. Never had an interest in beta testing. Quite content to read information and watch videos of PTR content.
Durenas May 26th 2011 9:03AM
Not to test raid content. Occasionally I will go on to test class changes for my class(paladin). Most often, I'll just wait for it to go live.