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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast 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 2 of 3)
Kz May 26th 2011 9:04AM
I have done all the PTR's primarily out of curiosity. Other than getting new gear, for me this PTR is generating the least enthusiasm of all the PTR's. I don't know why. Maybe I have been playing WoW too long. Maybe I am burnt out. I feel the need for something new, but not a WoW clone. I have been scannig MMORPG.com lately, but see little of interest other than the Guild Wars 2 beta this fall. Oh well.
Lissanna May 26th 2011 9:15AM
I used to do the PTR, but I haven't been able to get it to work for me since Cataclysm launched. I usually try to test out the druid class mechanics for my blog & bug testing purposes.
Wooldoor May 26th 2011 9:22AM
I was a cataclysm beta tester and it was was fun to preview the content before everyone else.
However with 4.2 on the PTR and the new mark of the world tree system its not even worth nvesting time on the PTR. I'm actually kind of surprised no one has reported this yet, but you need to do 3 days of dailies before you can even use the firelands portal.
Specifically you need to turn in 20 marks of the world tree to activate the portal, and you can only do this after completing 3 days of dailies. While the personal currency systems are great for combating gold farmers and will be the future of MMOs, on the PTR its just ridiculous. Blizzard should have reduced the number of dailies required to unlock firelands for the PTR. So, needless to say I haven't invested much time in PTR once I realized you needed so many days of dailies. I'd rather just wait until 4.2 goes live.
Lweydd May 26th 2011 9:26AM
I was a game tester for EA for about a year and a half. Now, I'm sick of testing. If I find a bug while I'm playing, I like to turn around and forget about it (but often I feel compelled to report it...).
From time to time, I'd like to give PTR a chance. I think that as an experienced MMO tester I would be quite useful, and I have no problems with spoilers (I read every 4.2 note in this page, I want to be prepared!), but since I work and study, I get very little time for playing... and when I'm at it, I want to kill guys, not test mechanics!
Sinthar May 26th 2011 9:35AM
Hi Stella,
While I generally feel you have some points (like the horror that is LFD) - this time I have to point out a flaw in your argument
Seperate Clients
Sometimes it is not possible to do changes, then undo them, this is why seperate clients are usually needed, rather than just some programmers lazyness. They are seperate for that reason, so if you wanted to use the PTR you dont end up with problems on your main wow account. It is also good practice for programmers to keep all test files away from the live ones. Remember changes during patches are made to the server AND client - the client being your wow files on your PC, and I am sure that if going onto the PTR meant you would experience problems on your normal wow account would result in massive QQ (and justified QQ at that!).
The rest of your post I agree with - but I suspect the characters are done that way so Blizzard dont end up copying huge ammounts of toon data to the PTR, just to find that less than 1% of them are ever used.
Personally I do not use the PTR.
I PAY to play the finished product - NOT play test their unfinished version - and spoiling the experience for myself into the bargain. Let others who need to push push push (ie the gogogogogo DPS in the LFD) do the PTR if they must. Personally being someone who enjoys figuing out how to beat a boss rather than just read a strat guide, I feel I would enjoy the game more if people couldnt work all this out before it was live. I feel there is a lot more excitement and enjoyment when walking into an unknown, rather than having been told whats going to happen when, and what you can get when they die. I may never get another realms/server first (and yep I got a server one with my guild - once - cos we are casual but were lucky) but I would prefer the enjoyment to an achievement that noone will care about in about 5 mins (bar you and your guildies ofc)
LynMars May 26th 2011 9:38AM
I mostly read MMO Champ and WowInsider for my news and spoilers. The only time I went onto the PTR was for 4.0, and even then, mostly to see the cosmetic changes to Stormwind.
Then I forgot to log back in and do any real testing because I was so busy with school, and whatever I as doing on the live realm took up what free time I had.
I am trying to not read too many spoilers about the new Hyjal dailies and story stuff, because a friend and I are likely going to IC quest what we can there, like we did the whole of the Hyjal zone at lvl 80 when Cata released.
Tim May 26th 2011 9:42AM
No. I hate redoing quests after I do them once (unless I don't remember them) so I don't PTR. I have tons of alts so the PTR would just drive me mad.
Shinae May 26th 2011 9:56AM
This has got me wondering how much testing Blizzard does internally for Quality Assurance. That is, do they employ testers or do employees test? Wouldn't it be inadequate to rely on paying customers to test it all?
Amaxe May 26th 2011 10:20AM
back when patch 3.0 was on test, I downloaded it so I could see how the changes to the enhancement shaman would affect me.
I then replaced my Str gems and enchants with Agi gems and enchants when they were cheap and was all ready to go when it went live.
The other PTRs since then were not so extreme so I never felt a need to take part in them.
lidstrom May 26th 2011 10:24AM
short answer: no.
long answer: nooo.
i tried it back in the BC days, but i didn't like dealing with all the bugs. i decided i'd rather wait and discover all the cool new things in the game itself and not ruin those surprises in the ptr.
that said, i do appreciate those players that use the ptr and report all the bugs and broken quests to make wow a better game for the rest of us, so kudos to those who do. :)
Diasia May 26th 2011 10:32AM
I do test on the EU PTR, but I'm puzzled by some of the other people who do.
Why go to all the trouble of downloading the PTR client just to troll in trade chat? Why put BOE items on the auction house for huge amounts of gold, when you should list them for 1c to get them into the hands of people who can use and test them.
I've seen the theory that people believe they get to keep any gold and achievements they earn, but that seems unlikely.
Therinor May 26th 2011 10:43AM
Hey
Yes, I noticed that in the beta too, those prizes (which is silly, and unnecessary), plus all the complaints. Then again, it seems as no matter what, ppl ALWAYS complain, so I guess thats why.
And no, you dont get to keep anything, which is another reason why, other than a beta, I dont like the PTR... to famr up something or even loot an amazing rare piece of gear and then having to lose it at the end of the test-phase.
And when I did play in the beta, I used one or two of those generic, premade characters you can get, instead of copies of my own chars, as it felt less "involved", so when I got some good gear or some rare loot, it didnt feel as "close to home" when the character was deleted.
(cutaia) May 26th 2011 10:55AM
Another strange behavior I see? People running random content like ICC or OS3D on the PTR. Why you would ever do that is completely beyond me.
loop_not_defined May 26th 2011 10:38AM
Having separate PTR files piggy-backing off of Live files has one fundamental flaw:
It doesn't test a full working version of WoW. It tests a dual modified version of WoW. This could easily lead to it's own bugs that wouldn't be present in the full version. Blizzard could waste a lot of development time chasing bugs that otherwise wouldn't be present - and completely missing bugs that only show up after the full version goes live.
Brian! May 26th 2011 10:46AM
I just rely on addons too much. I suppose that is a problem, but I hate the default UI and when in healing spec, I wouldn't want to be without my healing bar addon. Click healing is so much better.
I suppose I could probably duplicate the core functionality with well made macros...
Jovini May 26th 2011 10:47AM
ive tried.
every time i tried to test out the troll heroics i got nightmare groups of premades in full 333 gear, some of which didnt even have 85s on live servers, they thought they could just jump to endgame heroics with no clue how to play. i got a couple roleplayers in one run, and its not that i dont understand roleplaying, but when the tank takes the extra time to type out instructions with a friggen scottish accent, it needs to stop. we could barely understand the guy. and his night elf buddy.... I HATE HIPPIES!! oh, there was one DPS that showed up that actually rocked, but he was an EU player and spoke german, so he left before we even got to a boss. trying to build a group from scratch took forever because everyone was trying to run ICC instead of testing anything new.
next time i try im going to copy my hordie over and maybe they might actually try testing something.
Avan May 26th 2011 10:55AM
I have tried going on the PTR twice. Both times, it was completely unplayable. Massive lag, constant disconnects, and the stupidest crashes turned me away. I want to find bugs and help make WoW a better game, but I just can't do that when I'm sending crash reports every 5-10 minutes.
I understand that the PTR is going to be unstable and a little buggy, and I was expecting that. I was not expecting basic things like jumping or entering/leaving buildings to suddenly be broken and cause crashes. And that was just for the 3.1 patch.
muffinmocha May 26th 2011 11:23AM
I want to, but I don't have time. There's so many things I want to do ingame, like going for the
Mountain of Mounts, archeology, fishing and alts to level. Somedays I don't even have time to login to play. I often wonder about people that do have time for PTR and everything else as well, do they work, go to school? How do you juggle everything you do in PTR, in-game and real life?
ISA May 26th 2011 11:48AM
I use the PTR to pvp with all the classes I want since they come geared out, and to troll. Its pretty much like playing on a private FREE server. Seriously, Id be happy if the ptr was up indefinitely. Dont have to worry about gear, rep, grinding, gold, achievements, ect. Just hop on and play.
Rubitard May 26th 2011 12:09PM
Who has time to test new content when I'm busy posting mindless nerdrage on various forums of public opinion? Grrr!11!!!!!one!!! NERF BASIC CAMPFIRE!!