Is the PTR Worth Your Time?
Posted by 
Bastosa on Thursday, March 12, 2009 - 18 Comments Tags: 3.1, Patch, Ulduar, content patch, progression, ptr, public test realm
Bastosa on Thursday, March 12, 2009 - 18 Comments Tags: 3.1, Patch, Ulduar, content patch, progression, ptr, public test realm 
There has been tons of talk about 3.1, Ulduar, and the public test realms lately. So for the first time ever I have transferred my character over the PTR to look around. While I know that test realms are intended to, well, test the upcoming content, we all know that is not people's primarily motivation for going over there.The reason many players go is to get a leg up on the competition when it comes to raiding, research new abilities, and make sure they know exactly what changes they are going to make to their character when the patch hits the live realms.
I have enjoyed being able to see the dual spec mechanic in person, am liking the built in outfitter functionality, and being the first to see things like the Argent Tournament has certainly been interesting.
One thing I noticed is that there are certain people who seem to spend A LOT of time on the PTR.
I have never been able to relate to this. Perhaps it's the same reason I have never been super excited about being a beta tester. For me there is a feeling that the time you spend is all for not. There is a certain impending doom knowing that as soon as Blizzard decides that their testing is finished everything will go away in the blink of an eye. So what is the point in investing the time?
Any gear that drops from those Ulduar bosses is not yours to keep, any money you make from crafting new profession recipes is as good as gone, and any achievements you earn won't mean much when the server is cleared.
Of course, the very hardcore raiding guilds are busy mastering boss strats so that they can knock out the world firsts, and there may be a few generous souls who want to help report every bug they see, but for the rest of you - what is the motivation? Isn't your time better spent on something you can keep (virtually)?
I applaud you who are there to help Blizzard work out bugs, but for the rest of you, are you having fun?
Reader Comments (18)
first! just want to say it
I've never tried the PTR, but I'm sure people are using it to help them self in the upcoming patch. Atleast the PTR is able to tell us the tactics of our upcoming Ulduar raids!
I feel similar to you. I enjoy watching videos and keeping up to date with whats going on on the PTR but would much rather work on my characters on live realms
I liked the old premade toons that you could play that was my motivation trying a new class at max lv
I doubt that there's other reason for playing PTR than Ulduar tactics, bugs finding and dual spec.
other than poking around on the PTR i've never been one to spend a lot of time on it. Generally our guildies are just there to try out boss strats and to see if there are any bugs easy enough to spot with the new abilities etc.
People use PTR for the same reason they type "FIRST!" like idiots. ...because they want to be first in line and see stuff first.
As for myself, I've never bothered with the PTR and have never typed "FIRST!" I have better things to do and other things to be proud of.
This is the first time I've copied a char to the PTR and I was going to try and see some of the new content but with all the crashes I never bothered. The other reason I wanted to get on there was to see some numbers on my freshly screwed up talent trees (Hunter) and try and set up some rotations and see what specs worked.
I see the reasoning for your article Bastosa. WoW is just a game and those of us who tend to think that its more than that should look at their own accomplishments in the world rather than being a butt-head and beat everyone else. This game, I believe, was intended to produce an environment where people from around the globe could relax and enjoy themselves as a small retreat.
I've never been in a PTR, and I doubt I ever will. Other than catching the bugs (which is very important, don't get me wrong here), it's rather pointless since everything goes away. I'd rather be working on gearing up for Ulduar because when the patch goes live, I'll at least have the gear even though I won't know the best strategies and tactics for the fights. If you reverse that... well... you ain't going nowhere, dude.
Well sometimes it's handy to have some knowledge of what is hot and what is not for the upcomming patch. specially when ya wanna make some cash.
for instance dream shards werent worth that much in the past. when the patch came out all of a sudden you needed them for enchanting and the prices shot up. So if you had been on PTR you would have know this and could have stocked up on those items and sell them for a profit.
that is and will be my only reason to go and have a looksy on the PTR.
at least no one goes on the PTR to experience all the old content.......
The only thing im doing on the PTR is the agrent thingy im only checking it out so im not going for any mounts, and quite frankly the PTR's pretty boreing its only good to test out bosses before they really come out.
You took the words right out of my mouth, Bastosa. You do seem awfully inspired.
personally i play on the ptr for an hour every few days to see whats been added and changed and report back for my guild's news section, trying to give people a heads up on incoming content. its also quite fun to try out things that arent finished yet ;p
i played the 3.0.1 test realm as my first SERIOUS PTR experience (i did it once before but didn't know i could transfer my toons) i transferred all of the toons i usually played and checked out what there was...surprisingly it was very fun i didn't really run into any bugs so i pretty much just experimented with the Inscription profession so i could have that leg up (and to assist guildees who wanted to pick it up) generally i did do it for fun BUT i would have gladly reported any and every bug i found had i found any...i have seen people who do play the PTR like they would the live realm...one person was even trying to make money for his epic flight training which he did not have on the live realm...which made no sense to me...sure i would enjoy being able to fly a netherdrake but on a live realm not one where i will lose the capability after the patch goes live...though i never did any raids or instances...
This is a game. There's already nothing in it that that I get to 'keep' in any non-virtual way. But so what? I play the PTR for the same reason I play the rest of the game; It's fun. (and I do love being able to tell my non-ptr-playing guildies what's coming up, what seems broken, what changes I really like.)
i wish i could join the PTR realm an beta. i like testing things that people haven't even heard of or seen.