How to Join the Public Test Realm in World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft uses its public test realm to stress test new material and find bugs in patches. Players testing the content on the public test realm can post suggestions, report game errors and hardware conflicts, and preview new dungeons and solo content. To access this realm you need to go through a special process.

Instructions

1. Download the client Blizzard uses to let you connect to the public test realm server.

2. Determine whether the public test realm will take copied transfers of your characters, pre-made characters or new ones.

3. Pick a character to transfer to the new public test realm. In most cases, this is the most common method of testing the new patch. You're allowed to transfer two characters each time a public test realm opens.

4. Click the "Copy Your Character" button and pick the realm type where your character resides. Your choices include PvP, PvE, RP and RP-PvP.

5. Select a character name from the list available and click "Copy Character." You will be presented with a status page listing your transfer as "Pending." It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to complete the copy to the test realm.

Tips & Warnings

• Your Warcraft account must be upgraded with the Burning Crusade expansion and have been active for three weeks to qualify for the public test realm. In addition, your account must be in good standing. Players with suspensions or locked accounts cannot use the public test realm.