We’ll be performing our first stress test for WoW Classic on Wednesday, May 22, from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. PDT. During this time, the closed beta test realm will be unavailable. Those who are currently in the beta test will only be able to login to the stress test realm during this time and beta testers can participate using their existing installation. We’ll also be adding a significant number of players to the stress test from the pool of people who have already opted in for the beta but have not yet been selected.

Since the same client is used for both our stress test users and our normal beta users, the name in the Battle.net App has changed to “Beta & Stress Test: WoW Classic . ” If you’ve been selected to participate in the stress test, you’ll see this option appear in the Region/Account drop down menu so you can download and install the WoW Classic client in advance, but you’ll only be able to see the stress test realm when it becomes available.

For the stress test, all races and classes will be available for creation, but the maximum level will be set to 5. The test will also take place on a PvP realm, but since the starting areas are sanctuaries you don’t need to worry about attacks from the other faction if you just want to level up to 5. We expect to put a lot of people in the starting zones, though, and we’re looking forward to seeing what you all do as we test the servers under crowded conditions.

We’ll be actively monitoring the server, sending server messages, etc. during the 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. PDT period and it’s important to have as many people as possible log in during this window! The stress test realm itself will be available until Thursday, May 23 (becoming unavailable around 6:00pm PDT).

If you encounter any issues during the test, you can submit them through the bug reporting tool in-game. If there are any aspects you’d like to discuss, feel free to post in the Classic Discussion forum.

Performing tests like these are very important in contributing to a smooth launch on August 27 and we appreciate your support.