beta keys and release date?

[Xeraluin]

until cata arrives, i will do fly tying, fishing and of course.. alot of red dead redemption

[wut?]

The Gnome/Troll patch is part of the sanctumn patch is it not, We wont see Cata skills and such in that. Also I'm well aware RS is purely filler content but they are adding it and it is at least 5 weeks away. That still sticks us in mid july before it lands along with the gnome/troll stuff. So even if we take your month which is a very narrow margin imo as a look at the time they expect it to fill thats Mid august before thats done with with beta still not in sight, Don't think its likely we will see it this ytear.

It has been stated that the Gnome/Troll events are not being patched in they just need to be "Activated" when it is time. I don't have a link to the source for that but i'm sure somebody could help me?

[Adelycia]

Wrath didn't go into Beta until July 2008 but was still released by November.

Let's not forget that wrath beta was the longest in WoW history too @ 4 months long. Most of the beta's didn't last for that long. :P

[TyralisUH]

Yes. Cata will probably be out in November , just like WOTLK. So 5 months is more than enough for a closed Beta test.

[SuperScrotum]

November just seems too late. October still seems late IMO. RS and the Retaking of Gnomer/Echo Isles is not that much of content honestly.

I'm just about bored of ICC, and hard modes don't keep you that much interested because its still the same instance just with more difficult encounters.

I hope to see it in early October, that would make me happy. SC2 will hold me off until then... as long as it doesn't get pushed back because i heard rumors of it not being as balanced as SC1

[braxx]

i still hope for a september release but and early 2011 seems possible to me.
Anyway can anyone tell me how many people were taken in on the first round of wotlk beta, please? and then how many other 'rounds' were added later?

[Tavarok]

Im almost certain that when Blizz added the gnome/troll content to the PTR, They said it was not part of the patch, they were just turning it on to test it.

I heard that it will not be in a patch, it is an event that they can just turn on.

Im almost certain this is right and will be back with source soon!

[kenneth044]

5 more month with ICC25?! :O noway!

[Zygersaf]

i still hope for a september release but and early 2011 seems possible to me.
Anyway can anyone tell me how many people were taken in on the first round of wotlk beta, please? and then how many other 'rounds' were added later?

THe game store in the UK called "GAmestation" were told that it was going to be realesed in october (thats what the pre-order thing says) but it also says subject to change if anything it will e later not earlier than october :P

[DrgnDancer]

IMO we have gone too far into this year for a release this year. Will probably see it some time next year either feb/march 11. Bear in mind here we still have the Ruby Sanctumn to come and that whole mess of stuff releated to Bnet as well and thats still in the PTR.

Also with the way they are releasing the patching for the sanctumn its going to be at least 4 weeks after the US has it patched before it actually opens as Blizz have stated it will be staggered across the regions/continents and will open at the same time across the board. So we are looking at at least 5 more weeks from today before we see Sanctumn open that puts in 2nd week July before that even opens and you still expect to see Cata this year? Really?.

I was kinda curious myself, so I checked. Beta for WOTLK went live in mid July 2008 and the game was out in November. Assuming a smooth Beta, they can release Beta as late as August and still manage a 2010 release date. I doubt Beta is that far off, so I think an October-November release is likely. This assumes that the Beta doesn't turn up major issues of course.

[Z3ROR]

People forget that things can go faster then expected. Not everything delays in the game industry. Before you know it you walk outside your gamestore with a copy of WoW: Cataclysm in your hands.

[worlddan]

People forget that things can go faster then expected. Not everything delays in the game industry. Before you know it you walk outside your gamestore with a copy of WoW: Cataclysm in your hands.

Not with Blizzard. I actually predicted that the beta would go live in March 2010. (Wipes egg off of face).

I have yet to see anything done by Blizzard ahead of schedule. Anything.

I too think it is likely Oct-Nov but at this stage it wouldn't surprise me to see Dec-Jan.

[Lagfest]

Does that mean Cata will be for sale in a few weeks?!

No, the whales wouldn't allow it.

Cataclysm beta key of the whale

;D

[Frozenbeef]

wont the cataclysm beta last longer than wotlk due to having to test 2 new starter zones and races aswell as all the remade zones/ quests aswell as the new zones+ all the other features such as archology aswell as terrain phasing/ new water/ increased graphic settings?

Like in wotlk we only had to test shadows/new zones/ instances and dk/starter area especially considering we already had naxx so that didnt involve as much testing?

[freakyduck]

Are you all forgetting that at Blizzcon 2009 they said we would be complaining about Goblin Rogues at the 2010 Blizzcon? Seems to me that they plan on releasing it before Blizzcon this year.

Ruby Sanctum and Gnomer/Troll events will not be out at the sametime. Previous posters have mentioned that the Gnomer/Troll event is in game and just need to be activated, that sounds like something i heard recently. Thing is, Blizzard said that the Gnomer/Troll event will be part of patch 3.9, Ruby Sanctum is going to be in patch 3.5.

Blizzard is not expecting to use Ruby Sanctum to hold us over till next year for Cataclysm to come out. Even if RS isn't released this week or next, it won't be 5 weeks till we see it.

Perhaps more like this:

Ruby Sanctum/3.5 - 2-3 weeks
Cataclysm Beta - Sometime in July, probably mid-July
Gnomer/Troll event/3.9 - Sometime near end of August or beginning of Sept.
Cataclysm destroys Warcraft in Sept 2010.

[Neb]

wont the cataclysm beta last longer than wotlk due to having to test 2 new starter zones and races aswell as all the remade zones/ quests aswell as the new zones+ all the other features such as archology aswell as terrain phasing/ new water/ increased graphic settings?

Like in wotlk we only had to test shadows/new zones/ instances and dk/starter area especially considering we already had naxx so that didnt involve as much testing?

One. Shadows came out before wrath did, and two we have a pretty good idea that cataclysm was in production before wrath came out, so for all we know the whole time wrath was out they had been testing cataclysm stuff internally

[Yomiko]

wont the cataclysm beta last longer than wotlk due to having to test 2 new starter zones and races aswell as all the remade zones/ quests aswell as the new zones+ all the other features such as archology aswell as terrain phasing/ new water/ increased graphic settings?

Like in wotlk we only had to test shadows/new zones/ instances and dk/starter area especially considering we already had naxx so that didnt involve as much testing?

Actually it'll take less time most likely. Remember DKs? That was a HUGE undertaking to balance the class completely as they were pretty overpowered in the Beta. Testing quests isn't that hard compared to tweaking a class to be balanced. And races? How could they be overpowered besides racials (which are being re-worked for everyone in Cata)

Blizzards pretty much got phasing down, it's been used all throughout WoTLK, so I do not except them to be hassled by it too much. Shadows came out prior to WoTLK's release and the water will be exactly the same. Besides that, no really improvements to graphic settings from what I've read from Blizzard. New zones won't be that much of a big deal, it's the same as all the other expansions. In fact we're getting less entirely new zones than the other expansions, so less time to completely go over something (we are getting revamped zones though but it's still not going to be a giant overtaking).

Archeology is a secondary profession, and Blizzard had very few problems implementing Jewel-crafting/Inscription, if anything I think Mastery Talents re-working would present a larger testing phase then those two combined. Wotlk's Beta will be longer than Cata's...it just seems like WoTLK had more stuff to do.

---
It's been what, since DECEMBER we've had ICC, which was suppose to be the "final encounter" to WoTLK. Now they threw in Ruby Sanctum, exactly like Onyxia, a filler raid. Will not last more than a month to hold people over (it's one boss + 3 baby ones that can form just one giant one). People are getting tried of running ICC + Hard mode (same EXACT boss, but harder lol!!) Extremely boring after six months. I quit three times when raids got over four months without new content before, and I just came back a month ago to test out the final parts of ICC since I knew it would repeat itself.

Ruby Sanctum will go live next week (or if something bad happens again, the week/or two after) and Beta will go live probably the same week OR the two-three weeks following (more likely the latter, and more if bad things occur). Blizzard hinted at 'two betas at the same time' and since SC-2 Beta is ending soon Cata beta will likely start before it. Not to mention those contests on the main page, another huge giveaway. The Troll/Gnome events will happen during the summer time (late July(unlikely) or August) and Cataclysm will be released either in late August or September. Next year? Are you kidding me? Thirteen months of ICC and a filler raid? This isn't a Korean MMO.

/TD;TR ---> Simple version:
Cata's beta will be shorter than WoTLK's (unless something bad happens), Cata WILL be out this year, Cata's Beta will be before SC-2's Beta ends...in June or early July, Ruby Sanctum is a filler raid and will not last as long as ICC.

Ugh completely depending on if things go smoothly, Cata's beta won't last more than five months lol

[Basmothel]

Cata's beta will be shorter than WoTLK's (unless something bad happens), Cata WILL be out this year, Cata's Beta will be before SC-2's Beta ends...in June or early July, Ruby Sanctum is a filler raid and will not last as long as ICC.

So Cataclysm Beta will be before yesterday?

[Iroar]

Cataclysm = 2010

Cataclysm Beta = June

SCII = Not WoW

RS = Filler Content

/thread

[adnre]

release between october/decemer, i heard.