Summary
- World of Warcraft's upcoming 10.2.6 update will not have a traditional PTR process to keep some surprises hidden until the patch goes live.
- The 10.2.6 update is scheduled to launch in March 2024, and the World of Warcraft team is asking for player feedback and patience during the experimental phase.
- The "Love Is In The Air" event for Valentine's Day in Azeroth has new quests and a chance to collect the X-45 Heartbreaker mount.
In a surprising statement, World of Warcraft confirmed that its upcoming 10.2.6 update will not have a traditional public test realm (PTR) process for some of its content. Though this move is a departure from how World of Warcraft handles its upcoming releases, Blizzard stated the move was made to keep some things hidden until the patch goes live.
The news of World of Warcraft's 10.2.6 update came a day after the annual "Love Is In The Air" festivities started. Serving as Azeroth's version of Valentine's Day, this year's event is a departure from previous ones, with the main attraction being the Gala of Gifts located outside the gates of both Stormwind and Orgrimmar. The 2024 edition of this heart-shaped holiday has new daily quests and an enhanced daily chance to get the elusive X-45 Heartbreaker mount, all of which will give some World of Warcraft cosmetic collectors more items to collect. While the "Love Is In the Air" event runs until February 19, Blizzard is not done with filling out the rest of its slate with surprises leading up to the War Within expansion.
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According to a Blizzard blog post, World of Warcraft executive vice president Holly Longdale said that the 10.2.6 update will not release some of its content on the PTR for players to test ahead of its release, which is tentatively scheduled for March. While Patch 10.2.6 has been speculated to be a pirate-themed update, Longdale said that the World of Warcraft development team will keep some surprises for players to discover in both Dragonflight and all the game's Classic modes. Longdale further recommitted to World of Warcraft's 2024 roadmap and stated that Blizzard will continue to learn from what was done in 2023.
World of Warcraft Plans For 10.2.6 Update
- No public test realm (PTR) testing for some parts
- Scheduled to launch in March 2024
Longdale also touched upon Season of Discovery's next phase, which is set to launch on February 8. She mentioned that the feedback from the discoveries players made in the first phase of Season of Discovery was what drove the World of Warcraft development team to make Patch 10.2.6 similar to that. Longdale also confirmed that testing for Dragonflight Season 4 would take place sometime after the 10.2.6 update is released. However, Longdale said that their plans for Patch 10.2.6 are experimental, and asked players for their continued feedback and patience in case any issues arise once the update hits servers in March.
Between the February Prime Gaming reward and the speculation surrounding Patch 10.2.6, World of Warcraft players looking to plunder more secrets may soon get their wish. Only time will tell if the update will be a successful experiment.
World of Warcraft
- Released
- November 23, 2004
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World of Warcraft is an incredibly successful MMORPG that has been going strong for almost two decades. It's one of the highest-grossing franchises in history and is widely considered the most popular MMORPG ever made.
