Summary
In a surprising statement,World of Warcraftconfirmed 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 howWorld of Warcrafthandles its upcoming releases, Blizzard stated the move was made to keep some things hidden until the patch goes live.
The news ofWorld of Warcraft’s 10.2.6 update came a day after the annual “Love Is In The Air” festivities started. Serving asAzeroth’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 someWorld of Warcraftcosmetic 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 theWar Withinexpansion.
According toa Blizzard blog post,World of Warcraftexecutive 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 theWorld of Warcraftdevelopment team will keep some surprises for players to discover in bothDragonflightand all the game’s Classic modes. Longdale further recommitted toWorld of Warcraft’s 2024 roadmapand stated that Blizzard will continue to learn from what was done in 2023.
World of Warcraft Plans For 10.2.6 Update
Longdale also touched uponSeason 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 theWorld of Warcraftdevelopment team to make Patch 10.2.6 similar to that. Longdale also confirmed that testing forDragonflightSeason 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.
Betweenthe February Prime Gaming rewardand the speculation surrounding Patch 10.2.6,World of Warcraftplayers looking to plunder more secrets may soon get their wish. Only time will tell if the update will be a successful experiment.
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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.
