Maintenance Schedule - 02/10

Update, 12:20pm PST:

All realms are live at this time.

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Update, 12:00pm PST:

We are slowly bringing realms online at this time.

To check whether or not your realm is already online, please feel free to visit our Realm Status Page, found here:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/realmstatus/

It may be prudent to clear your browser's cache and cookies before loading this page, as this will ensure that older, cached versions of each realm's status are persisting and that the most up-to-date information is displayed. :)

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Update, 10:30am PST:

Downtime has been extended to address the resolution of an issue which was discovered during our realm testing phase. At present, maintenance is scheduled to conclude at 1:00pm PST.

Again, for reference:

If PST = 1pm

MST = 2pm
CST = 3pm
EST = 4pm

As always, these time frames are estimated. Should any additional changes to our schedule become necessary, an update will be provided.

Thank you. :)

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Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!

We will be conducting maintenance on all realms this Tuesday, 02/10/09. Downtime will begin at approximately 3am PST and will end at approximately 11am PST.

Please note that all provided time frames are estimates and are listed in Pacific Standard Time. Should any change to this schedule become necessary, an update will be provided through one of the following avenues—

Breaking News Page:
http://launcher.worldofwarcraft.com/alert

Service Status Forum:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14990652072&sid=1

For assistance with time zone conversion, you may wish to visit one of many online sites dedicated to the provision of times zones based on location. As a quick reference, however, please see the below table.

If PST = 11am, then:

MST = 12pm
CST = 1pm
EST = 2pm

We encourage you to keep all questions, comments, and concerns regarding this maintenance period isolated to this thread. Off-topic or nonconstructive posts will be deleted.

Additionally, as my colleague, Orylia, has always suggested, we recommend that players use this downtime constructively. We've many online resources available for perusal, just waiting for your attention!

Here are few notable threads and articles which you may find both educational and interesting:

*IMPORTANT* - Account Security
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=20572

** Computer Security Recommendations **
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=1778038509&sid=1

Fake E-mails from "Blizzard"
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=965511383&sid=1



Upcoming Changes to Mana Regeneration
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14910422908&sid=1

Upcoming Class Change Highlights (Part 1)
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14910002204&sid=1

Upcoming Class Change Highlights (Part 2)
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14910422662&sid=1

Upcoming Class Change Highlights (Part 3)
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14910003268&sid=1

And, for those of you curious about weekly downtime, we present for you the following:

https://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=89429867&pageNo=1&sid=1#4

Thank you so much for your patience and cooperation! In the meantime, please, sit down and relax. :)

I'm simply following in the Panda Bear's paw prints. :)

Q u o t e:
quote: We will be conducting maintenance on all realms this Tuesday, 02/10/08

Anyone notice anything wrong with this?

<.<
>.>

Wut?

Hehe, thanks!

By the way, also wanted to mention we are expecting some Web Maintenance today as well, so along with the normal periodic unavailability of some web services, expect these forums to be unavailable for a bit as well.

Q u o t e:


Just how long is a bit Orlyia, I know tuesday is the regular maintenance day, but could you give me an estimate of time for the website?

EDIT: am trying to keep the post as on-topic and constructive as possible.

I'm looking at a 4 hour estimate on the website, but that's quite often long and we come up much sooner.

They've scheduled it to commence with the realms.

Q u o t e:
Hm, other companies MMORPGs don't have this kind of ludicrous downtime every week right in the middle of the only time I get to play. Maybe I should give my subscription fees to them instead.

Actually, I believe you'll find most every MMO has downtime, many more than ours. Quite a few of them are also on the same day - does seem to be the day the least number of players are impacted.

I know that is small consolation when you are one of the ones that could play.

We try to keep this to a minimum, but maintenance and updates are vital in an online game of this nature.

Q u o t e:
Hello! The WoW Europe Blizz team is reporting they are patching to 3.0.9, just wanted to verify if this was also the case for us on the non-WoW Europe servers.

<.<
>.>

Umm, maybe :)

So far, so good here on the forums.

Although if you get logged out you may not be able to get back in.

We'll see if they need to take them down this morning.

Oh, I nearly forgot....

♫Just another manic….Tuesday♫

Thank you Twulf.

Hopefully this will address the issues some folks had not seeing the GM screen flashing, as well as players rubber-banding about them, among other things of course :)

For those of you inquiring previously, 3.0.9 patch notes may currently be viewed here:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/

As an update, ladies and gentlemen:

Downtime has been extended to address the resolution of an issue which was discovered during our testing phase. At present, maintenance is scheduled to conclude at 1:00pm PST.

Again, for reference:

If PST = 1pm

MST = 2pm
CST = 3pm
EST = 4pm

As always, these time frames are estimated. Should any additional changes to our schedule become necessary, an update will be provided.

Thank you. :)

Q u o t e:
excuse me but isnt testing supposed to be done before installing on the live servers??

Content testing, yes. I'm speaking of another form of testing, Oaksha.

Before we bring realms online after maintenance (or, in this case, patch application), we test their stability. We access each realm and work to verify that everything is operating correctly. As coding is often a fickle mistress, we wish to ensure that those processes and modifications we may have completed during downtime will not negatively affect game play.

Again, we do this before realms are brought online, much like a mechanic will give an engine a rev before returning the vehicle to its owner. This is a period which we refer to as a testing phase.

You've my apologies for any confusion. :)

Q u o t e:
and this canned post is put up each time ppl complain about this happening week after week when patches are applied

you would think that this 'methodology' would be upgraded and updated

why would you have to test each realm individually if the servers are all mirror images?

You've also my sincere apologies for providing a correct response to your direct question.

Q u o t e:
what about aussie time in AEST????

Are you folk down under on AEST or AEDT currently?

Barring terrible mathematical stream crossing, I believe that Tuesday, 1pm PST would be Wednesday, 8am AEDT.

I'll check this calculation and return to you with a confirmation. :)

Q u o t e:
Blizz needs to stop putting the 11pm pst time up as they seldom make it by that time. They need to be truthful and say maintance is from 3am to 1pm pst every tuesday. As even when we are supposed to have tuesdays where rolling restarts are supposed to happen we get extended maintance.
Since 3am to 1pm is becoming the norm and not the exception your better off postingthat instead of 3 am to 11am and when people go to log on at 11 am get disappointed to see yet again blizz extended it out to 1pm.

Should you feel sincerely about this, Edmundduke, then I would encourage you—again, sincerely—to post within our Suggestions Forum.

Though our Suggestions Forum will not receive direct "Blue" feedback, I can assure you that all contributions therein are read and considered. (For credence: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=6286660338&sid=1&pageNo=4#74)

With that said, downtime required extension, as our technicians discovered an issue which would threaten intended game play. Presently, a resolution is being applied. If I'm provided with more information, I will most certainly relay it. :)

Q u o t e:
I wanted to post this in suggestion forums, but this seems to be the place.

Blizzard should now do maintenance on saturdays or sundays between 4 and 8 PM EST (just cuz it's my time frame).

More seriously, people need to stop qq about it. I prefer having a whole day off of WoW than having two straight weeks without maintenance but unplayable servers.

For those who may not immediately catch your satirical twist, I will say this: Your first inclination was correct, Powerstuck; this particular form of feedback is best addressed via our Suggestion Forum. :)

Q u o t e:
Perhaps you might hire new people to replace those responsible for estimating when the realms will be back up again. Since the expansion, they've not had a good record of accuracy. This in turn makes your job harder as you deal with the non forum-regulars'* disappointment and resentment. A job the moderators are skilled at, to be sure, from practice.

You are certainly welcome to this opinion, Kapowder. As I've encouraged you in weeks past, if you believe that our present maintenance schedule is inapt or contrary to what you believe appropriate for the World of Warcraft, then I implore you to voice your concerns within our Suggestions Forum.

Q u o t e:
You didn't respond to my post.

I'm terribly sorry, Zelin. You've now my rapt attention.

Q u o t e:
How is it that highly trafficed e-commerce sites do the same maintenance procedures on their servers and have no down time?

Though I am neither a technician, nor engineer, nor Database Administator, I would imagine that differences in provided maintenance are likely due to differences in service type.

Q u o t e:
This donw time cost the subscriber. That isn't fair. Buy more server modules and swap them after the updates. I'm sure something like thsi could be achieved.

Should you genuinely feel as though your monthly fee is too egregious in relation to scheduled downtime, or should you feel as though our approach to maintenance is inapt, you are welcome to post within our Suggestions Forum with any thoughts or considerations you may possess.

If possible, though, I would ask that you provide constructive solutions, as tangible feedback—rather than abstract expressions—is greatly appreciated. :)

Q u o t e:
I just had a quick question. If you take the downtime average of every server; approximately 8-10 hours a week and multiply that by the number of weeks in the year it accounts for over 17 days. So, my question is, under the policy of WoW, under account policies does it state that the charge will remain the same per month and that WoW will not reimburse the 17 days lost due to maintenance a year? If it is stated then disregard my message but if it is not clearly stated why are we not reimbursed those 17 days,

Thanks

I believe the applicable portion of our Terms of Use for which you are searching may be found here:
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html

Q u o t e:
Warranty Disclaimer.

THE GAME AND THE SERVICE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND BLIZZARD DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE GAME OR THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE GAME OR THE SERVICE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. BLIZZARD EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

I would encourage you to read all posts provided by Blizzard Employees herein, Oresmith, before speaking in such a defamatory manner. This may be accomplished by clicking on the "Next Blizz Post" button located in the upper right hand corner of every "Blue" response.

Q u o t e:
So you admit to not testing until implementation?

No. I addressed a similar question; I'll quote for you now my response:

Q u o t e:
Content testing, yes. I'm speaking of another form of testing, Oaksha.

Before we bring realms online after maintenance (or, in this case, patch application), we test their stability. We access each realm and work to verify that everything is operating correctly. As coding is often a fickle mistress, we wish to ensure that those processes and modifications we may have completed during downtime will not negatively affect game play.

Again, we do this before realms are brought online, much like a mechanic will give an engine a rev before returning the vehicle to its owner. This is a period which we refer to as a testing phase.

You've my apologies for any confusion. :)

That sort of disrespectful language, Misfolk, will not be tolerated herein. Upon your return, should you wish to continue to contribute within this thread, I would sincerely advise that you do not defame or mock those under the employ of Blizzard Entertainment or those who have so bravely served in our Nation's defense.

Q u o t e:
I still have never received a staff answer as to why these maintenance task can't be performed on realms in chunks instead of all at the same time? Each realm is its own separate environment is it not? Why not take down the realms in thirds at a time. Overlapping the task would allow us that live on the east cost to play on a diff realm while we have the time to play. Just a question not a flame

Basic question: What happens when your realm is unavailable? If you've a character elsewhere, on another realm perhaps, you will likely log into it and continue to play.

Applied question: What happens when half our realms are unavailable? If players on those realms possess characters elsewhere, perhaps on those which were are presently online, they will likely log into them and continue to play.


The result is an imbalance in population. Those realms which are online will likely become unplayable, as those players who are unable to access their primary realms will instinctively seek refuge.

It's not that your concern is unfounded, or your solution unreasonable, Firebeaver. I both understand and appreciate your hypothetical; unfortunately, the resulting response would likely more negatively impact our players than straight, unilateral downtime.

I hope this helps. :)

Q u o t e:
well its an hour past time and still we can not log in...an ideas?

It's presently about 12pm pST, my dear Death Knight. Maintenance is scheduled to conclude at 1pm PST.

With that said, we are slowly bringing realms online at this time. Should any further news or information develop, I will provide it herein.

To check whether or not your realm is online at this time, please feel free to visit our Realm Status Page, found here:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/realmstatus/

It may be prudent to clear your browser's cache and cookies before loading this page, as this will ensure that older, cached versions of each realm's status are persisting and that the most up-to-date information is displayed. :)

Q u o t e:
If that is true, then overlapping realms during this time would not over populate any realm as there are considerably less people online then say on Friday night or Saturday.

Though this proves to be the time frame supporting the smallest population, this does not mean that the sheer number of players which are active during early Tuesday morning hours are insufficient and could not impact a realm's overall stability.

I believe you underestimate the fervor with which players would flock to those realms available.

Q u o t e:
And this second quote you posted proves my point, you did not test this maintenance prior to implementation on all the realms. It is obvious that the test realm is not being used to test the fixes that are implemented on maintenance day when the maintenance is extended to fix problem caused by the maintenance.

That was my point. You are not testing the patches and bug fixes prior to implementation on all the realms. You implement and then test the realm to see if it is stable, rather than use the test realm to implement and test prior to updating all the realms.

I've not proved any point but my own, Oresmith. There is a distinct difference between testing the content which is included within a patch and testing a realm's proper functionality following both patch application and realm maintenance.

It would be remiss of us to bring realms online without first working to verify that both patch application and conducted maintenance processes were successful. In a very, very loose analogy, it would also be remiss for a surgeon to close up a patient's chest without first verifying that his or her beat properly following the inclusion of a new type of pace maker. Though the pace maker in question passed through several clinical studies and underwent vigorous testing, the surgeon still needs to make sure that everything during the surgery went according to plan.

This is the type of testing to which I'm referring. I, in my heart of hearts, know that you understand.

*crosses fingers*

Q u o t e:
And for the exact same results you could try screaming it at your wall or telling it to the next door lady's cats. Just for kicks you could writing it in crayon on a scrap of paper and bury it in your back yard. Maybe pray to some statue at your local park or throwing pennies into a fountain and wishing. Any of these suggestions will get you the same results as posting anything on the black hole that is the "Suggestions" forum. They say that because they can't tell you to bugger off. "This would be better suited for the suggestion forum" is just Blizz's nice way of brushing you off.

I am Game Master, Obscurity. I do not possess purview over the development of new content, the application of changes to in-game mechanics, or the resolution of issues which affect intended game play. I am neither in charge of maintenance schedules nor which lyric Zarhym places within his signature.

For this reason, I cannot address those concerns or demands which relate to maintenance, downtime, or provided ETAs, and it is why I will refer those inquiring to the Suggestions Forum. This referral is not a shirking of duty or a passing of the buck; rather it is a genuine assertion that, if one wishes to have his or her voice heard, that there is an appropriate and welcoming medium.

You may believe the Suggestions Forum a place for good ideas to fall on deaf ears. You'd be incorrect. There is a bastion of player-provided insight located therein and we would be fools to not consider it.

So we do. On a daily basis.

If you need further proof that those ideas and grievances aired within Suggestions Forum are duly noted, I would refer you here:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=6286660338&sid=1&pageNo=4#74

With that said, you've an odd sense of humor that I like. Keep it up.

Q u o t e:
I've never received a response to a ticket. I'll let them hang for hours and then finally fix it myself or just ignore it altogether. I don't believe they feel it is of serious enough nature to warrant spending resources on. Advertising is what makes money. Once they hook you, well then it's your problem. I seriously doubt they employ the best method for these patches and updates. The best method must cost more money than they're willing to put towards correcting the problem. Just like car manufacturers figure a few law suites due to death or injury is cheaper than fixing a problem.

Those who address your petitions, Zelin, do not address realm maintenance. There is a division of labor which is hallmark to the success of most notable businesses.

Though, on that note, those who address your petitions can't really address your petitions if you close them prior to their assignation. It appears that, out of the four petitions you've submitted on your posting account, 3 were closed by you; for the fourth, you were offline, and so were sent an email to your registered with instructions on how to begin the UI troubleshooting process.

We're happy to help, my friend. You just need to let us. :)

Q u o t e:
I just think that this would help WOW staff as isolated realms could be used for the updates and any resulting issues be resolved then rolled over to the next group of servers. This could be done without extending staff hours or development to production time frames. Simultaneously, you would have satisfied a larger portion of your customers producing better advertising by them to potential customers. A true win-win is what I am suggesting here. :)

If you've some thoughts which you believe would be compatible with our population and structure, Firebeaver, you're welcome to jot them down within our Suggestions Forum.

The more detailed you are, the better! The more information our Development team possesses, the more they will be able to understand your philosophy and viewpoint.

Oh, and pardon me, I neglected to post this update within this topic's body:

Q u o t e:
Update, 12:20pm PST:

All realms are live at this time.