Extended Maintenance - 4/14/2009

Update, 6:40pm PDT

All realms should now be live at this time. :)

=================================================================================

Update, 6:25pm PDT

Q u o t e:
We are slowly bringing realms online at this time, and expect all realms to be playable by approximately 7:00PM PDT. We thank you once again for your ongoing patience.

Please note that this is a staggered process; if your realm is not available at this time, remain patient, and continue to check your Realm Selection List or Realm Status page (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/realmstatus).

=================================================================================

Update, 5:00pm PDT

Q u o t e:
Thank you for your patience. We ran into some issues in the testing process which have resulted in delays. We currently do not have a definite estimate on when they will be playable, but we will provide another update at approximately 6:00PM PDT. We are doing the best we can to have the realms available in the next two to three hours.

To bring it down a level, though: We know you want to log in, spec your dual, check out Ulduar, and maybe swim around on a pony. We also know that the absence of a solid ETA is both a point of interest and one of concern. We know this is absolutely frustrating, and we are deeply sorry for whatever negative impact this extended maintenance has caused you or for whatever feelings of disconnection you may have experienced.

We we want you to know, though, that we are working right now to correct those issues currently preventing you all from accessing our realms and the freakishly-amazing content 3.1 offered within them. We want you to play—to log into your character and have some fun—and are doing all we can to make sure this happens as soon as humanly possible.

As soon we possess an ETA or more solid information, we will provide it. In the meantime, please feel free to continue to post herein; you're welcome to air your grievances, concerns, and family brownie recipes so long as it remains constructive.

=================================================================================

Update, 4:00pm PDT

Q u o t e:
Thank you for your patience. We are actively testing and verifying the realms to ensure the best possible play experience when they are back online. We currently do not have a definite estimate on when they will be playable, but we will provide another update at approximately 5:00PM PDT.

=================================================================================

Update, 3:15pm PDT

We are presently working to bring all realms online at this time. Please note that this is a staggered process; if your realm is not available at this time, remain patient, and continue to check your Realm Selection List or Realm Status page (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/realmstatus).

We will be continuing to monitor the stability and functionality of all realms as they become available to you. Should any issues arise during this process, then we will take steps to address them; this may include keeping some realms offline or bringing online realms offline once more.

With that said, I know this must be incredibly frustrating—to remain both in waiting and in limbo—and I appreciate the candor and honesty you've shown me and my peers thus far. Please know that we understand your concerns and value them dearly, and that those efforts we've put forth today are to ensure an epic gaming experience for all of you. This can and often does involve a lot of patience on your part, and for that which you've displayed, I thank you. :)

=================================================================================

Update, 3:00pm PDT

Q u o t e:
Thank you for your patience. We are actively testing and verifying the realms to ensure the best possible play experience when they are back online. We currently do not have a definite estimate on when they will be playable, but we will provide another update at approximately 4:00PM PDT.

=================================================================================

Update, 2:50pm PDT

Battle.net account holders should now be able to access the WoW client. Thank you to all who provided feedback and remained patient while we worked to resolve this issue.

Maintenance remains ongoing at this time. As further updates become available, they will be provided herein, within our Breaking News page, and/or Service Status Forum.

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

Service Status Forum
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=16365836551&sid=1

=================================================================================

Update, 2:00pm PDT

Q u o t e:
Thank you for your patience. We are actively testing and verifying the realms to ensure the best possible play experience when they are back online. We currently do not have a definite estimate on when they will be playable, but we will provide another update at approximately 3:00PM PDT.

While issues with forum navigation should now be resolved, we continue to keep a close watch on the situation.

=================================================================================

Update, 1:00pm PDT

Q u o t e:
We are continuing to perform maintenance on all realms but currently do not have a definite estimate on when the realms will be playable. We will provide another update at approximately 2:00PM PDT with further information on when we expect the maintenance to be complete. Thank you for your patience.

=================================================================================

Update, 12:55pm PDT

Though many players are now able to access the WoW client via a B.net account, we continue to investigate and monitor the situation. If you possess a B.net account and are still receiving an "Unable to Validate Game Version" message at login, please remain patient. We understand this issue remains active for many and are working to provide resolution as quickly as possible.

=================================================================================

Update, 11:55am PDT

Q u o t e:
We are continuing to perform maintenance on all realms but currently do not have a definite estimate on when the realms will be playable. We will provide another update at approximately 1:00PM PDT with further information on when we expect the maintenance to be complete. Thank you for your patience.

Investigating remains ongoing at this time for those affected by B.net login.

=================================================================================

Update, 11:40am PDT:

As a small update for those currently using Battle.net accounts: We are indeed aware that many B.net users are receiving the message "Unable to Validate Game Version" at login. We are currently investigating this issue and wish to resolve it as soon as possible.

=================================================================================

Update, 10:50am PDT:

Q u o t e:
We are continuing to perform maintenance on all realms but currently do not have a definite estimate on when the realms will be playable. We will provide another update in approximately 1 hour with further information on when we expect the maintenance to be complete. Thank you for your patience.

All updates and information related to this Tuesday's maintenance may be viewed within our Breaking News Page or Service Status Forum.

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

Service Status Forum
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=16365836551&sid=1

For reference, all times provided are noted in PDT. To determine how your specific time interacts with PDT, please use the following table:

Hawaii = PDT - 3 hours
MDT = PDT + 1 hour
CDT = PDT + 2 hours
EDT = PDT + 3 hours
ADT = PDT + 4 hours
Newfoundland = PDT + 4.5 hours
GMT = PDT + 7 hours
AEST = PDT + 17 hours

=================================================================================

Goooooooood Morning, CSF!

Tuesday is here once again. We have extended maintenance, as well as a bit extra for some realms.

From the Service Status Forum:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=16365836551&sid=1

Q u o t e:
We will be performing extended maintenance on the below realms beginning at 1:00AM PDT, April 14th. Maintenance for all US and Oceanic realms not listed below will begin at 3:00AM PDT, April 14th. We expect all realms to be playable again by approximately 11:00AM PDT.

Antonidas
Anub'arak
Blackwater Raiders
Bladefist
Borean Tundra
Cairne
Cenarion Circle
Cenarius
Darrowmere
Drak'Tharon
Drenden
Echo Isles
Farstriders
Fenris
Garrosh
Hydraxis
Hyjal
Korialstrasz
Lightbringer
Maiev
Misha
Mok'Nathal
Moon Guard
Nazgrel
Nesingwary
Nordrassil
Quel'dorei
Ravenholdt
Rivendare
Shandris
Shu'halo
Sisters of Elune
The Forgotten Coast
Tortheldrin
Uther
Vashj
Winterfhoof
Wyrmrest Accord

Thank you!

Also, there will be periodic outages this morning on web-based services, including these forums.

As always, I highly recommend you take this opportunity to update your scanning software (perhaps look at adding others if you only run one as most will not catch all infections) and do deep scans. You might also want to consider parking your addons off to the side, resetting your UI, then re-adding them one by one when the realms return. Purely optional but it may save you some time :)

Recommended Tuesday Reading List:
[ul][b]Computer Security Recommendat

Early realms on the list are starting to process now. Please see the above on times.

Q u o t e:
I hope this is patch day!


...but the PTR still seems to be up...

<.<
>.>

Ummmm, maybe :)

By the way, if you haven't watched this, it's pretty awesome.

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/3p1/index.xml#ulduartrailer

All other realms have commenced countdown.

Folks, I nearly forgot.

Lots of talent refunds today. Please don't forget to respec before heading out into the field!

Many glyphs have also changed, you'll probably want to look over your classes patch notes for details on that.

Update, 10:50am PDT:

Q u o t e:
We are continuing to perform maintenance on all realms but currently do not have a definite estimate on when the realms will be playable. We will provide another update in approximately 1 hour with further information on when we expect the maintenance to be complete. Thank you for your patience.

All updates and information related to this Tuesday's maintenance may be viewed within our Breaking News Page or Service Status Forum.

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

Service Status Forum
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=16365836551&sid=1

For reference, all times provided are noted in PDT. To determine how your specific time zone interacts with PDT, please use the following table:

MDT = PDT + 1 hour
CDT = PDT + 2 hours
EDT = PDT + 3 hours
GMT = PDT + 7 hours
AEST = PDT + 17 hours

As we're presently observing Daylight Savings, Voyager, our time zone is only 7 hours behind GMT. :)

Q u o t e:
Fact: Hawaiians don't turn their clocks back and foreward. Discuss.

Many territories, states, and parts of states do not observe Daylight Savings. :)

Q u o t e:
LOL... they forgot about us in Atlantic Canada too (AST)... oh well... life's too short right

Although base GMT was included within the list, I've now accomodated both ADT, Newfoundland, and Hawaiian time zones. :)

Q u o t e:
One more thing I've noticed is that, Blizz people only respond about the Time zone and not the actual complaints from us all.

I provide response to those inquiries actually wishing response, Lazzie. You've my apologies, but I do not believe "GG BLIZX maor doawntime!" is exactly a comment, statement, or question that invites on-topic or constructive discussion.

With that said, should anyone herein desire to open a dialogue, I'll be happy to oblige to the fullest of my abilities. Similarly, should anyone herein simply wish to air a grievance (civilly, of course), I'm happy to permit that form of discourse, as well.

As a small update for those currently using Battle.net accounts: We are indeed aware that many B.net users are receiving the message "Unable to Validate Game Version" at login. We are currently investigating this issue and wish to resolve it as soon as possible.

Should I receive any further updates regarding these efforts or the pending conclusion of maintenance, I will provide it herein. :)

Q u o t e:
I know there are posts all over the place about the "Unable to authenticate game version", however I could not find a definitive answer for what is going on with it. If there is such a post could you perhaps provide me with a link? I would appreciate it, just so I know if I need to whip out the old disks or if I should just wait for maintenance to end. (Ill re-install now if I have to, so I can hopefully be up when maintenance is)

Hey, Nimitz! Looks like we were operating on the same wavelength briefly. I've provided what information I possess at present regrading B.net login above. :)

Q u o t e:
Typos suck huh?!? upgdates /sigh

Indeed. ;)

Thank you for the quick catch!

Update, 11:55am PDT

Q u o t e:
We are continuing to perform maintenance on all realms but currently do not have a definite estimate on when the realms will be playable. We will provide another update at approximately 1:00PM PDT with further information on when we expect the maintenance to be complete. Thank you for your patience.

Investigating remains ongoing at this time for those affected by B.net login.

Q u o t e:
Hi, me again! I would legitimately like a response to this inquiry. Im guessing your busy and may of overlooked the first time I asked this so I will ask again. Again, why do you (meaning Blizz) repeatedly set an initial ETA for the realms to come up that you more times than not you fail to meet by at least an hour, if not more, rather than just push back your initial ETA and more times than not come in on schedule if not before?

We establish ETAs based on information we possess at the time of their creation. This information frequently holds true, allowing all realms to come online at or even prior to provided estimations.

Unforeseen difficulties can and do arise, however, which cause further downtime and adjustments to previously-provided ETAs to become necessary. While we can provide leeway in our estimations—buffers, so to speak—we are not clarivoyant and thus cannot always thoroughly predict the impact of such difficulties or how they may impact our ETAs prior to their occurrence. It is for this reason why we specifically note that all times frames are approximate, and why we work diligently to provide timely updates should any changes to these frames be made.

Should you feel we can improve on this front, Jakks, then I encourage you to speak up, to voice your opinion to those with purview. Please do not hesitate to provide your suggestions, thoughts, or grievances within our Suggestions Forum. :)

As a note, folks: You are welcome to continue to post herein so long as you post civilly. Using profanity, masked or direct; defamation of character (be that of myself or your fellow posters); unnecessary snark or smarm; and other clear violations of our forum Code of Conduct will not be tolerated.

I understand that you are frustrated and do not fault you for wishing to express it. I also empathize with your concerns and wish to hear them. I do not, however, want this thread to devolve into a bout of finger-point, hate-mongering, or flippancy. Everyone deserves the opportunity to voice their opinions constructively, so let's make sure that this environment is healthy and promoting. :)

Q u o t e:
Why don't they just say realms will be up at 4:00 pm EST, then put them up early so that people are pleasantly surprised, instead of saying 2:00 pm EST, and then bringing the realms up at 5:00pm EDT or later?

If you believe this a course of action worth exploring, then I would sincerely encourage you to post within our Suggestions Forum. As delighted as I am by the ingenuity of you and yours, the Game Master department—of which I am a part—possesses no purview over such matters; it's thus in your best interest to appeal to those with influence through the aforementioned medium. :)

No scotch. Some bunny-shaped Sweettarts, though. And a killer song:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2649579674&pageNo=5&sid=1#81

Q u o t e:
Ahh! Ahh, ahh!
Ahh! Ahh, ahh!
Ahh! Ahh, ahh!
Ahh! Ahh, ahh!

Come post with me
during this inactivity;
Ask, "Why can't I play
Every week on Tuesday?!"

And how can I win?
When no one listens—
Accept downtime,
or time will down you ...

Ahh! Ahh, ahh!
Ahh! Ahh, ahh!
Ahh! Ahh, ahh!
Ahh! Ahh, ahh!

No one can log in to the game!
The time has come to cease the flames;
You and I must display patience!
You and I must wait for maintenance!

*rocks out*

No one can log in to the game!
The time has come to cease the flames;
You and I must display patience!
You and I must wait for maintenance!

No one can log in to the game!
The time has come to cease the flames;
You and I must display patience!
You and I must wait for maintenance!

I'm currently awaiting an update regarding the progress of B.net login. I hope to share some positive information shortly. Stay tuned! :)

First warning, Rengroll: Please do not use profanity herein. I believe you both apt and intelligent, and I do not doubt that you are than willing to convey your thoughts and viewpoints without such deviations. :)

Q u o t e:
Near as I can tell it's resolved, I've seen a few posts hereabouts saying people can login, and I can login on my B.net account too.

We're observing a similar outcome; however, many B.net account holders remain unable to log in. Our technicians continue to work, so any information or feedback you can provide on this front is greatly appreciated. :)

Q u o t e:
So the only thing holding the show is the B.net login issue?

No; it's simply an issue of which we are keenly aware and wish to resolve as quickly as possible.

Q u o t e:
Wait, what? People are able to log in? I don't use Bnet and yet I just get the development thingy.

For clarity, Yijjal, many B.net account users were experiencing or are continuing to experience an error at client login (not realm login). They were or are unable to reach the realm suggestion page you're noting.

Q u o t e:
Oh, alright :) Some of your posts made it look like that was the "only" issue.

And you've my apologies for any confusion. I simply believed the matter of great enough import to merit a separate mention herein.

For reference, though, and so that I may relay this information onto our technicians, are you still unable to login with your B.net account, Koruption?

Q u o t e:
i dont feel like reading 19 pages for this answer... whens the game coming up

All relevant updates regarding today's maintenance schedule may viewed within the front post. You're welcome to read only that page and not the 18 that proceed it.

Roger that, Koruption. Thanks for the confirmation. :)

Update, 12:55pm PDT

Though many players are now able to access the WoW client via a B.net account, we continue to investigate and monitor the situation. If you possess a B.net account and are still receiving an "Unable to Validate Game Version" message at login, please remain patient. We understand this issue remains active for many and are working to provide resolution as quickly as possible.

Q u o t e:
I think the B-net issue is whats holdin us up.

Issues with Battle.net login are ancillary, but no less pertinent. We hope to have this matter addressed before or with maintenance conclusion.

Of course, as updates become available, I will provide them herein.

Q u o t e:
I also can now login to WoW using B.net but when will realms return to working order ?

As soon as possible, Vuduclown. We've no ETA available at this time.

Update, 1:00pm PDT

Q u o t e:
We are continuing to perform maintenance on all realms but currently do not have a definite estimate on when the realms will be playable. We will provide another update at approximately 2:00PM PDT with further information on when we expect the maintenance to be complete. Thank you for your patience.

Q u o t e:
Stop posting your dumb opinions and jokes that are also dumb and just turn the servers back on you bunch of friggin' ding-dongs.

Where have you been all of my life, Roybeez? And how have I managed these years without your keen insight?

Keep it civil.

This is a time for reflection and meditation, Vetlh. Also for messin' with Sasquatch.

Q u o t e:
brown nosing doesn't get you epic drops

Neither will antagonism.

Update, 2:00pm PDT

Q u o t e:
Thank you for your patience. We are actively testing and verifying the realms to ensure the best possible play experience when they are back online. We currently do not have a definite estimate on when they will be playable, but we will provide another update at approximately 3:00PM PDT.

Apologies for the delay in the relay of this message. Forum navigation should now be more stable.

Battle.net account holders: How's log in progressing? Are you able to access our client at this time or do you continue to experience the "Unable to Validate Game Version" error?

Q u o t e:
It's been fixed for the last 2 hours.

On the contrary, while the issue cleared for many players around 12:30pm PDT, we continued to receive reports of log in errors. We've recently pushed a resolution, though, and believe it to have positively affected those remaining players still unable to log in.

Q u o t e:
thats what she said

Iceburn.

Q u o t e:
Are we being told we can't play because some battlenet players can't log in? They sure didn't take everything down when the Time Warner users couldn't log in!

No. While issues related to Battle.net login were simply lateral, they affected many and so were pertinent enough to merit discussion within this thread.

Although I apologize for any confusion, Nyctherius, I did not wish for inquiring Battle.net users to have to search for relevant information elsewhere when I was in a position to provide it myself. :)

Providing a quick synopsis of the last two updates, for those who have not been keeping track of the first post of this thread:

Q u o t e:
Update, 3:00pm PDT

Q u o t e:
Thank you for your patience. We are actively testing and verifying the realms to ensure the best possible play experience when they are back online. We currently do not have a definite estimate on when they will be playable, but we will provide another update at approximately 4:00PM PDT.

=================================================================================

Update, 2:50pm PDT

Battle.net account holders should now be able to access the WoW client. Thank you to all who provided feedback and remained patient while we worked to resolve this issue.

Maintenance remains ongoing at this time. As further updates become available, they will be provided herein, within our Breaking News page, and/or Service Status Forum.

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

Service Status Forum
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=16365836551&sid=1

=================================================================================

Also, as a sort of a non-update update: We believe we've isolated those sources which contributed to extended maintenance this Tuesday and are working actively towards resolution at this time. While no ETA is available at present, we hope to have all players back in the game as soon as possible and enjoying 3.1 content.

Should this information change or should new data become available, I will relay it herein for all of you.

If such information were available, Helsdottir, I would be happy to provide it for you and your peers.

As a brief reiteration, though: We believe we've identified those causes which extended maintenance this Tuesday and are working towards resolution presently. At this time, we are actively testing all realms to ensure playability prior to bringing them online.

Please stay tuned; as updates are provided to me, I will relay them to you.

We are presently working to bring all realms online at this time. Please note that this is a staggered process; if your realm is not available at this time, remain patient, and continue to check your Realm Selection List or Realm Status page (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/realmstatus).

We will be continuing to monitor the stability and functionality of all realms as they become available to you. Should any issues arise during this process, then we will take steps to address them; this may include keeping some realms offline or bringing online realms offline once more.

With that said, I know this must be incredibly frustrating—to remain both in waiting and in limbo—and I appreciate the candor and honesty you've shown me and my peers thus far. Please know that we understand your concerns and value them dearly, and that those efforts we've put forth today are ensure an epic gaming experience for all of you. This can and often does involve a lot of patience on your part, and for that which you've displayed, I thank you. :)

Q u o t e:
Translation we dont really care what you think we at Blizzard will take however long we want to screw with your day. What is your alternative Everquest...lol

Your Translation Fu is weak.

Q u o t e:
You and you peers do realize that the servers that are online aren't functioning either right? They sit on "Retreiving character list" and do nothing, just a heads up.

Yes, and we are continuing to keep an eye on each realm's response and performance as thousands of players attempt to login simultaneously. Should we need to intervene, we will.

Thank you for your feedback, though. I will ensure that it is relayed onto our monitoring technicians. :)

Q u o t e:
instead of monitoring shouldnt you be doing somethign about it?

If it becomes necessary bring those realms online at this time offline for the sake of stability we will; however, it's important to note that, at this time, those realms which are online are experiencing an incredible load associated with solely character login. It is this effect that we are keeping a very close and keen eye on and why player feedback is most appreciated.

Should any updates become available or changes need be made to our current realm-bringing-online process, I will let you know ASAP. Thank you for those reports you've provided me or for any information you are willing to provide going forward.

Aannnddd, with that said, we are currently bringing realms offline again at this time. Please fasten your seatbelts and keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times; thank you.

Q u o t e:
In before time machine.

MDT 4 lyfe.

Q u o t e:
My point was that it is still not yet 4:15 PDT. That's 2 mins from now. :)

As I provided that update at 3:15pm PDT, I was apparently posting from another time zone. ;)

Q u o t e:
Btw what does iceburn mean? cause you know i totally burned a guy with my leet thats what she said skillz and you said "Iceburn"

It's a burn so hot, so wicked that it's downright cold. Oh snap.

Q u o t e:
I appreciate a Game Master attempting to NERD RAGERZ laugh, but shouldn't you be TESTING?!

DOES NOT COMPUTE.

I am happy to relay information to and from those who are programmed to do such, though. :)

For those who may not have seen this message previously:

http://launcher.worldofwarcraft.com/alert

Q u o t e:
Thank you for your patience. We are actively testing and verifying the realms to ensure the best possible play experience when they are back online. We currently do not have a definite estimate on when they will be playable, but we will provide another update at approximately 5:00PM PDT.

I understand you all may find this particular format vague, and I do sincerely apologize for any undue concern it or this entire maintenance period may have caused you and yours. I know your goal is just to log in and play; please know that it's our goal to facilitate this for you as soon as possible.

This is the data I've at present. As always, should any additional information be relayed to me, I will relay it to you post-haste.

Q u o t e:
Original post by the Blue was modified. Let it be known servers were restarted, and ended up being taken down again.

I believe that's specifically what the first post of this thread states, albeit in much further detail.