Blizzard Gears Up For First World Of Warcraft Classic Stress Test Later Today

world of warcraft allianceBlizzard Entertainment is gearing up for the first-ever World of Warcraft Classic stress test which will kick off later today. This is the first of three planned stress tests and will be open to all current beta testers. Blizzard will also be inviting more players to join in on the fun. The more the merrier right?

“We’ll be performing our first stress test for WoW Classic on Wednesday, May 22, from 4–6pm PDT. During this time, the closed beta test realm will be unavailable. Those who are currently in the beta test will only be able to login to the stress test realm during this time and beta testers can participate using their existing installation. We’ll also be adding a significant number of players to the stress test from the pool of people who have already opted in for the beta but have not yet been selected.”

The stress test will use the same client as the closed beta but the name will change to “Beta & Stress Test: WoW Classic”. You’ll also see this option in the Region/Account drop down menu if you’ve been selected to participate in the stress test. From there, you’ll be able to download the WoW Classic client but you’ll only be able to get in once the stress test realm goes live.

All races and classes will be available during the stress test and will take place on a PvP realm. Don’t worry about getting attacked though, levels will be capped at 5 and you’ll mostly be spending your time leveling within the safety of the starting zones. “We expect to put a lot of people in the starting zones, though, and we’re looking forward to seeing what you all do as we test the servers under crowded conditions.”

The devs will be actively monitoring the server during the two-hour period but the stress realm itself will remain open until Thursday, May 23rd at around 6pm PDT. You can learn more about the upcoming stress test on the official Blizzard forums.