The Tournament Test Realm or TTR is now live and it's where players can create up to three max-level (70) characters of any class and have a cool selection of epic gear. Some readers have written in about having a little trouble actually getting on the server itself. It's really a simple process, and we'll show you how. In order to access the TTR, you first have to download the PTR client on Blizzard's download page. You don't need to have copied any of your characters over to the test realms -- the TTR is a completely different realm with various armor and other item vendors located at each race's starting area. As long as you have the PTR client, you should be able to access the TTR (although all test realms are down as of this writing).

Once you've finished downloading the PTR client, you should find it nestled within a folder called WoWTest inside your World of Warcraft folder. It's pretty much the same as the normal World of Warcraft application but with a bunch of extra files that include the changes to the game. You shouldn't have trouble identifying the client as it will be clearly labeled 'TEST', just so you don't confuse the two (those Blizzard folks are so clever!). When you log on, you can access the TTR by toggling the "Select Realm" option which will open up a selection window with two tabs: Test Server and Tournament. Simply toggle the Tournament tab and you will see the Realm named "Arena Tournament" -- select it, press Okay, and you should be good to go. If you have trouble logging in, note that the PTRs remember your password around the time when it went live, so if you changed your password within the last few weeks, try using your old password. Have fun with on the tournament server!

IncGamers has a great tip for those of you who were on the last Public Test Realm, and can't wait for the 2.3 PTR to come up (and I know you're out there-- you're like PTR locusts!). Make sure to, right now, delete your WoW test realm folders, so that when the new realm comes out, it'll automatically download to the right place and you won't have to worry about anything getting mixed up.

In Windows, apparently Blizzard is recommending that you do a Find Folders and Files (Windows key + F) for "wowtest," and delete everything that pops up. On the Mac, everything is neat and tidy (as usual)-- it's all in the /Applications/World of Warcraft/WoWTest folder. Delete that, and you're good to go for the 2.3 PTRs.

I don't know if this is really required-- it seems to me that the WoW PTR Client would likely just overwrite anything whatever you had in those folders, and your PTR download would still work. But you never know-- maybe files will be left behind if you don't delete, so it's probably best to clear everything out and start over with the new download (and I bet it'll be a big one-- this is a big content patch). Plus, you can feel like you're all ready for patch 2.3: bring on the new PTR!