For the release of WoW Shadowlands the servers are, as expected, very busy again. We’ll show you how you might be able to play anyway.
Update from 24.11. 00:00:
Currently the Battle.Net servers seem to work and you can start WoW without any problems. However, we are currently experiencing the first problems when we want to enter the world of Azeroth. Here we are currently struggling with very long loading screens. But with a little patience we will get into the game.
Finally the time has come. World of Warcraft: Shadowlands will be released punctually at midnight on November 24th and will set you loose on Shadowlands. So, theoretically you can play then. In practice, the servers and the client Battle.net will always have to deal with some problems and disruptions at release, as the player load is extremely high.
To make sure that you can still play despite the huge rush, we will give you some tips shortly before release. But let’s be direct: In most cases, it helps to wait and enjoy a hot drink of your choice.
For all important information about the release we recommend our guide for multiple accounts:
Multiple accounts in WoW: Blizzard triggers enthusiasm, then disappointment
Table of Contents
Start preload now
If you have been actively playing WoW in the last few weeks, you don’t have to worry about anything anymore, because with the pre-patch released on November 11th all important data for Shadowlands has already been recorded. If you haven’t updated WoW since that date, you should do so now, before the download rates go into the basement tonight due to the player load.
Also those who are just starting out in the MMORPG with WoW Shadowlands should start with downloads and patches now to save time.
Log in to Battle.net & WoW now
To avoid long queues when logging into the client, you can try to log in now. You can do the same with WoW if you are playing on a very full server to avoid queues.
But attention: Again, we cannot guarantee that both tips will work. It may also be that you have to restart WoW (e.g. because the game kicks you out or you still have to download data) and thus end up in the queue despite preparation.
Change Config.WTF
[visual_portfolio id=”22124″]
If you are playing on a very busy server, it is worth taking a look into your WoW folder and adjust the automatic server selection. Please make a copy of the file you are modifying for security reasons.
To do so, close WoW, navigate to your WoW folder and search for the WTF folder where the config file “config.wtf” is located. Here you write the following line into the file: SET disableAutoRealmSelect “1”
This way the game does not automatically assign you to your default server, but lets you choose a server yourself. This has the advantage that you can play on smaller servers, while the big ones break down due to overload.
The only disadvantage: With the change of the server you can of course no longer play your characters that are on the overloaded server. Therefore, this solution is more suitable for players who have several characters on different servers.
General tips
Of course, there are also a number of general problem solutions. For example, you can try to improve your internet connection with these tricks:
Restarting the router
- LAN connection, use instead of WLAN
- Check your own Internet speed with Speedtest to exclude external problems
- Close all programmes that you do not need at the moment and that are unnecessarily consuming performance or bandwidth
- Restart Battle.net and WoW
If all these things do not work, you will have to be patient and wait for the servers to stabilise.
