The Countdown to Phase III

June 30, 2025

Greetings, glorious Ashes of Creation community! As we continue to build toward Alpha Two Phase III, our team is working hard to refine core systems, optimize performance, and incorporate your feedback.

This next stretch of testing is an important part of our development journey, and we’re excited to share what’s ahead as we transition into our upcoming testing windows. Read on to find a breakdown of testing timelines for both Alpha Two and PTR (Private Test Realm) environments, as well as what you can expect as we prepare for Phase III.

The Last Push Before Phase III

The June 26 (v0.13) update is the final update until August 4. Any critical issues found in Alpha Two after this date will be addressed directly in that environment, while ongoing development will shift to PTR.

While PTR will remain under visual NDA (No streaming, screenshots, or sharing of visual content allowed), we are excited to invite all Alpha Two testers to participate in PTR testing starting July 1, 2025. We look forward to having you all continue providing valuable feedback and help test upcoming systems and features.

PTR Testing Details

PTR will play a critical role over the coming weeks, allowing us to stage new features and systems for hands-on testing and iteration. Here's what you can expect:

From July 1-2 and July 8-11, PTR will be live from 10 AM through 6 PM PT (Pacific Time) to test specific features as they come online with new builds.
Starting on July 14 at 10 AM PT through August 3, ending at 6 PM PT, PTR will be available 24/7 for continuous soak testing.
- This testing period will allow us to identify and fix issues such as memory leaks, performance degradation, and/or other long-term issues that might not show up during shorter tests.
We may also run a few bonus PTR sessions to help test new features and squash additional bugs before Phase III begins. Keep an eye on the #NDA-A2-PTR-NEWS channel in our Discord for surprise test windows, and jump in if you can! Every bit of feedback helps.

Specific testing goals and guidelines will be shared in the NDA-A2 PTR section of our Discord channel, so make sure to follow us there for the latest details! If you have not already, make sure to link your Discord account to your Intrepid account to access testing channels. For these tests, we’ll be gathering feedback, bugs, and may send out surveys. Your thoughts and feedback are critical to the launch of Phase III.

Alpha Two Availability

Our standard Alpha Two testing cadence will continue as usual through the next several weeks:

Every Thursday from 10 AM PT through the following Monday, ending at 10 PM PT.
The final week of testing for Alpha Two Phase II is Thursday, July 24, to Wednesday, July 30, 2025.
Starting on August 4, Alpha Two will transition to 24/7 uptime, with limited downtime for maintenance.
When Phase III begins on August 4, we will conduct a full wipe, meaning all testers will have a fresh start.

Intrepid Events

To help make these testing windows even more engaging, we’ll also run Intrepid Events on the Alpha Two Shol realm and PTR. These in-game events will coincide with key development features and are designed to encourage participation in surveys, feedback threads, and bug reporting. These activities will help us gather the data we need, while giving you something fun to look forward to each test!

Thank you!

Your continued involvement and feedback during these testing windows are essential to helping us deliver the best possible experience for Alpha Two Phase III. We’re grateful for your support, and we’ll see you on Verra soon!

FAQ

Does this mean less time for me to play Ashes of Creation prior to August 4, 2025?
1. Not at all. The Alpha Two Shol realm will be accessible as per usual from Thursdays at 10 AM PT to Mondays at 10 PM PT, but if you want to try out the newest content, you’ll need to play on the PTR version of the client.
Will I have access to PTR?
1. All testers with Alpha Two access will be granted access to the PTR environment, starting July 1, 2025.
If I purchase an Alpha Two Third Wave bundle, will I get immediate access to the PTR?
1. Yes, purchasing an Alpha Two Third Wave bundle will grant you access to the PTR starting on July 1, 2025.
When will the Alpha Two Shol realm be available?
1. Alpha Two Shol realm will still be accessible on its normal schedule: Thursday 10 AM PT to Monday 10 PM PT each week, leading up to August 4. However, there will be no new content or feature updates during this time.
Why are you pausing updates to the Alpha Two Shol realm?
1. We're locking content to stabilize the environment and ensure a clean, high-quality build for our next major update on August 4, 2025. This also gives us space to gather focused feedback and fix bugs in preparation for Alpha Two Phase III.
What’s the difference between the Alpha Two Shol Realm and PTR?
1. Alpha Two Shol Realm: Open to all Alpha Two testers without NDA. This is where content creators can stream and where public testing occurs.
2. PTR: A separate private test realm environment where early features and builds are pushed. PTR is under visual NDA and used to collect early feedback before features go to Alpha Two.
Will my progress on PTR carry over to Alpha Two?
1. No. PTR progression is temporary and will not carry over to the Alpha Two environment. It’s purely for testing purposes.
Will there be wipes to PTR?
1. Yes. As usual, PTR may be wiped as needed for clean testing, and wipes are more likely in this environment than on realms like Shol. There will also be lots of usage of experience and gear vendors to allow for quicker progression in order to aid in testing specific features.
What happens if something critical breaks on the Alpha Two Shol Realm?
1. If issues arise on the Alpha Two realm, we’ll patch and fix directly there. While feature updates are paused, we will still maintain stability and address critical bugs!
Will updates to Alpha Two resume after August 4?
1. Yes. Our intention is to resume pushing new updates to Alpha Two starting August 4, 2025, pending successful stabilization and feedback during this PTR window.
How do I update my game for PTR?
1. Updating the PTR uses the same launcher as Alpha Two. To update the launcher, select “Private Test Realm (NDA)” as the environment to download PTR updates. Please note that downloading both Alpha Two and PTR will take up additional space on your computer. For more detailed instructions, please refer to this article.
Can I stream or record on PTR?
1. No. PTR remains under visual NDA, which means streaming, screenshots, or sharing video content from PTR is not permitted. There is no verbal NDA; however, you may talk about your experiences on PTR with others, but not share visual elements.
Why is the NDA still in place if we all have access to PTR?
1. The NDA helps us focus on collecting feedback, not content impressions based on unfinished features.
I’m a content creator. What can I do while Alpha Two isn’t being updated?
1. We understand this change limits what you can share publicly. While new content will be under visual NDA, you’re still welcome to talk about your experiences with the new features on PTR, and create visual content on the Alpha Two Shol Realm. We appreciate your understanding while we focus our efforts on PTR to prepare for Phase III!
Why is this being done?
1. Stability is our top priority! We aim to deliver a smoother and more polished experience with our next major update. Centralizing all testing to PTR allows us to focus feedback, fix bugs efficiently, and avoid disrupting the live environment with work-in-progress features and systems.