Beta In order to get useful and realistic feedback from real users , some software companies deliver pre - release software ( a beta or beta trial ) to a select number of users to try it out and report bug s , make suggestions , or just give significant customers clear evidence of the state of the product and dispel rumors of . What is a beta ? In terms of the software development , beta is usually the stage where all major feature implementation should be finished and the software is in the phase of bug fixing , refinement and stabilization before declaring a Final or Release candidate ( sometimes called " Gold " as well ) . Sometimes major changes occur in this stage , but usually only in response to feedback during a beta trial . Beta , of course , comes after the Alpha stage where major feature implementation usually occurs , is known to be unstable , and not generally fit for anything more than internal trial of carefully selected users . The stage before Alpha some call " Pre - Alpha " , " Proof of Concept " , or " Prototype " . These stages are semi - formal within the software industry , so " your results may vary " . Closed vs . Open beta . The terms " closed beta " and " open beta " are also used when referring to the actual beta trial period of testing . The usage of these terms is not consistent , but the following definitions can be used as a guideline : Reporting bugs . " Summary of a good WoW Insider article . " " Not in the WoW Insider article . " Legion . No plans were announced to give broad access to the Legion beta . As of early - May 2016 , Legion still appears to be in alpha ( not all specs are playable and many quests are not finished ) . The beta was announced and confirmed to start on May 12 , 2016 . Players already in the Alpha will stay in the Beta . Warlords of Draenor . Cards for closed Beta invites were given out at the conference in April 2014 . The Closed Beta ( invite only ) was announced to start Friday , June 27 , 2014 with servers to be up at 2 PM PDT . Mists of Pandaria . A closed beta test period was announced on March 20 , 2012 with invites going to Annual Pass holders , press , fansites , friends and family , and opt - in beta testers . MMO Champion may have gotten access soon after the opt - in announcement and an official announcement of the start of the Beta was released late March 21st , 2012 . Level 85 Monk premades were made available on April 8th , 2012 ( around Patch 5 . 0 . 1 build 15544 ) . A 64 - bit client for Windows ( WoW - 64 . exe ) was quietly downloaded with build 15640 of the that was noticed by some users and clarified by an . The key difference between this test release and previous Live and PTR releases was that it was installed with Lancher and did not have to be installed manually . Bluspacecow predicted correctly that a 64 - bit Mac OS X client ( World of Warcraft - 64 . app ) would be available with build 15657 . Experience required for leveling changed . Circa build 15961 , according to MMO Champion : AddOns in Mists of Pandaria Beta . Since the first beta release ( build 15464 ) , AddOn s have been disabled . However , a blue post reports that AddOns are planned to be enabled after build 15781 . Logging in if PTR on account already . The Mists of Pandaria beta servers use the same authentication portal as the PTR servers so you may be given the unexpected choice to login as either " wow1 " or " wow2 " accounts . If you see this choice , select " wow2 " assuming you setup your PTR account first . From March 29th , 2012 to April 19th , 2012 , 1 . 2 million Battle . net accounts were given invites to the Beta based on Annual Pass signups . Mists of Pandaria Beta invite waves . Here are the six waves and the number of accounts added in each wave : Around May 24th , 2012 , WoW Insider reported that those who expressed interest ( US , EU ) in a beta on their Battle . net account will start getting invites . Cataclysm . The closed beta started June 30 , 2010 and ended November 22 2010 . Wrath of the Lich King . Opt - ins for the public beta began on July 3rd , 2008 ; the beta began on July 17th . Beta keys were given out to BlizzCon 2007 and Blizzard Worldwide Invitational 2008 attendees and Blizzard also gives out Beta keys to various organizations ( fansites , etc . ) for promotional reasons . Wrath of the Lich King beta opt - in . Before the Wrath of the Lich King expansion was released , there was a beta opt - in program , where players could add their name to a pool and might get randomly selected to be a beta tester . The Burning Crusade . Starting late September of 2006 , Blizz ard started signing up Closed Beta Test testers for the first expansion , , from different playing areas . The plan was to introduce additional players to the beta test in subsequent waves , thus people that didn ' t make it in the starting lineup still had a chance at a Burning Crusade beta spot prior to launch . The Closed Beta started in early October 2006 . They were split into two servers : No open beta for Burning Crusade . There were no plans for an Open Beta Trial of . World of Warcraft . Starting before March of 2004 , Blizzard started signing up Closed Beta Test testers from an unknown pool of people using an undisclosed method of selection . The " Closed Beta Trial " ran for about 7 months ending in more widely available stress test and then an open beta before final release around the end of November 2004 . The " Closed Beta " was the first phase of Blizzard ' s stress test . There were three servers and virtually no lag existed . This closed beta is also known as the " First Stress Test " . The servers were split up into the following : World of Warcraft Free Open Beta . From Blizzard Insider , Issue # 20 : By November 8th , the fog of war will be lifted and Blizzard will invite thousands of North American gamers to take a free tour of the epic World of Warcraft . This will be the final stage of testing for the massive online world before it ships to stores in the U . S . and Canada for a November 23 , 2004 Street Date . Willing adventurers can download the World of Warcraft Open Beta by visiting https : / / signup . worldofwarcraft . com . The official start date of the Open Beta will be announced on www . worldofwarcraft . com , so stay tuned for additional information . Players who want to get an early jump on the action can sign up for the World of Warcraft Final Stress Test which began on November 1st . Final Stress Test players will be able to carry over their characters into the Free Open Beta . There are limited spaces available for the Final Stress Test and you must be a FilePlanet member to participate . For more information on how to sign up for the World of Warcraft Final Stress Test , or on how to become a FilePlanet member , click www . fileplanet . com . Spaces for both the Final Stress Test and the Free Open Beta will be given out on a first come , first served basis . So sign up early , and we hope to see you in Azeroth . . . From World of Warcraft® Open Beta FAQ :