New 2.2 PTR notes bring anti-AFK measures, voice chat to game

A new day brings new changes everywhere, and it seems Blizzard‘s public test realms are no exception there. Over on the European World of Warcraft forums, Thundgot posted an updated set of patch notes for the 2.2 PTRs.

While many of the notes there have already been mentioned in one form or another previously, the updates do show that some of the features that have been promised previously are now inside the PTRs. Of these new changes, three are most notable, and we’ve listed them below for your convenience:

• Voice Chat: The new Voice Chat feature is now available in game. Players will need to go into the options menu under Sound and Voice to activate it. Volume sliders are available for the microphone, speakers, and game-audio fade (which automatically lowers the game audio when a voice communication is received), as is a “push-to-talk” setting. Right-clicking on a player’s name now includes the option to mute or unmute that player. Muting another player blocks all voice chat from him or her; the ignore feature now blocks both voice chat and text chat from that player.
• Chat Channels: New Chat Channel controls and functionality are now available under the chat tab in the Social Window of the interface. The interface will now show the channels players are in or are available, depending on the area of the world they are in, along with new private channel controls.
• A new feature for reporting players as being AFK in battlegrounds by right clicking has been added. When enough reports are registered, a 30 second debuff will begin to count down. Once the timer is up a new debuff will appear that will prevent the player from gaining any honor while it is on. This debuff can be negated as soon as the player engages in combat.

The list of in-game changes and tweaks are extensive, though you can find us smiling at the mention of a nerf to the enemy known as Yowler in Redridge. In any case, feel free to visit the read link for more of these exciting changes to the different classes, items, and professions.

A new day brings new changes everywhere, and it seems Blizzard‘s public test realms are no exception there. Over on the European World of Warcraft forums, Thundgot posted an updated set of patch notes for the 2.2 PTRs.

While many of the notes there have already been mentioned in one form or another previously, the updates do show that some of the features that have been promised previously are now inside the PTRs. Of these new changes, three are most notable, and we’ve listed them below for your convenience:

• Voice Chat: The new Voice Chat feature is now available in game. Players will need to go into the options menu under Sound and Voice to activate it. Volume sliders are available for the microphone, speakers, and game-audio fade (which automatically lowers the game audio when a voice communication is received), as is a “push-to-talk” setting. Right-clicking on a player’s name now includes the option to mute or unmute that player. Muting another player blocks all voice chat from him or her; the ignore feature now blocks both voice chat and text chat from that player.
• Chat Channels: New Chat Channel controls and functionality are now available under the chat tab in the Social Window of the interface. The interface will now show the channels players are in or are available, depending on the area of the world they are in, along with new private channel controls.
• A new feature for reporting players as being AFK in battlegrounds by right clicking has been added. When enough reports are registered, a 30 second debuff will begin to count down. Once the timer is up a new debuff will appear that will prevent the player from gaining any honor while it is on. This debuff can be negated as soon as the player engages in combat.

The list of in-game changes and tweaks are extensive, though you can find us smiling at the mention of a nerf to the enemy known as Yowler in Redridge. In any case, feel free to visit the read link for more of these exciting changes to the different classes, items, and professions.