Content list

  1. Introduction
  2. How to use
    1. Checking current reports
    2. Bug status
    3. A bug report
    4. Reporting a new bug
      1. How to upload a Bugtracker img


  3. Not sure whether this is a bug
  4. Contacting QA
  5. FAQ


1. Introduction

Bugtracker is the place where all bugs should be reported. Since 2015 it has been linked with forum and you do not need a new registration to use it.

When you enter bugtracker, it will look like this [red, yellow and blue boxes are added for guide only]:

2. How to use

2.1. Checking current reports
Before creating a report, you should first check if the report exists, you can do that with the help of the tools in the yellow and blue box.
Those in the yellow box can be used for filters, do note : search function won’t work correctly if you make spelling mistakes.
Those in the blue box can be used to display results in the order you prefer.
If you want to view all the reports you’ve created, you can click on “My Reports” from the red box.

2.2. Bug status
You will have noticed there are quite a few status to describe the current state of a reported bug. They are exclusive, a bug can only have one status at a time.
Unconfirmed: Bug existence has not been confirmed by a QA member.
Confirmed: Bug existence has been confirmed by a QA member.
Pending: Bug has attracted developers attention, they are most likely working on a fix for it.
Fixed: Fix should now working on the realms. If the fix is not working correctly, please message QA or make a new report as QA will not review reports already marked fixed.
Duplicate: Bug has already been reported. This report will be ignored.
Dismissed: Bug is invalid / incorrect. This report will be ignored.


2.3. A bug report

A bug report consist of basic information of it (like its author or the section where it is located on the Bugtracker), its status and its description.
You can upvote every bug, and although it does not mean that this will necessarily be fixed first we will probably give it more attention. You should vote wisely according to in-game priorities to benefit the whole community, not just you. Voting will edit the priority label accordingly.
Moreover, you can place comments. Avoid posting +1 or anything similar, that does not contribute to helping the bug faster, instead post if you have any additional information about the bug that could be useful for the developers.
Developers will also be using comments as a way to communicate the progress of the bug or if there is anything relevant to add. These comments will have a special colour so that you can track them easier.

When trying to share a report, you need to use the link from url. You can use the plain link or you can click on a comment's date so that your url gets updated with the comment ID. Do Remember that we do not allow posting such links on the forum in order to get extra attention from the community.


2.4. Reporting a new bug
As mentioned in 2.1, make sure the bug has not already been reported. Duplicated reports create additional work and spread the necessary information around.
It is much better to add any additional information to an existing bug report.

To create new report head over the new report link from the red box.
Keep in mind that none of the fields allow special characters like "`'%{}, you will have to use alphanumeric characters in your report.

Describe the bug as clearly as possible, but also keep it simple and short as much as it can be.
Also, try to include Steps to Reproduce (how to replicate/how to repeat) the bug and information on How it Should Work always and whenever possible.
Without those two pieces of information the issue can not be fixed.

If you want to post an image, you will have to upload it on imgur first (see 2.4.1).
Alternatively you can leave image/video links in the description.


2.4.1. How to upload a Bugtracker image
Uploading on imgur is simple:
1. Go to imgur.com
2. Drag your image from your computer folder to imgur page. This is how it should look like.
3. Click Start Upload
4. Copy the direct link (email & IM). Just like that.


3. Not sure whether this is a Bug

If you are not sure whether it is a bug or not, it is fine that you ask the forum community first. You should consider checking the Bugtracker first, it might have already been reported and confirmed.
But DO NOT open a thread claiming why a bug is still pending to fix nor to complain about it. It will not fasten its development and you may get infracted as it goes against our rules.


4. Contacting QA

QA should only be contacted with urgent reports, like a world event that has limited duration or a bug breaking an instance/bg/arena etc.
List of QA that can be contacted is here.


5. FAQ

Q : Why are there so many different acronyms and what do each mean?
A : Different departments of staff have different titles/acronyms etc. attached.
  1. GM is acronym for Game Master, they handle tickets in game.
  2. QA is acronym for Quality Assurance, they handle reports on bugtracker.
  3. Mod is short for Moderator, they work with community on the forum as well enforcing the forum rules.
  4. Dev is short for developer, we have different types of developers, but essentially developers work on fixing bugs and releasing content.

Q : Why do GMs almost never help ingame with a bug?
A : This will depend on the type of bug, but most of the time you should report on bugtracker and not with tickets. For more information please see ticket guide .

Q : Link to a report is not working, why is that ?
A : When report links don't work, people are sent to the 'home page' of bugtracker (overview). There are a couple of reasons why a report's link might not work :
  1. If the report is made as exploit / changed to exploit category, then only the staff and creator of report will be able to view it.
  2. If the report has been made private, then only staff will be able to view it. This is usually used for internal reports / unreleased content. Example if you open report#72677 then under the title you can see "related to" with a link to a report, which is report#55820. Report#55820 is handled internally, as such players can't view it.
  3. Report has been deleted, this will usually only be with cleanup of old dismissed reports. Deleted reports still exist and frequently get reviewed to prevent abuse by QA.

Q : There's a couple of categories that can work for my report, which should I choose ?
A : Often times more than 1 category works fine, here are guidelines to choosing the 'more correct' ones.
  1. If the report is about players taking advantage of a bug, like perhaps getting extra loot from a raid, then always use exploit category [instead of NPC / Instance].
  2. If the report is about NPCs in a dungeon/raid, then use Instance category [instead of NPC]
  3. If the report is about a profession item (like alchemy trinket) not working, then you should use the Item category (instead of profession).


Q : When making a report, it gives errors when I try to add wowhead/imgur links in correct boxes. How to avoid this?
A : The imgur link wants i.imgur.com , you can usually get this when clicking "view image" for mozilla or "open image in new tab" for chrome. For wowhead link it's probably just copying the link too fast and then it excludes the https:// part. Alternatively you can just paste your links in the description or comments.