You can bypass the PTR campaign with this simple workaround
Character copy is currently not working, but Mrak still lets you skip the Campaign.
Season 16 PTR has been up for a few days, but if you tried to log in, you probably noticed that you were not able to copy your characters over from the live game.
This means that you have to start from a new character instead of a character with gear you have on live. And it also means that the game accidentally puts you before the finished Lord of Hatred campaign.
So yes, in theory, you would have to go through the campaign again...
Blizzard knows about the issues. They already stated in another post that they were working on a fix, so you have to be patient if you absolutely want to test things with one of your existing characters.
But do not worry, there is a "skip".
Mrak Also Lets You Skip the Campaign
If you are fine with using a new character, you can use the PTR boost vendor, Mrak, to level up your character and unlock the content you need.
Luckily, our favorite little dancing demon just pushes you past everything.
First, open the PTR and create a new character on the Season 16 PTR realm
Once you are in the game, use a Town Portal or a waypoint to reach a main city such as Kyovashad
Look for Mrak, the dancing demon near the main waypoint
Mrak is the PTR boost vendor, and you can use his services to prepare a character for testing without completing the campaign manually.
Mrak offers multiple boosts, including options to:
Complete the campaign and all Strongholds
Level your character to level 70 and Paragon level 200
Unlock all waypoints and reveal the map
Grant skill points, Paragon points and Glyphs
Unlock all Torment difficulties
Unlock and maximise War Plans
Grant equipment, crafting materials and other resources
Once you are boosted, you will be showered in loot, so prepare yourself to spend a good 15 minutes going through all the caches that he just gave you.
After that, your entire map should be unlocked, the campaign completely skipped, and you should have access to all the new Season 16 content.
This is particularly useful if you want to experiment with Horadric Items, Tyreal's Boons, War Plans, or other changes coming with the next Season.
In theory, Mrak has a "skip all" option, but if you notice anything missing, interact with him again and check if he has anything left to skip for you. You might need to skip some things manually if it bugs out. You also need to make sure you created your new character on Seasonal and not Eternal realm.
As mentioned, Blizzard confirmed they know about the account copy issue, but that does not mean it will be fixed during the current PTR.
Either way, until then, Mrak is your best option for getting a character ready for endgame without doing the entire Lord of Hatred campaign again. Nobody has time for that.
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