Who should beta test Guild Wars 2?

1. I agree with Jetdoc. This thread is going to quickly descend into a pointless high-school popularity contest... if it isn't one already.

2. Except for "balance updates," testing has definitely been a-net's weakest point with GW. Anyone remember the Factions release with at least 3 different bugs/"features" that made one's team auto-fail in Vizunah Sq.? How about the first iteration of the SR timer which was utterly unplayable, even though Gaile assured us it had been tested? (Aside: REMOVE THE DAMN SR TIMER ALREADY!) The list could go on.
Anywho, my point is, whatever a-net has been doing by way of testing thus far is not working. It needs to be changed. That means that the old testing system should be completely overhauled, and none of the old testers should be invited back. (Sorry Ensign.)

3. I see people talking about having a good mix of PvP and PvE testers. Why? Hasn't GW1 proved beyond a doubt that the two cannot coexist as equals? One play mode is going to be the favorite son and the other is going to end up the red-headed stepchild. Pretending things aren't going to be that way is just going to lead to repeating the worst design mistakes of GW1. I think it would be more productive for the devs to make up their minds about which play mode they are supporting first and foremost, pick testers who are going to test that mode well, and advertise GW2 specifically as that sort of game so that customers know what they're getting into this time around.

Just for clarification: there are several rounds of beta tests (typically 5 big rounds), early ones (generally called "closed") influence the game a lot, while the last ones (more "open") are aimed at debugging mainly. Look at the alpha and beta for GW1:
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10245541

While I have participated in more betas then I care to think about, not really sure I would like to put myself in as a first round beta tester. Beta testers early on should not be about balance or gameplay but bugs. So getting people like *gasp* Pablo would be essential. And this phase should really be one of the longest and on-going. I think devs sometimes do this in the wrong order personally.

Once you started getting into the dynamics of the game (and just referring to the thread's idea of 10 limited people) then you need a mix of PvE, PvP AND casual players. MMO's are for the casual player after all so you need some fresh newbs to round out your group, test usability, make sure that a new player can easily progress. All the new players for GW2 will not be concerned about balance as fast as a veteran would and the "fun factor" is needed where some of us would nit-pick.

It's possible, and even so it may be what we need (look at it as a "let's talk about ourselves" thread )

I can't comment on this, but I disagree that the testers should be changed. It's rather the way Anet deals with test results that shall be changed, not testers. I don't have the knowledge to judge Ensign but I read that he's highly praised by PvPers, so I'd tend to nominate him. The goal is not to get "the perfect list", it'll never be, you want a good list and most importantly Anet needs to: 1) be organised (rounds of beta with clear objectives"); 2) listen with a quality control at each step; 3) select a mix of people, with PvE/PvP/PvE+PvP players, young and old (both in-game and RL), opinionated and openminded.

I agree and disagree: both communities NEED to be represented, because the current state of GW and its community are like this, it's a simple matter of representativity. Not doing that would lead to test results shifting too much into one direction, with the risk of alienating legit and interesting players.

Secondly, GW2 wil lbe very different from GW1 if I'm not mistaken. So PvE or PvP should be irrelevant (my guess is that it'll a matter of playstyle, with shades of gray between PvE and PvP), and so to be FAIR you need to pick a bit everywhere. Because if you don't, you'll have PvErs looking at this new game without the experience of PvPers and so they may orientate their feedback against interesting aspects (if you think of yourself as a GW2 player, i.e. neither PvE nor PvP).

@Inde - that's what people in their excitement over the beta forget. ANet is not only looking for a problem-free new game. They need a new game that will appeal to a wide variety of players.

Also, there is no one better at bug-testing than someone who is a "real" casual player. They will attempt things that an experienced player would know shouldn't be done.

Go with 25 people... it sounds better.

Wouldn't it be better if they had some people who currently play GW and have other people who haven't played in a while? You'd have both the casual and hardcore player opinions.

Lol. Oh my god why didn't I think of that sooner?

Oh, I also think Fenix is a good call... since he... you know figured out and reported the duping bug to A.net. You need people who can fiddle around with options like that until they break something.

Ensign
Racthoh
8 Fillers

I know its only hypothetical, but only 10 people isn't sensible. They need to pull a broader amount of people, so they have a better chance in getting all kinds of different players with different interests. It just makes more sense so that anet can see how all kinds of people respond to the game.

That being said, I don't think the beta should be a limited amount of people anyway. It doesn't seem like anet's way to me. I'd think they would open beta to all like they did before Prophecies is out.

I just hope everybody who got a Christmas Card will be given a beta invitation.

Moloch Vein; Justified Soul; The Great Pianist; T attack; Arkanya Storm; + Me :P what more could you need ;]

RTS Firebat all the way!!!

Meatman and Xapti from The Guild Hall no question although i would tend to think it would be more open like The Original beta was when I did it.The Alpha testers were on TGH as well.

probably the top 100 guilds will get beta?.... the guild wars elite will get their chance.... though this decision will piss off the PvE guilds so they might add the alliance that holds cavalon and zu heltzer beta keys as well...

No that is not how it works as it would be more like the original prior to the April 28 release date.NCsoft will probably sell a beta version for say $5 to $10 in retail stores or online some how.

Well as inde stated earlier beta testing is more about finding bugs, in that regard you need someone that will put in the effort to do everything, slowly rather than at max speed. The beta testers will have to endure parts of the game, cinimatics and such, many times over never being able to skip anything so they should have a great deal of patience.

You will have to atemp every possible skill combo and try the same missions over and over using different strategies to see if something causes a crash or just works a little to well.

Somebody that will relentlessly pound away until the job is done, sorta like me

Well I can dream can't I!

People other than the crowd at Guru.

You know, professional game testers.

And a professional game tester is defined how? (There's debate on a lot of forums and in articles as to this "profession" and if they are truly better when you consider that most companies take anyone off the street to come in and do this. High burn out rate.) Not to mention that, in certain regards, these people are paid to test the game. For a MMOG developer it is far cheaper and easier to send out the beta to the masses of the internet. Not as easy with console. And of course you assume that no one on here could possibly be a professional game tester as well.

I'm pretty sure he means the people who will actually -test-..not the 'OMG OMG OMG I'm in the beta, ur not' people.

as far as Who's who, every single person who has been bug testing...I mean bought Eotn. that should be more than enough. they/we've been testing since factions anyways.

flubber, in MMO beta's over 1/2 the testers are the "OMG OMG OMG" and not actually testing the game. Let in 1000 people and you'll get maybe 50 solid people out of the bunch. But yes... if you can FIND those people (which there is no way to know until they actually get in there) then they are the ideal. But for an MMO company to 'pay' for professional testers is a bit of overkill considering that the cheapest and easiest way to test is to have them download, it's different then console games.