From the changes listed between the first BWE and now it's obviously very good for the game, they are using these as traditional betas, to test for bugs that only having masses of players in the game will uncover, of course the hype generated from them isn't doing them any harm whatsoever.
I can see some players getting frustrated and impatient if the BWE's continue on too long but we have all been warned plenty enough - it's ready when it's ready, those of us who pre-purchased should have gone in with that in mind.
With five starting zones and what looks like five follow up areas (we've seen the individual leveling zones for three so far) I'm really not worried about burning out on content, I'm not that kind of player anyway, I'm taking my time and soaking up the scenery, the game looks like it's going to be huge.
Right now Beta in general is boiler plate so its not a very big deal that being said there was an article a while back taking the OP's stance that it's bad for the game. Here's the thing thought everyone expecs its now and just becuase it's there doesn't mean you have to play it. I am not a fan a beta so I dont beta simple as that.
Fun thing is that their live content team will keep adding and replacing new events/content for the older zones after launch as well. (we will even have new content from bwe1 in the first zones). So it will not be a problem for me, espicially i will be trying the tournament mode for the 2nd event.
Just look at all those fixes/repairs/changes they made because of PLAYERS in the first BWE.
BWE's are like a sip of water in a desert. I think it's not enough but it gets a pretty rough idea. I think with BWE2, with people retaining their levels from BWE1, will be able to further checkout stuff.
Personally, I'm not running the game on anything I'm going to play at launch. I used BWE1 to test my desktop (after my laptop died untimely). BWE2, will be used to ensure my new laptop is set-up, prepared, and good to go. I may participate in some guild WvW so we get the mechanics down but the story/exploration can wait until launch.
P.S. I think that's why ANET isn't launching the Asura/Sylvari for BWE either.
I call this a bullshot, the BWE is mostly used as a hying tool and free advertisement for a great games. Good stuff doesn't need a salesman to sell. Just people talking about it is enough to sell ti.
There was so much internal testing, that the BWE hardly matters for testing and ballancing purposes.
If that were the case then they would just be working on adding new/missing content and fixing bugs at this point. Obviously they made some major changes since the last BWE based on player feedback.
Well ArenaNet does sell thye beta accounts so they dont realy care if you continue playing when you allredy bought the game since there is no monthly fee. Might be a problem for us customers´???
They still care, if they do it like GW1, they will sell Xpac, they need players to buy them, also, you have a cash shop, the more player you have the more chance they will buy something.
Get a life you freaking Gamer.....no no, you don't understand, I'm a Gamer, I have many lives!!
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
Coming into the second highly anticipated BWE still without a release date, is ArenaNet doing more harm than good for their game?
I think the knee-jerk reaction is to say that ArenaNet wants to ensure that the game is truly ready to go when they decide to launch which is certainly admirable but there's definitely a flip side in my opinion...
In theory, we've got at least one or two more BWE's prior to launch which begs the question, how much time will many players already have invested into the game before it actually goes live? Potentially quite a bit at this rate.
Let's face it, by the time the game launches, most people will have already experienced the bulk of content up to say level 25 or 30. In my opinion, this will make the first week or two of game play somewhat boring and uninspired turning what should be an amazing new game experience into a grind to get to the content we haven't seen yet.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate any company that wants to make sure their game is polished prior to launch but this seems a little excessive to me especially since it's open to so many players at this point in the development process.
Are you playing 18 hours a day every event or something? Not sure how you could get bored so quickly. Why not just not play the BWE..?
I have yet to preorder or bother with Beta myself. .it saves me the headache of whining about release dates, when I already gave you my money with no release date anyway. It bugs me when people knowingly pay for Betas and bitch because it hasn't released yet. 90% of the population probably isn't even participating in the BWEs.
If people are getting bored after a couple weekends then the game really isn't as good as people are saying or they are burning themselves out. Not sure how this can happen when there has only been 1 BWE, likely with 1 more after this one. Just..don't play them.
Coming into the second highly anticipated BWE still without a release date, is ArenaNet doing more harm than good for their game?
I think it's overall positive because it gives solid proof for GW2's hype, unlike some other games where you didn't know what the hell it was unless you were lucky to get into the closed beta which was under NDA anyway.
Let's face it, by the time the game launches, most people will have already experienced the bulk of content up to say level 25 or 30. In my opinion, this will make the first week or two of game play somewhat boring and uninspired turning what should be an amazing new game experience into a grind to get to the content we haven't seen yet.
That's really only if you really concentrated on doing all the areas in that margin. Which, personally, is a personal problem. I'm probably going to roll a Charr, and I experienced some of the starting area of the Charr a bit, but it won't kill me. So I'm going to play a Norn in the BWE so I have a fresh experience with the Charr later. I barely scratched the surface of the Charr city. If I run out of the Norn area I can go to the Human area. The Asura and Sylvari areas aren't even open yet.
This is hardly the first game to do this, btw. I am not convinced it does anything negative to a game's longevity or launch. I don't even mind replaying certain areas, and GW2 gives you DE's that cycle and you may have even missed something in that area.
Proper testing is a must and the surveys people fill out and the feedback is really valuable since this game should be sold for years, a quality product with few issues is a must.
On the other hand do I think it was a misstake to let people who pre-purchased the game play. It just leads to whining and beta testers who shouldn't really be testers. They might initially sell a few more games but it just ain't worth it.
Comments
when the game launches i will probably lvl in the 2 new races zones
, only playing my race history on the initial zone....yay teleports!
so no worried about being burned out
From the changes listed between the first BWE and now it's obviously very good for the game, they are using these as traditional betas, to test for bugs that only having masses of players in the game will uncover, of course the hype generated from them isn't doing them any harm whatsoever.
I can see some players getting frustrated and impatient if the BWE's continue on too long but we have all been warned plenty enough - it's ready when it's ready, those of us who pre-purchased should have gone in with that in mind.
With five starting zones and what looks like five follow up areas (we've seen the individual leveling zones for three so far) I'm really not worried about burning out on content, I'm not that kind of player anyway, I'm taking my time and soaking up the scenery, the game looks like it's going to be huge.
Right now Beta in general is boiler plate so its not a very big deal that being said there was an article a while back taking the OP's stance that it's bad for the game. Here's the thing thought everyone expecs its now and just becuase it's there doesn't mean you have to play it. I am not a fan a beta so I dont beta simple as that.
Fun thing is that their live content team will keep adding and replacing new events/content for the older zones after launch as well. (we will even have new content from bwe1 in the first zones). So it will not be a problem for me, espicially i will be trying the tournament mode for the 2nd event.
If that were the case then they would just be working on adding new/missing content and fixing bugs at this point. Obviously they made some major changes since the last BWE based on player feedback.
They still care, if they do it like GW1, they will sell Xpac, they need players to buy them, also, you have a cash shop, the more player you have the more chance they will buy something.
Get a life you freaking Gamer.....no no, you don't understand, I'm a Gamer, I have many lives!!
And..."damned if you do, damned if you don't".
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
Are you playing 18 hours a day every event or something? Not sure how you could get bored so quickly. Why not just not play the BWE..?
I have yet to preorder or bother with Beta myself. .it saves me the headache of whining about release dates, when I already gave you my money with no release date anyway. It bugs me when people knowingly pay for Betas and bitch because it hasn't released yet. 90% of the population probably isn't even participating in the BWEs.
If people are getting bored after a couple weekends then the game really isn't as good as people are saying or they are burning themselves out. Not sure how this can happen when there has only been 1 BWE, likely with 1 more after this one. Just..don't play them.
It is both.
Proper testing is a must and the surveys people fill out and the feedback is really valuable since this game should be sold for years, a quality product with few issues is a must.
On the other hand do I think it was a misstake to let people who pre-purchased the game play. It just leads to whining and beta testers who shouldn't really be testers. They might initially sell a few more games but it just ain't worth it.