I know the discussion has been covered in the past, but with the release of fractals, I think it’s necessary to cover this ground again. My thoughts from my blog (so no one thinks I’m stealing anything):
Nearly three months after Guild Wars 2 launch, the game is still facing one major problem: bugs. By now, players have become accustomed to NPC escorts stopping in their tracks, events mysteriously malfunctioning, and dozens of dungeon exploits, but the unsettling trend shows ArenaNet is biting off more than it can chew. It begs the question: Could a public testing server solve these problems?
To be clear, I don’t mean to insult ArenaNet. I think the developers have shown time and time again that they are extremely talented, and I’m sure ArenaNet’s quality assurance team is no exception. The problem is that MMO content requires MMO-sized testing, and a relatively small QA team is proving to be inadequate in comparison to a much larger public test server.
The worst aspect of bugs and technical issues isn’t some content not working. That’s a major problem, but the effects of bugs go much deeper. Instead, the problem is bugs reach into the Guild Wars 2 community and, in a very real sense, corrupt it.
Take Fractals of the Mist. The dozen bugs or so in fractals have opened up a dozen or so exploits. I’m not going to list any specifics, but I will say that the norm in level 30 and higher fractals is to abuse absolutely every mechanic possible to progress as quickly as possible. If a boss can be killed without actually engaging, it will be done. If a wall can be jumped through or over, it’s expected.
Even beyond progression content, the expectation of exploits is prevalent. It’s impossible to join an explorable mode Arah group without someone asking if the group is going to take advantage of the “shortcut.” And players always expect the first bosses of the third explorable mode path will be engaged in a way that nullifies the bosses’ major mechanics.
And if a player has the audacity to say he doesn’t want to exploit and do the dungeon how it’s intended, he better prepare for a kick.
In other words, the biggest problem is all the exploits breed a culture that is more interested in breaking the game than playing it. To a degree, it makes sense. After all, most players are doing dungeons and fractals for the rewards, so why should they waste time and take the hard path? Why should someone add 30 minutes to a dungeon run when all that’s necessary to shave time is a clever portal or specific positioning on certain terrain?
Of course, some of the blame does fall on the community. In an ideal world, players would push back against exploits and any other cheating. But in reality, that’s not what’s happening, so maybe the better solution is to deal with the problem head-on instead of keeping a system that ultimately benefits cheaters and exploiters and leaves everyone else behind.
It’s really an ever-present problem in MMORPGs: Players are clever — almost too clever. If they can find a way to get through something more easily and more quickly, they will do it. Even if it shaves only one minute off a dungeon run, it’s going to be expected.
So why not use that cleverness in a public test server? Why not give players a medium to make their exploitations productive?
It might not solve every problem, but it’s a start. Some players are going to refuse to give away their secrets, and many are never going to log on to a public test server. But adding the option at least makes it more likely problems will be caught before they ever make it on live.
The downside, ArenaNet would likely argue, is testing spoils the content. By letting players opt into a public test server, content could be ruined for some players before it actually hits live. But is that really the case? Other MMORPGs have public test realms, and players from those games still anxiously await the next patch. Even Guild Wars 2 had a large public beta, and I have yet to see anyone say that the beta spoiled the game. In fact, the people who played the beta, in my experience, are much more likely to stick around in the long term.
Besides, nothing spoils content more than bugs and exploits. If the choice is malfunctioning dungeons or spoiled dungeons, the latter is a much better choice.
I’m okay with helping ArenaNet test their game, but I don’t want to keep doing it on live servers.
http://vidyagame.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/bug-woes-in-guild-wars-2/