Guild Wars 2

Don’t worry I’m not disagreeing with you entirely Tamasan – but I am saying we still need to hear the full details of how invites will be sent out, and to whom, before we start lighting our torches and sharpening our pitchforks.

skowcia.8257:

What is.. special invitation?…

Be a popular streamer or something?

The people they pay/promote to not be allowed to say bad things about the game

The new WvW map are not a part of HoT. They are coming out around the same time frame but, are not in the expansion. Thus, any testing is and should be outside of any offer’s from HoT.

Tamasan.6457:

I am agreeing with you intellectually and logically.

But emotions and feelings aren’t always based on logic. And this just feels bad.

I agree 100% with this. My first reaction on reading the news was “yay, now I can get into a beta test” only to be followed up with “crap, guess maybe not.”

It’s fair, but it doesn’t feel right.

They said early on that they’d invite people who were active in WvW, but I don’t think there were any details.

Here is the information on who will be invited:

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/announcing-the-wvw-desert-borderlands-stress-tests/

Here’s the gist of it:

We’re happy to announce that we’ll soon begin inviting select individuals to help us test the new World vs. World desert Borderlands map coming with the release of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns™. This initial test will be small in size and duration and will focus on stressing the stability of our systems. We’re planning on expanding the number of participants involved for later tests, and we’ll release more information on how you can participate in those tests sometime in the future. This initial test will feature some of the most active WvW players in Guild Wars 2.

Considering this came out long before pre-purchase, I’d say it is exempt from any pre-purchase official Beta Weekend Events invitations.

Good luck.

Lord Kuru.3685:

Astralporing.1957:

Funny thing, this is, as, by what Anet said in the HoT sale info, every prepurchaser should be invited to any future HoT beta events. Apparently, it’s not the case.

They just won’t use the word “beta” to get around it.

Those who pre-purchased, they have your money already anyway so they have very little incentive to care about what you think.

Words actually mean things,

Pre-Purchase Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns before launch day and receive:
Access to All Beta Weekend Events Exclusive Title*

This test is neither on a weekend, it’s on a Thursday or an event, it’s a stress test. See how that works, words, you read them and they mean what they mean not what some want to believe they should could or might mean.

why even go to a stress test, you can tell by the forum things are quite stressed already! ^.^

lordkrall.7241:

Vavume.8065:

So where is my invite then?

Why should you get an invite over anyone else?

Because I have played more WvW than most, and I feel that players that have played the most deserve to be first in line.

lordkrall.7241:

It says nothing at all about all tests. It specifically names Beta Weekend Events. Beta Weekend Events is not stress test, nor is it every single beta test ever.
It is Beta Weekend Events.

Ah, yes, wondered when someone will bring this up. Especially, since, (by your claim in other topics) the current Anet standard for betas is them happening NOT on weekends.

Does that mean that Anet purposefully worded their purchase info in such a way, that they suggested they will be giving beta access, but in fact they wouldn’t? That would be really low behaviour (though not unexpected in Anet’s case).

Also, by your own reasoning in this and the beta access portal drop thread, since portal drop offered access to the next beta, and the next event was a stress test (which you claim is not beta), shouldn’t all beta access portals be still valid?

Yeah, i see it. It’s technically not HoT. It’s technically not a beta, but a stress test, and it’s not on a weekend. And they technically did not even promise there will be any weekend betas at all.

So yeah, Anet again is going to back out of their promises using a technicality.
Great job there.

Astralporing.1957:

Yeah, i see it. It’s technically not HoT. It’s technically not a beta, but a stress test, and it’s not on a weekend. And they technically did not even promise there will be any weekend betas at all.

So yeah, Anet again is going to back out of their promises using a technicality.
Great job there.

Lol….. These forums….

butch.8136:

Astralporing.1957:

Yeah, i see it. It’s technically not HoT. It’s technically not a beta, but a stress test, and it’s not on a weekend. And they technically did not even promise there will be any weekend betas at all.

So yeah, Anet again is going to back out of their promises using a technicality.
Great job there.

Lol….. These forums….

What, is it forum’s fault that Anet did offer beta access as an incentive for prepurchase, and then the very first beta event after the prepurchase is using specific wording of that incentive in order not to deliver?

Astralporing.1957:

Yeah, i see it. It’s technically not HoT. It’s technically not a beta, but a stress test, and it’s not on a weekend. And they technically did not even promise there will be any weekend betas at all.

So yeah, Anet again is going to back out of their promises using a technicality.
Great job there.

So you getting the wrong expectations by reading something different from what Anet wrote equals ‘going to back out of their promises using a technicality’?

Astralporing.1957:

butch.8136:

Astralporing.1957:

Yeah, i see it. It’s technically not HoT. It’s technically not a beta, but a stress test, and it’s not on a weekend. And they technically did not even promise there will be any weekend betas at all.

So yeah, Anet again is going to back out of their promises using a technicality.
Great job there.

Lol….. These forums….

What, is it forum’s fault that Anet did offer beta access as an incentive for prepurchase, and then the very first beta event after the prepurchase is using specific wording of that incentive in order not to deliver?

You don’t seem to understand : Beta event != stress test.

Astralporing.1957:

lordkrall.7241:

It says nothing at all about all tests. It specifically names Beta Weekend Events. Beta Weekend Events is not stress test, nor is it every single beta test ever.
It is Beta Weekend Events.

Ah, yes, wondered when someone will bring this up. Especially, since, (by your claim in other topics) the current Anet standard for betas is them happening NOT on weekends.

Does that mean that Anet purposefully worded their purchase info in such a way, that they suggested they will be giving beta access, but in fact they wouldn’t? That would be really low behaviour (though not unexpected in Anet’s case).

Also, by your own reasoning in this and the beta access portal drop thread, since portal drop offered access to the next beta, and the next event was a stress test (which you claim is not beta), shouldn’t all beta access portals be still valid?

No, those beta portals are for PvE beta. This is the WvW beta.

Also, Beta Weekend Event = Marketing weekend. Always has been

lordkrall.7241:

webtoehobbit.4201:

I mean, yeah, if you threw a minimum of $50 towards a game you know relatively nothing about so far, you should be invited to the smallest of stress tests, it’s the least they can do. But you won’t get that kind of treatment, cause you are just a “$” and if they already have your money, what incentive do they have to please you?

Yeah… because having a stress test that won’t even work for 2 minutes due to way too many people having access is a really great idea…

I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what stress tests are about.
Wouldn’t it be much weirder to have a stress test that goes off perfectly because there wasn’t any server stressing involved at all?

Nate.3927:

No, those beta portals are for PvE beta. This is the WvW beta.

Didn’t say they had to be valid for this one – after all, according to lordkrall, this one isn’t even beta, but just a stress test. Still, if there is any next pve beta event in the future, then (again, according to lordkrall’s interpretation) it would be the first beta after the access portal drop event, so those portals should be valid for it.

Lol. If ArenaNet let pre-purchasers into the WvW Stress Test, then the forums would explode with threads complaining that it wasn’t held on a weekend, when they Pre-purchase bonus information specifically stated Beta Weekend Events. And, as such, they were bamboozled out of their money because they weren’t available during a week day.

They just can’t win. /smh

Kordash.2197:

Astralporing.1957:

butch.8136:

Astralporing.1957:

Yeah, i see it. It’s technically not HoT. It’s technically not a beta, but a stress test, and it’s not on a weekend. And they technically did not even promise there will be any weekend betas at all.

So yeah, Anet again is going to back out of their promises using a technicality.
Great job there.

Lol….. These forums….

What, is it forum’s fault that Anet did offer beta access as an incentive for prepurchase, and then the very first beta event after the prepurchase is using specific wording of that incentive in order not to deliver?

You don’t seem to understand : Beta event != stress test.

Pre-purchase doesn’t give access to all beta events. It gives access to all Beta WEEKEND events.

may we should make a topic with CAPS to ask people who pre-purchase not to whine about WvW stress test invitation….

Astralporing.1957:

Also, by your own reasoning in this and the beta access portal drop thread, since portal drop offered access to the next beta, and the next event was a stress test (which you claim is not beta), shouldn’t all beta access portals be still valid?

This x100000000. Still waiting for that closed beta i farmed for.

If I bought the pre-purchase I would expect to be included in all stress tests as well. This is lead to more negativity from players due to anet’s bad wording.

Tbh i knew this beta will be selected for popular streamers, few normal players and thats about it. I dont care about this beta personally. Howered main reason for prepurchase was access to beta events. At this point all future events should be accessible by people who bought HoT otherwise that “access” was nothing but a cheap bait.

Anet lately act like they are big and dont care about their customers. It might not end well for them. Crytek knows something about it.

Orochimaru.4730:

If I bought the pre-purchase I would expect to be included in all stress tests as well. This is lead to more negativity from players due to anet’s bad wording.

Yet the pre-purchase has a very clear wording saying that you only have access to Beta Weekend Events. Where is the bad wording?

i am just hoping they invite some havoc and or roaming groups as well not just blobs the maps should be balanced/tested for all gamestyle’s not just the most skill less one’s

rapthorne.7345:

“This test will be conducted on a special server with limited space and will be by special invitation only.”

One of the reasons I prepurchased was for the beta access. I will be very upset if prepurchase owners are not part of the “special invitations”

Astralporing.1957:

Nate.3927:

No, those beta portals are for PvE beta. This is the WvW beta.

Didn’t say they had to be valid for this one – after all, according to lordkrall, this one isn’t even beta, but just a stress test. Still, if there is any next pve beta event in the future, then (again, according to lordkrall’s interpretation) it would be the first beta after the access portal drop event, so those portals should be valid for it.

I think you guys misintrepret what each thing is. On a game development test phase, there are several sort of “Tests”. some of then are:

Stress tests : Those serves only for the purpose to test the server. See how it respond to player activity on the maps and event, and see if its not overconsuming it. It has nothing to do with beta event.

Closed Betas : Those, are events with closed acess to the game areas, for a selected group of people to test out if everything is working (Game Mechanics, events, collisions and balances). Those betas need to be made within the work time of anet developers, so they can take immediate feedback, and work on those features at same time they are being noticed. ** < THIS IS WHERE PORTAL DROPS FITS IN.

Beta Weekends : These, are marketing events, that serves the purpose to show off to players what they can expect from the new features, and give a little preview of it for their customers. Beta wekeend are mosty always tied with a pre-purchase to serve as a form of “Benefit” for player trusting on the development in process.

This has been talked so many times already, But I am explaining it again in hopes that ppl understand how different all those things are from one another.

is it just me, or does 666 damage happen a lot ?

One would hope that even in a Stress Test they would ask all types of WvW-rs to play. Blobs, guild groups, solo roamers and havoc squads.

Im sure no harm can possible happen if consumers feel tricked by this, or that by using a technicality of “stress test” rather than “beta test”, everyone will feel that its perfectly fair and exactly what they expected when they purchased the pre-order.

Everyone is free of course to point out that its the consumers own fault for not realizing that anet can just call a test by any other name and instantly the purchased access is void and null. Doing that will not at all make them more bitter and more resentful towards anet and the community.

Confused people are confused. Throwing money at screen only gives you access to few beta weekends. Real betas and stress test are not included.

Belorn.2659:

Im sure no harm can possible happen if consumers feel tricked by this, or that by using a technicality of “stress test” rather than “beta test”, everyone will feel that its perfectly fair and exactly what they expected when they purchased the pre-order.

Everyone is free of course to point out that its the consumers own fault for not realizing that anet can just call a test by any other name and instantly the purchased access is void and null. Doing that will not at all make them more bitter and more resentful towards anet and the community.

So you’re saying they can’t do small scale tests with external testers anymore in the future? Because the moment HoT pre-purchasers are able to get in a test ceases to be small scale.

oh my – look at the date in this post – almost like a prophecy!! http://my.mmosite.com/2221790/blog/ritem/conspiracy_theory_did_guild_wars_2s_closed_beta_really_happen.html

now i have to ask, why make a public announcement if this is only relevant to a select few ?

“hey, we are having a qa internal white knights only beta test and you can’t come! lolol”

Diovid.9506:

So you’re saying they can’t do small scale tests with external testers anymore in the future? Because the moment HoT pre-purchasers are able to get in a test ceases to be small scale.

Marketing and sale design require careful design in order to not confuse consumers or making them feel like they are being tricked. Instead of promising “all future beta tests” they could have phrased it as “a exclusive pre-order test”. It would result in the same thing, but rather than leaving preorders with a feeling of betrayal they would feel happy about the exclusivity of their purchase.

Now they painted themselves into a corner and they got to figure out how to fix what they broke. Maybe their PR department can figure something out, but if they do nothing, the result is an other disappointment for consumers who thought they bought something and now finds out that anet is using a technicality to take it back.

unfortunately it looks like their kitten has been exposed. this is an attempt to buy time with old marketing tricks.

ps – i really did write kitten, that’s not auto-correct …. Trust me! -grin-

It’s a little bitter, though, to have pre-purchased and be out of this “stress test” (a.k.a beta thingie with another name).

Belorn.2659:

Diovid.9506:

So you’re saying they can’t do small scale tests with external testers anymore in the future? Because the moment HoT pre-purchasers are able to get in a test ceases to be small scale.

Marketing and sale design require careful design in order to not confuse consumers or making them feel like they are being tricked. Instead of promising “all future beta tests” they could have phrased it as “a exclusive pre-order test”. It would result in the same thing, but rather than leaving preorders with a feeling of betrayal they would feel happy about the exclusivity of their purchase.

Now they painted themselves into a corner and they got to figure out how to fix what they broke. Maybe their PR department can figure something out, but if they do nothing, the result is an other disappointment for consumers who thought they bought something and now finds out that anet is using a technicality to take it back.

They never promised “all future beta tests”. They promised “all future beta weekends”.

What are Beta Weekend Events?
Beta Weekend Events are selected weekends when everyone who pre-purchases the game is invited to test Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns. BWEs may include new content or a repeat of content available in previous tests.

When will they take place?
The Heart of Thorns Beta Weekend Events will be announced as we get closer to them.

Is there a way to participate in Beta Weekend Events without pre-purchasing Guild Wars 2 Heart of Thorns?
Unknown, but the only way to guarantee access to the Beta Weekend Events is to pre-purchase Heart of Thorns.

Didnt they announce this before the pre purchase and explained how the invites were going to go out during that time? I could be wrong, hut im sure i remember reading about it.

At this point I don’t care if I’ll get the access or not, they pretty much killed any interest I had in HoT by the lack of info over all those months.

When xpac comes out, I’ll play it but untill then it’s hmm yeah whatever.

why did they make an internal qa beta test a public announcement ?

what business is it of mine that they are having a stress test that i can’t be a part of ?

None, it’s none of my business, it’s none of your business. It’s marketing hype.

so what happens next, bloggers and reviewers get in, make videos that are designed to make people drool and on edge for the next 3-5 months. This was cleverly (lol ) designed to get more prepurchasers to participate in future betas.

Elementary my dear quaggan!

now we just need to see which review is the most white knightiest to see which reviewer was the most compensated!

and the plot thickens, even scarlet is on the edge of her seat eating popcorn for this one! ^.^

Astralporing.1957:

Yeah… because having a stress test that won’t even work for 2 minutes due to way too many people having access is a really great idea…

I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what stress tests are about.
Wouldn’t it be much weirder to have a stress test that goes off perfectly because there wasn’t any server stressing involved at all?
[/quote]

No, a stress test is to test how high load they can handle.
They already know that they can’t handle the load of lets say 2 million people trying to login to a single map. Thus inviting those 2 million people to the test is completely pointless, since they will not get any useful data whatsoever other than confirming what they already know.

TheRandomGuy.7246:

They never promised “all future beta tests”. They promised “all future beta weekends”.

Yes, i am aware of that. As am i aware that they didn’t promise that any such events will even take place. Or that if these do take place, these won’t be Open Betas accessible to everyone and their pet kittens.

It still doesn’t change the fact that promising access to all future beta weekends (which we all – including Anet’s marketing department – know will be interpreted by vast majority of buyers as “all beta events”), and then following it by an announcement of a beta event that they buyers not qualify for is a bad PR. Even if you can hide behind strict wordings of the promise.

Basically, while Anet didn’t outight lie to anyone, they still misled their buyers. And one has to think if that was intentional or not.

That’s of course besides the slight problem that some of the official retailers in some countries (including mine) had the info translated as “all beta events” in the sale info.

“So, you wanna join me in next weeks new WvW map stress test eh? If you will be available July 9th between 5pm and 9pm EDT (The WHOLE time) please reply to this thread after having registered on these forums with the following information:

1- Ingame account name (ie. Docgotgame.8206) 2- Twitch username 3- Are you in WAL on Crystal Desert? 4- If no what guild are you in?

Please understand that my guild members will take priority as slots are limited. Thank you for your interest and good luck in being selected!"

http://new.docgotgame.com/threads/wvw-stress-test-july-9th.938/

some guy ‘Doc got game’ who plays the game since a couple of months and already got invited to all press events including a studio tour.

Explain please. How come a new WvW ( commander) who does not even know half his abilities gets an invite and that HE decides who will join the beta?

So what you’re suggesting is that only veteran players should be allowed to participate in limited beta/stress test events? That’s what your post comes off as when you’re upset a new player got it whereas you didn’t.

I hope you all brought your flame-proof coat. I do think that a lot of dealt with issues are being brought back up because people don’t know a stress test isn’t a beta weekend.

It was announced that it will be like this 2 month ago even before prepurchase was available.
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/announcing-the-wvw-desert-borderlands-stress-tests/

maddoctor.2738:

Kordash.2197:

Astralporing.1957:

butch.8136:

Astralporing.1957:

Yeah, i see it. It’s technically not HoT. It’s technically not a beta, but a stress test, and it’s not on a weekend. And they technically did not even promise there will be any weekend betas at all.

So yeah, Anet again is going to back out of their promises using a technicality.
Great job there.

Lol….. These forums….

What, is it forum’s fault that Anet did offer beta access as an incentive for prepurchase, and then the very first beta event after the prepurchase is using specific wording of that incentive in order not to deliver?

You don’t seem to understand : Beta event != stress test.

Pre-purchase doesn’t give access to all beta events. It gives access to all Beta WEEKEND events.

“!=” this symbol mean “not equal”

Kordash.2197:

maddoctor.2738:

Kordash.2197:

Astralporing.1957:

butch.8136:

Astralporing.1957:

Yeah, i see it. It’s technically not HoT. It’s technically not a beta, but a stress test, and it’s not on a weekend. And they technically did not even promise there will be any weekend betas at all.

So yeah, Anet again is going to back out of their promises using a technicality.
Great job there.

Lol….. These forums….

What, is it forum’s fault that Anet did offer beta access as an incentive for prepurchase, and then the very first beta event after the prepurchase is using specific wording of that incentive in order not to deliver?

You don’t seem to understand : Beta event != stress test.

Pre-purchase doesn’t give access to all beta events. It gives access to all Beta WEEKEND events.

“!=” this symbol mean “not equal”

I know that. And Beta WEEKEND event != Beta event. Just to be sure if they do a BETA event on a weekday and there is a similar thread around.

This initial test will feature some of the most active WvW players in Guild Wars 2.

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/announcing-the-wvw-desert-borderlands-stress-tests/