Who should beta test Guild Wars 2?

Say we had to elect people to "represent" the players of GW in the GW2 beta (if there were only limited places for example) basically, who do you think it should be - Who would best represent us? who would give the best feedback? or who would have earned it in some way (serving the community for example)?


Id say on that list should at least be Inde, and her GWO doppleganger

I mean they structure the community (into a whiny, bitchy mess - but hey!)

suggestions?

Mod EDIT: This thread is not to be a popularity contest. Please post constructively about how many/which people should in the betas.

Racthoh maybe..?
and that guy Stuey G!
his Dp makea me laugh

how about me?

I would promise to fill everyone in on all the details!

This a kind of 3 things to bring on an island question?
yeah,they have done alot for the community say they'd be in there if this was the case,

wouldn't 10 be too small? pvp would be fun then:P

Ubermancer
Racktoe
Sab
RTS Firebat

Good choices, we all might get FAST and ACCURATE information from them with skill sets, areas and game play..

I was just saying it would be more than 10 anyway lol.

Oh well, bring on Stuey hes funny ^^ and hope he gives us screenies of his adventures xD

Redneck ninja

Hmm interesting question. Hard to answer really. You'd have to balnce out the number of PvE and PvP players to begin with.

I'm just going by forum members that always have vaulable input and a decent amout of experiance.



Ractoe
Faer
Avarre
Ensign
Fenix
JR
Shanaeri Rynale
Fril Estelin
llsektorll
Fear Me

I generally read their posts instead of skimming. Not to say there isn't others of equal ability, these popped up first.

Good mix of PvE/PvP experiance too.

Faer???
What are you smoking man!!!!
Throw me, you the wallows, knoll, DE, EvO, ash, and Apple in there..might be interesting!
Don't forget Roab..he lieks mudkips.

Pablo does a better job

Ahhh... leaving me out Malice?

Anyway

Malice
JR
Ractoe
Ensign
Faer
Me (I can dream)
Inde
Snow Bunny
Mithran
And... hmmm tough one for the last spot, I'll leave it blank for now

Well, including less PvP players then needed to make 2 teams would make them useless anyway. Since I'm guessing the main PvP format will be played with at least 6vs6 or more, it makes no sense to include PvP players in a group of 10. So that means you have to take 10 PvE players who all play in the same time zone.

If the cycle goes as per other MMO's you will have a limited Alpha testing phase, then an invite only beta phase, then a public beta on a limited scale, and then gradually open that beta up.

For invite only beta, I really have no idea how that will be done. My guesses it would be for people in the US first(as timezones can get in the way) and then a little later on open up for players from other regions.

As to who the invitee's would be I really have no idea, if I had to place a guess mine would be those who have shown to have a community impact over the last 3 years or so and who's input is widely regarded as being both accurate and informative. If you wanted a list of names then maybe look no futher than those who got a wintersday card from Anet this year..

The initial public beta could well be the first xxxx people to sign up and only then will they be able to play at certain times of the week and on certain servers.

Then a wider beta will be for those who sign up on a website and again will only be open for set times of the day(slowly getting more as time goes on)

This could however be a total error and the reality be very different. All we know is that there will be a beta and some people will be able to join it..

Popularity contest, anyone?

Seriously, the three people I would nominate without a second thought would be Ensign, Rachtoh and JR. That's a great mix of PvE and PvP insight there.

The remaining people that most forum-goers would put on this list would be based on (1) how well they post; (2) their moderator status (or lack thereof) and (3) their popularity/virtual wealth. And none of those criteria, IMO, are worth squat when it comes to testing the new game.

I disagree with point one.

Your ability to communicate is an important part of game testing. I would never nominate...., ummm certain people who shall remain nameless, who can not write a competient sentance and follow a logical arguement.

I wouldn't want to get into the beta. I'd rather have someone else look around for bugs and such, and then experience the game once it hits retail with as little knowledge of it as possible. I like things when they feel new and fresh.

since the number of testers hypothesised is ridiculously low, i'll make it more reasonable, it should be given to those who have bought all 3 campaigns and expansions, as a show of gratitude for dedication, as well as draining the average rich kid's pocket money.

Communication is important. So, yes I have listed people who post 'well'.

Well for one we only seem to be picking forum members but like Earth said, it's hypothetical. So going along with that.

Racthoh
Roab
holymasamune
Sab
Shanaeri Rynale
Ekelon
One or 2 of the current R14 players
Dopefish (if he came back)
Witte Was

Probably a fairly decent distribution of PvE and PvP players to help test both aspects of the game. Just ones I could think of.

Hey thanks Malice for nominating me (I'll nominate you too, I may think about and dissect the game a lot but I don't know it as much as you do ... no no I'm not licking your boots ) but I honestly don't deserve it because there are better people for that "job".

It's actually an extremely difficult question to answer, akin to nominating players on a council of players and I think we'd fail at doing that. And (I'll backstab myself and a few people that I wish would be in a beta, sorry guys) I think Anet should not hire too many techies (only 2 names come to mind now zwei2stein, Chthon but there are many).

I think that, for a close beta (1st-2nd round) Anet will select based on direct relationships between the Anet team (including community team) and the fanbase, meaning people they had experience talking to. That's the safest route, because this way you avoid dealing with problems of trust. I read on this thread some highly respected names in this forum and that apparently fullfill this condition. I think GWG moderators have a unique role to play (after all, they're forced to read thousands of posts every day!) with Inde definitively. Also PvPers that have a long-standing commitment and have been showing dedication for years (it's less common if I'm not mistaken).

For a more open-beta (say 3rd or 4th round), then may be people at the intersection of highest number of posts and "interesting" (whatever this means, this quality on GWG does not mean one would be a good beta-tester). A few techies, people who developped a few community tools, organised in-game events, and members of the most successful guilds.

Then comes the 5th round of beta and at that point I guess Anet can ask people to apply and select randomly.

P.S.: I always highlight nicknames in my posts, always have on webforums, it's not "emphasis", it's rather a simple reminder that forums are all about interpersonal communication.

P.P.S.: re-reading this thread, I wonder whether this is some sort of "vote for who you'd LIKE to nominate for GW2 beta-tester"