The Dark Side of Beta

by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

Discontent flourished among the community last week regarding Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and it's currently closed beta program. Players felt not only that EA Mythic were inviting people in a shady manner but had ignored a number of applicants entirely. In a rare industry move, GM/VP of EA Mythic Mark Jacobs decided to put together a detailed Q&A about the program and dispell a few illusions about invitations, the number of people testing, and contest winners. Whether it had a soothing effect on those dissatisfied or not remains to be seen but it appears they are taking the program seriously.

As I quelled the beta impatience of a friend or two this week, it occurred to me a very important question hasn't been raised. Yes, of course we are all anxious to get into the beta (myself included) and see the glory of Warhammer Online, but why is there such impatience? What kind of benefit do you see from beta access other than a sneak peek at what they are working on? There are a number of reasons you don't want to rush into Beta and these are just a few.

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First, many of the areas in the game aren't complete yet. We heard Development Manager Mike Stone mention in our Altdorf City video tour there were areas they are still designing. Considering these will be the hubs of the game, it doesn't take a enormous logical leap to reason there are incomplete regions like this all over the game (which is perfectly normal for beta in this stage). So why is there such a rush to see part of a city, or the doorway to a zone? Wouldn't you prefer to see it in working order as it's intended?

Along with incomplete areas another problem plagues a beta experience, bugs. Lots and lots of bugs. From getting stuck in the ground, to having equipment vanish, to being able to kill a quest NPC, every beta has untold numbers of issues like these. Catching them is what the beta is for and unless you are a dedicated tester they can provide a frustrating gaming experience. Sure you could use the argument that the more people testing the more bugs will be caught, but that could be countered with the more people in the beta the more the above frustrations are multiplied. Why would they want a bunch of frustrated testers?

Another disadvantage that we've seen in some recent products is radical changes in development, even a month from launch. The Witch Hunter you fell in love with may no longer get (insert ability of your choice), or even have the skill taken away entirely. Do you really want to be the guy in chat channel that says "Back in the Beta we could take out any class with that ability. That was the way it was and we liked it!" Why ruin your first impression of what could be an amazing game with an incomplete preview?

Finally, based on the current launch assumption they are very likely doing focused testing. What does that mean? The developers are looking at certain mechanics that they want players to utilize over and over trying to break. Perhaps they want to work on Tier 1 for the Empire, that would be all you could play. Maybe it's Keeps they want to test which means you'll only have access to siege content. Or even worse for you PvPers, what if they are testing strictly PvE content? The point is, it's unlikely a lot of content is available for play so you would be at the whim of what EA Mythic wants tested (exactly as it should be in a beta).

As time goes on and Warhammer Online moves closer to launch, we'll see quite a few more people enter through contests, player selections, and eventually the media. For the time being however it seems they are dedicating the slots they have available to serious testing and the rest of us will need to bide our time. With focused testing, incomplete development, and lots of bugs (which one again is normal) why do we need an FAQ on beta? What is the rush to jump into the game?

Are you impatient about getting in the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning beta? Tell us why on our forums.


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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