So beta testers... worth buying right now? Or wait..

[melodramocracy]

Subject line says it all... there always seems to be an initial rush @ the release of a game, and then the conclusion is drawn that 5-6 months down the road may have been a better place to start, after some wrinkles have been ironed out.

What say you, is this game worth jumping in on immediately?

[MrSerious]

Subject line says it all... there always seems to be an initial rush @ the release of a game, and then the conclusion is drawn that 5-6 months down the road may have been a better place to start, after some wrinkles have been ironed out.

What say you, is this game worth jumping in on immediately?

well for me who has been following this game for well over a year, I couldn't wait til release and wanted to try it out during the beta weekends.

I'm just testing out the different classes to see which one might suit me better. I think I've settled on a norn warrior so I won't be touching that class or race until it goes live.

The beta weekends are fun.

[Delias]

The game is significantly more polished than most other MMOs to release in the past few years from what we have seen. It's up to you whether you buy it right away though, no one here can really tell you what is or what is not 'worth it'.

well for me who has been following this game for well over a year, I couldn't wait til release and wanted to try it out during the beta weekends.

I'm just testing out the different classes to see which one might suit me better. I think I've settled on a norn warrior so I won't be touching that class or race until it goes live.

The beta weekends are fun.

(Psst, he's not asking about beta weekends.)

[Dodrin]

From what I've tested, there have been 0 game breaking bugs. In fact, last two BWEs I didn't find a single bug. I don't think you really have to worry about having a bad experience if you purchase for release. Only foreseeable problem could be server stress the first few days, but I doubt even that will happen.

[grandpab]

Guild Wars 2 is one of the rare games that has the luxury to actually find issues with the game (via our beta weekends) and be given time by the publisher (thank you, NCsoft!) to address those issues. Because of that, we’re not crippled by the insane crunch and madness that usually accompanies other games to release; instead, we have the time to make intelligent design decisions, test them, and get them right so when we release the game, it’s one we’re truly proud of.

In an age where new-game releases have been ripe with bugs and unfinished products, one of our goals is to try to buck that trend and release a truly finished game that is as bug free as possible. We’re all gamers first at ArenaNet, and honestly we’re sick of paying for released games that aren’t ready to be released—it drives us nuts and we don’t want to do that to our fans. Quite frankly, we wouldn’t want to play our own game if it wasn’t ready for release either.

That being said, the stuff we’ve shown in the beta weekend is just a tiny percentage of the total game that is Guild Wars 2, and those areas are much more polished than the rest of the game, which we’re working on feverishly to try and polish as well. We can’t work on the game forever, and every single game released always has some bugs in it, but we’d like to get to the point where we’ve got a very clean, polished game across its entirety before we release it.

From what I've played and seen, I'd say they're on the right track.

[Delias]

From what I've tested, there have been 0 game breaking bugs. In fact, last two BWEs I didn't find a single bug. I don't think you really have to worry about having a bad experience if you purchase for release. Only foreseeable problem could be server stress the first few days, but I doubt even that will happen.

Oh oh, I totally found a rock in BWE1 that you could walk inside of in the middle of nowhere halfway down a cliff.
I reported it, was fixed by BWE2. >.>

On a more serious note (not that the story wasn't true), there were a few annoying bugs in BWE2. One was in the 25-35 zone with some catapults (or something, don't remember) that you would get stuck inside after destroying them and had to die to get out of (or something, I don't remember. It was mostly Glytch getting stuck due to being melee). I wouldn't say it's completely bug free, but the only bugs in the content we've seen are minor and I would put money on 90% of them being fixed by BWE3.

[Mothhive]

In my opinion, it is totally worth it. Played it a ton at Eurogamer last year, and in all the recent beta weekend events and it is the most polished MMO beta I've been in (was in WotLK, Aion, ST:O, Rift, SWTOR betas), not to mention the most fun. I only saw one bug in BWE1 (someone you had to fight for a skill point challenge was just dead on the floor the whole time), but this was fixed by the next test.

Also, waiting to pick it up down the road isn't going to save you any money like it would with a subscription based MMO, it'll just mean you get to play it less for the same amount of money!

[Blufossa]

Subject line says it all... there always seems to be an initial rush @ the release of a game, and then the conclusion is drawn that 5-6 months down the road may have been a better place to start, after some wrinkles have been ironed out.

What say you, is this game worth jumping in on immediately?

It's well worth it to buy right now. With the coming BWE #3 (July 20-22), you can test it out, and if you don't like it before release you can get a full refund.

But I'll tell you this: if you're a true gamer, you won't want a full refund.

[Glytch]

Oh oh, I totally found a rock in BWE1 that you could walk inside of in the middle of nowhere halfway down a cliff.
I reported it, was fixed by BWE2. >.>

On a more serious note (not that the story wasn't true), there were a few annoying bugs in BWE2. One was in the 25-35 zone with some catapults (or something, don't remember) that you would get stuck inside after destroying them and had to die to get out of (or something, I don't remember. It was mostly Glytch getting stuck due to being melee). I wouldn't say it's completely bug free, but the only bugs in the content we've seen are minor and I would put money on 90% of them being fixed by BWE3.

it sucked

but i just waypointed out

(the sizes of the destroyed item was bigger than the original, so it created a new bounding box that overlapped me, making me trapped.)

[Delias]

Oh right, waypointing that's what we did. Couldn't remember.
Yeah, I got trapped once before going "screw this" and not standing in melee range.

[Glytch]

It's well worth it to buy right now. With the coming BWE #3 (July 20-22), you can test it out, and if you don't like it before release you can get a full refund.

they should have said in huge bold text "you are buying the game not the beta"

just seems like a cheap move that people are asking for refunds

its like people who buy clothes, wear them once, then return them to the store for refunds

[Deleted]

Note: this is my opinion

I did play Guild wars since the release, and i was totally in love with the game. I loved the story i loved the missions and the way it felt to play the game. Back in 2007 when we first heard that ArenaNet was working on Guild wars 2 i got really hyped. Since that day i was really hyped and got even more hyped when the first video came out 2010. But i shouldn't have gotten so hyped (i was literally to hyped) because i started to make up my own thought how the game will be. Yes i were thinking that the game would be the best game ever. When i got in the beta there were so many thing that did disappoint me, i think the reason behind it is the big hype i had for so long thinking of the way the game will be and that it will be perfect. But the game was not like i was imaging me. I will ofc give it a try when the game release and maybe i will like it.

On topic: The game looks complete. I have been in many different games beta and also played the games when they released the major once like WoW, Rift and Swtor and many other mmorpgs. And i must say that Guild wars 2 beta felt like a completed game unlike the other once. It even felt better then WoW when it released (wow had a large amount of bugs if i remember right that took blizzard years to fix).
I think the best time to start playing guild wars 2 is when it comes out because that will be the best time to experience the game. So my advice to you is get it when it comes out

[Cyclone Jack]

I have played in 2 BWEs. I would say the game is well worth the purchase. As a one time purchase game, I don't see why anyone would pass it up to be honest. The combat is fluid, the personal story is entertaining, and the dynamic events give the appearance of a living, breathing world on a scale that even Bethesda has not been able to accomplish. There are plenty of things to do, from crafting to mini-games, and everything is very polished.

[Delias]

its like people who buy clothes, wear them once, then return them to the store for refunds

But they bought the clothes before release. How would they know what they would be like after release?

[Deleted]

If you take a minute (read: 2-3 hours) to read the first post of this thread, and after that feel like the concept is worth ~60 USD or more in total, then yes, it is worth buying it now. If you feel like it's not worth ~60 USD in total, it's not worth buying right now.

Simple.

[MKing]

Subject line says it all... there always seems to be an initial rush @ the release of a game, and then the conclusion is drawn that 5-6 months down the road may have been a better place to start, after some wrinkles have been ironed out.

What say you, is this game worth jumping in on immediately?

It's definatly a good time to buy. You won't find those wrinkles in this game, they are devoted to get everything sorted out pre release.

[Baloneyz]

I have played in 2 BWEs. I would say the game is well worth the purchase. As a one time purchase game, I don't see why anyone would pass it up to be honest. The combat is fluid, the personal story is entertaining, and the dynamic events give the appearance of a living, breathing world on a scale that even Bethesda has not been able to accomplish. There are plenty of things to do, from crafting to mini-games, and everything is very polished.

Like Jack said here. The feeling of a real, live world is overwhelming in cities ( not because of the players, no, but everything is moving, doing their own thing, talking about a lot of rumors and things ( much like in Oblivion or Skyrim ) it's all made like a real, big and finished RPG game put in an MMO, and that's an accomplishment )

Combat it's different then in most MMOs, you actually need to learn your character and how each weapon set and its abilities work.
The world is alive even while exploring 'cause everything is subject to change depending on the place, dynamic events and even THE TIME OF THE DAY.

It's a really nice game, made to choose your gamestyle and pace. Just don't get overhyped and you're on your way to enjoy this game like no other in a long time.

[Deleted]

Oh oh, I totally found a rock in BWE1 that you could walk inside of in the middle of nowhere halfway down a cliff.
I reported it, was fixed by BWE2. >.>

Might be the same one, but I found a rock you could fall through in Divinity's Reach into the Great Collapse. Could swim around it and everything. Reported - fixed by BWE 2. They're definitely wanting this thoroughly tested by release.

[Delias]

Might be the same one, but I found a rock you could fall through in Divinity's Reach into the Great Collapse. Could swim around it and everything. Reported - fixed by BWE 2. They're definitely wanting this thoroughly tested by release.

Nah, it was a rock halfway down the cliff off to the right facing the wizard's tower. No bug related to it besides "We can totally clip a couple inches into this rock" so I doubt many people reported it, yet it was fixed by BWE3. Harley Quinn and I were joking about being the only 2 to report it, but that's probably not far off from the truth. It was a pain to get to while also being an unbelievably minor bug that very few people would notice.

Swimming around underground was significantly more important to fix. =P

[Barcasaur]

I have mine payed in full, i enjoyed the BWE2 event A TON. but if you want my honest opinion it is, Yes it is *wroth* it but you would be much better off saving every bit of excitement for the official launch of the game, its a beauty don't spoil it on a BWE.

I personally won't play one of the two new races, and I only played human in the BWE2, I might get on and play some SPvP but really I am waiting for the game to launch so i can dig in deep and start playing for keeps.