Hello Blizzard,
Please receive this information fully and escalate to the correct people responsible.
I am Varbane, GM of a horde guild on classic WoW, Shazzrah server that has placed since launch in the Hardcore category of wow, attaining server first kills in all content, except naxx, where we placed 2nd. We’ve consistently been horde 1st speedrunning multiple times and have remained competitive all the way until P6, where we decided to take a more backseat.
I am very concerned with the handling of beta access for TBC classic, as if it’s done in the same way as Classic WoW was, it’s prioritised to content creator’s with zero, or lackluster knowledge of TBC and although it attracts attention to the game from a monetary perspective, it hurts the potential the game has for the more hardcore player on launch. These content creators show that for the most part, they do 0 testing and literally just mess around to have fun and showcase the game.
If someone like me were to get beta access, you’d receive someone committed whos going to go to great lengths on the beta to test ALL raids, dungeons, class mechanics, items in all various forms based on my extensive knowledge. I fully cleared TBC back in the day, and have also fully completed two separate private servers as well with highly buffed content. I am a very knowledgeable, well managed individual who would be a great asset to the testing of your TBC server.
Please take these considerations seriously, and please allow me to add value to the TBC Beta.
Kind regards,
Loyal gamer since 2005.
Varbane
(I have been advised to post this to the forums, as I submitted this via a ticket originally, but got directed here instead)
8 Likes
The first wave is most likely going to be mostly content creators and streamers. The invites tend to be fairly limited, however, most streamers play a lot of beta and stream a lot of it too. All that footage is there for Blizz to review in the form of VoDs and whatever youtube etc content that is made. They also act as a free advertisment. I’m not sure why this myth exists that streamers don’t do testing.
There is also the issue that there are more willing testers than space. Of course they do choose people from all sorts of backgrounds to take part, especially in the later waves. I never got into Classic testing myself. Only on an open weekend stress test. It is disappointing but there are so many people who opt in.
5 Likes
There are streamers potentially coming into TBC, with 0 knowledge or understanding of the game that couldn’t even possibly know what they need to test, especially from a high-end perspective.
None of the streamers almost on the entire classic WoW beta since have speedran or even been in guilds clearing content. Most of them even quit classic WoW, very few remained even past Phase 1.
It feels to me the picks for who gets classic/tbc beta access is completely monetary, and i’m saying lets have a really good TBC launch and put in experienced proven TBC gamers who know the content inside out and can give the best chance at a great quality game launch.
3 Likes
The opinion of speedrunners have even less value for the average player than the streamers have. So dunno why you feel that your feedback is so valuable.
Blizzard dont invite players so that they can practice raids, were raids even open on the classic beta?
Content creators make up for less than 1% of the total amount of players that get invited to a beta, so why you are making such a fuss about them i really dont understand, the streamers are invited purely for the advertising, the rest of the players who get invite is there for actual testing.
The streamers are also valuable in the way that they inspire other people who have been granted beta access to actually go play some, instead of ignoring their invite. And the more people who test, thus bigger chance to discover potential bugs.
Im guessing that the first wave of beta testing will probably be just the dranei and blood elf starter zones, in preparation for the prepatch.
Later on they will open up outlands and either cap it at 65 or 69. Then they will open to 70 and heroics.
And almost at the very end of the beta, raids might get opened up for some limited testing.
13 Likes
As a content creator I doubt I will get an invite, I have videos with tens of thousands of views but I don’t think on average many of us smaller youtube channels ever get a look to begin with, it’s only the big names like Asmongold that will always get the invite.
I think maybe due to visibility it seems like all the invites go out to content creators, but that list is really short in the grand scheme. When I got invited to the Legion Alpha it was only because I was in one of the 200 or so guilds that had killed Mythic Archimonde, and in that particular case they did prioritise inviting raiders, we did some raid testing in Nighthold/EN with scaled up versions of our WOD chars.
I didn’t get beta for BFA or Shadowlands, wasn’t raiding high end… I don’t think that inviting content creators is a bad idea at all, people like Asmongold are massive free advertising and that’s a huge part of the testing phase of the game these days, right or wrong.
1 Like
The “high end perspective” doesn’t matter to the majority of the playerbase.
Giving priority to top-players achives the opposite of what beta-testing is supposed to do: Wean out bugs that affect the AVERAGE USER.
Now, streamers aren’t average users either, granted.
But streamers are good marketing.
So, what would be the point of prioritising people based on their Experience with the game?
1 Like
@the OP, do you usually get a “hard on” when looking at yourself in the mirror? And do you usually wear some sort of crown?
3 Likes
And you couldn’t post on that character because…?
8 Likes
if you`re not a streamer you will not be in the beta.
I also want an advantage for the upcoming speed clear meta through testing it before most others.
4 Likes
I dont think there’s a speed clear that can compete with the exploit Progress are rumoured to be preparing.
loyal player that also played on privat server 
1 Like
It’s already a headache for them to inv streamers to the Beta, there are hundreds of WoW streamers, I don’t think Bobby Kotick speeds the selection process up for the 10 people in charge of it either since he likes to pocket all the loot and sack anyone that could potentially do some useful work.
Suprised you managed to type this OP with that large head of yours.
I cant decide whos opinion matters less to me, that of streamers or speed runners.
4 Likes
So much hate again.
I dont like speedrunner philosophy of classic too, but they deserve respect. High end speedrunning needs a hard work and great dedication.
Op is right 100%. I personally prefer speedrunners’s test of mechanics.
Indeed blizzard has to give them some privilege in beta testing. Blizzard already did it for 16 years for nihilum/sk gaming/method in retail at every beta phase. Why not here?
1 Like
So much salt in this thread, it’s actually funny. Sour grapes. I’m not a big fan of speedrunning myslef, but I’d be hard pressed to think of another group of players who whould actually test the game thoroughly in beta, or at least some aspects of it that relate to pve mechanics.
Look, we all undersand why streamers are there, obviously, but why not also invite some of the top speedclearing guilds to do their thing in the background while streamers run ramparts, charge into the last boss while healer has no mana and then report the boss as bugged because it 3shot them.
We ain’t getting beta
all we can do is watch asmon while on serious copium
they never put endgame content in beta that would be like putting ending scene of a movie in the trailer. For classic beta they tested the raids internally and the only endgame-ish content we got is an alterac bg weekend with 58 characters
I don’t play classic anymore since I stopped end p1, but saw this post circulating one of my groups. I don’t mean to be salty or burst someone’s bubble, but to invite someone such as a speed runner or world player promotes a bias and at time unfair mechanics if end game or world content is open. While I doubt there is any, you have to remember Blizzard cares about its advertisements, and taking ignorant and new streamers as well as pop culture ones promotes the hype, and is less likely to make people ignorant of how bad p1 because for half the population (since your just selling your soul to a cash farm, but hey some people like us enjoy it still.) it’s to promote hype and to keep a unbiased stance, even though if no raid content or end game dungeon (even though I doubt their changed for the speed running and world guild’s from classic anyways to differ form tactics.) I don’t see why taking experienced guild’s or players would be a problem. Where a streamer is more likely to encounter a bug through f**kery and fun, usually these players actively will seek out bugs and test them in corners of the world that aren’t touched. But regardless, everyone plays, priority is still keeping the public eye.
Can’t be that good of a guild, You have Grimgore in it.
3 Likes