Guild Wars 2 is one of the few MMO’s I can think of that doesn’t actually have a public test realm. For anyone unfamiliar with this concept, it’s basically a separate server that developers push internal builds to. Players are then free to log in to this server to test the new build, raise concerns, identify bugs and point out issues which the development team can react to and hopefully address, before it arrives on live servers.

In most of the MMO’s I’ve ever played (including eSports titles such as Heroes of the Storm) the test server provides a sounding board for incoming changes. It often allows the player base to see the mindset behind developer decisions and then discuss them at length. More than anything, it allows a large quantity of players - a pool often larger than internal testing can provide - to put a patch through its paces.

I think it’s fair to say that players are undeniably smart when it comes to builds, finding exploits and quickly getting to grips with new builds - none more so that Guild Wars 2’s. While I’ve no doubt that ArenaNet’s internal testers are skilled players and gamers, a public test server opens the door to sheer numbers and on that basis, far more data when it comes to balance, bugs and things that just don’t feel right.

What I’ve found interesting from this last patch is that there are several issues so frighteningly obvious that I’m genuinely struggling to understand how they were missed. The primary issues with this update are the following:

1. Burning is dealing too much damage as a result of the stacking change.

2. Engineer’s and their Grenades are dealing far too much damage.

3. The removal of attributes linked to trait lines has resulted in most professions inadvertently dealing higher damage due to no longer being restricted by their trait choices.

4. Mesmer now dealing far too higher damage as a result of the above bullet point but also because of its specific trait changes and adjusted amulet attributes.

5. Thieves and their burst, similarly to the Mesmer, dealing even greater damage due to trait, attribute and amulet changes.

While there are other issues with the patch (notably that the Engineer still relies heavily on a rifle playstyle or that the Thief is even more pigeon holed into a Dagger/Pistol build - relying even more on burst - the above issues could be felt within minutes of play. Why, then, did ArenaNet push out this update and how did they fail to address such obvious problems? If a public test server was available, I’m happily wager that all the above would have been raised within minutes. You only have to visit the official forums to see the playerbase doing it.

Certainly from my own perspective, the first thing I did when the patch landed was to login on my Mesmer and proceed to die instantly to a Guardian stacking 8 burning on me. Before I could even react, I’d died. There’s no denying that the burst potential of burning is now absurd and in under several seconds, I’d experienced it. It took me only a few minutes on my Guardian to emulate the burning build. Similarly on my Engineer, a single trip into PvP saw me one-shot several unfortunate souls thanks to the strength of Grenades and Aim-assisted Rocket but also because of the ease at which you can maintain 20 stacks of Might thanks to HGH.

At what point in the development process and the internal testing did no one notice such issues and if they did (a worse case scenario) simply ignored them and pushed them to live? When a trait such as Clarion Bond is nerfed within 2 days of the update going live, I’m struggling to understand the logic behind failing to act on traits, builds and skills that are clearly broken whilst reacting rapidly to traits that are having little to no impact on the overall balance of Guild Wars 2’s meta. I’m struggling to understand how instantly killing someone with grenades doesn’t have the same priority as gaining fury, one stack of might and swiftness from pet swap.

If we have a public test server these issues would have undoubtedly come to light the moment the server opened and it would have given time for ArenaNet to go about adjusting the damage modifier of burning as well as hot-fixing some of the Engineer bugs. As for the burst potential of the Mesmer and Thief now that attributes have been adjusted and professions, I suspect it needed a longer period of testing to balance out some of the traits that currently make them far too strong. Discussions of stealth, dealing with it and its wider impact on the game are for another time.

Going back to my earlier point on ArenaNet’s development process, I’m not actually sure what their reasoning is for not having a public test server. I suspect as a company that was once relatively open, their lack of a public test server is presumably similar to their reasoning for sharing very little in terms of their internal workings: fear of upsetting a community if things change. I can’t guarantee that it’s the reason, but I’d guess it was a factor.

To end today’s Persistent Worlds column, I just wanted to add that any negatives that a public test server might have are undoubtedly outweighed by the positives. Keeping bugs and unbalanced traits on the test server is unquestionably a better practice than bringing them to a live environment. I’m not suggesting Guild Wars 2 will be bug free as a result, but it’s highly likely that patches such as this months or those historically wobbly in the quality control department would be less frequent. Having said all this, a public test server would only work if ArenaNet choose to actually act on its community feedback.

What are your thoughts on Guild Wars 2 having a public test server? Do you think it would be a good or a bad thing?