Many MMO players are starting to get real excited about the upcoming release of WildStar, but many of those same players are wondering exactly what kind of plans that the developers have for the future of beta testing.
Up until now, during the closed beta segment of the game (otherwise known as the winter beta), has been closed to all except a very select number of people. From now on out, the game’s beta testing will be more open, but it will also only take place during designated beta weekends up through sometime in May. At that point, the game will enter open beta, and eventually a head start period before finally releasing on June 3rd.
The aforementioned beta weekends will take place on March 21-23, April 4-6, April 18-20, and May 2-4. Beyond the specific dates though, what will players actually be able to do during these weekends? Put simply, what players will be able to do depends on what they’ve already done or plan to do in the very near future.
The first factor for potential beta testers to keep in mind is their participation in the closed beta. If they participated in the closed beta at all, their level cap in the open beta weekends will be level 50. However, if that closed beta player never had a character reach level 32, and did not preorder the game, they will only have access to the open beta in May.
Alternatively, if that either reached level 32 or preordered the game, they will get access to all of the beta weekends. On the other hand, if the prospective beta participant did not participate at all in the closed beta, they will only be able to level to 17 during any part of the beta weekends or the open beta. If they preorder, they will get access to the 4 beta weekends, and the headstart.
At the end of the day, even if you have done absolutely nothing up until this point, and do not plan on preordering WildStar, you will still get access to the open beta period, and be able to experience the first 17 levels of the game. Everyone will have the chance to try out WildStar before it’s released in some form, and help developers eliminate the bugs that might still be in the game when they try it out, helping make the game better.
Above article is just a basic introduction into Wildstar Online. For something that is more in-depth, written by advanced players with a fantastic walkthrough, I would recommend getting the Wildstar Guide from KillerGuides. What gave me confidence to endorse this guide? Read my full review here.