There may not be a more frustrating thing in gaming then when you put in a lot of hard work during a beta, leveling up your character and questing through the beginning content of a game, only to find out that your character is going to be wiped and you’ll have to start over. I understand that in a beta you are there to find bugs and issues with balance, rather than progressing, but how frustrating is it to have to do everything all over again after the wipe?!
It seems there is no consensus on whether or not to wipe characters in beta or not. Some companies do it, some do not. Maybe the base their decision on a coin flip or how they are feeling at the time. Either way it can be a very frustrating experience for the players, and may even kill the enthusiasm for betas in the first place.
So what do you think? Do you like character wipes in beta? Do you think they should be done away with? Are there any other ways to level the playing field from beta to when the game is released?