It’s always been fluid how many Praetorians actually test due to various reasons; they move on to other games, get burnt out on GD and need a break, real life gets in the way, etc. Pretty much the same as anyone else who plays the game.
The last couple of times Zantai’s asked for players to apply to join the Praetorian ranks
but with no more major new content on the horizon I doubt we’ll see such again any time soon.
As powbam said there are a lot more non-Praets than there are Praets and your input is just as valid once you get your hands on a patch as ours is which is why there are hotfixes and further balancing after a patch comes out. We’re not infallible or all-seeing/knowing so the more eyes to spot problems the better. We just get a look at stuff before you all do so can give our feedback a bit sooner, that’s the only difference.