Players: you should really consider playing on test server

I have been playing on test server and am amazed at the perks as well as how much I like it.
Test server has everything that the live servers have plus a LOT of perks. Let me analyze the pros and cons of this server so that you can evaluate whether it is for you:
Pros: 1.There is a permanent 100% or more experience bonus ( also applicable to quest bonuses), which is wonderful.
2. Do you hate crafting for hours in order to get your craft skills up? Well, that isn't a problem here!! Each new character can pick a trade skill and get an automatic 110 level bump!! This means no grinding for trade skill crafting!! Thus, if you make 5 mules, you can craft almost everything,which is important since there is little economy that will be discussed below. You do, however, need to harvest to get harvest skills up though. This becomes very important since there aren't many people on the server, so being able to craft your own items is great
3. Special events for test server.
4. All live server perks such as loyalty bonuses, overseer quests,
5. free plat for loyal players, which allows for crafting without cost.
6. Access to the latest changes before these go to live.
.7. Being able to help improve the game with bug suggestions and feedback regarding new proposed changes
8. Do you hate the long runs to get to where you are going? There is also fast travel to almost anywhere and LOTS of other perks
9. Chrono is NEVER needed for plat since you can get plat very easily with loyalty merchants. Thus, there is less cash needed for investment in this game..
10. Want to start from the ground up to revisit old content? Want to test events at a lower level to be sure that a live event is friendly to all levels? Test has a permanent xp bonus going. Some folks will level lock specifically for event testing, others just want to try out a new class from the beginning, and both are easy to do on Test.
10. For you decorators: If you are a tester, whether as a random visitor, or as a permanent member of the community, and you need furniture for your home or guildhall, check in with Foiwom or Kasa to get access to our furniture giveaway dungeons. We give away many thousands of pieces of furniture every year, and as of the fall of 2020, we have one dungeon crammed full of free furniture and another one ¾ full. Anyone on Test is welcome to ask for access to the dungeons, with our only request being that you do not just grab stuff from there and broker it. The entire idea is for testers to share excess furniture gained from testing, etc. with other testers.
11. Because Test is small, people tend to help each other. If you need something such as bags, furniture, armor etc, people will help. Just send a general tell and/or post on the test forums.
12. You do have the option to boost each toon individually to level 110 if you want to test out high level toons. I haven't done that, but it is available.
Cons: There is really only two cons. First,Test server has a very low population. I think this is undeserved because players don't realize how great it can be, but most times I don't see over 20 people on the whole server!! Thus, if grouping is a major factor for you, you may not like it here. However, if you use a merc, you can do most content and if you have a friend too with a merc, you can do almost anything.

Secondly, . The economy is basically non existent, which is why creating crafting mules, discussed above, is very important.
I should also note that the test server can be down a bit more than the live servers due to patching.
I do recommend, however, that you give it a try especially if you bring a friend or two over with you. I would bet that you will like it enough to never go back to a live server.

If you come over and want some help, keep an eye out for Sandyknight.

I just made a toon on Test server, and I am really enjoying it!

It's a great way to try out a new class at high levels, because you get a 120 boost token when you make your character. I got one for 120 adventure and 120 tradeskill.

For those who don't know how to get to the Test server: on the launch pad, open the little gear thing for Advanced Tools, I think it is called. Change Game Version to Public Test and hit Apply. It will download the Test server info, and you can make a character on Test.

The characters you make on Test do not count against your character total on other servers. So it's like getting extra character slots!

Free character slot, free 120 adventure boost, free 120 tradeskill boost (provided you have purchased the latest xpac) what is not to like?

As the original poster stated, the population is low and economy non-existent, but it is still a great place for having some fun.

And if you want to put a character there, you don't have to be alone. We have a guild, League of Extraordinary Tests, that you are welcome to join.

oh I forgot to mention that the test server is FREE to play. Thus, since you won't need Krono to play or even to buy plat, Krono is unnecessary!!

Can you copy a character to test server?

No, you can only do that on Beta server. But with the free boosts in both tradeskill and adventure, you can immediately have a high level toon on Test.

While you can NOT copy a character to the test server, as Raeven noted above, you do get a 100% bonus to all exp and you can pop potions that also give an added bonus. Thus, experience can really fly by. Some of us start a brand new character at level 1 and work our way through the content. Believe me the levels go quickly especially if you group or use a mercenary.
If you wish, you do have the ability to boost any character to level 110 automatically if you wish. I personally didn't do that ,but it is available to everyone.

Also, test server will NEVER be wiped. Thus, you can keep your characters on there forever just like the live servers

Also, there is one more con. Due to the low number of people on test, there is usually no raids. This ,however, can be somewhat ameliorated by having all players use a merc. However, it is something that people who come to test server should understand.

Oh wow... Nice one, you almost had me! For a while, I was thinking this was a genuine post, rather than satire.

The Test server once had a much more active presence, but after several years it became undeniable that Test was ignored for everything except tidying up some seasonal solo quests/events or grammar mistakes. There were instances of an update being pushed to the Test server, issues being reported on Test forum section, the same update being pushed to live, players then reporting the same issues on General Discussion, only for Devs to claim they did not know. It isn't difficult to imagine what years of this approach achieved, not just for the Test server but the game as a whole. Last I checked, there is no evidence that anything has changed.

None the less, my hat goes off to you for providing a good chuckle. Bravo!

“Pros: 1.There is a permanent 100% or more experience bonus ( also applicable to quest bonuses), which is wonderful. You can level 1-125 in a day on live if you know what you're doing. Xp is already too fast.
2. Do you hate crafting for hours in order to get your craft skills up? Well, that isn't a problem here!! Each new character can pick a trade skill and get an automatic 110 level bump!! This means no grinding for trade skill crafting!! Thus, if you make 5 mules, you can craft almost everything,which is important since there is little economy that will be discussed below. You do, however, need to harvest to get harvest skills up though. This becomes very important since there aren't many people on the server, so being able to craft your own items is great I don't see how this is a plus. Being able to bypass the work takes away the motivation. It makes the game less fun.
3. Special events for test server.
4. All live server perks such as loyalty bonuses, overseer quests,
5. free plat for loyal players, which allows for crafting without cost. Just what the game needs, more plat.
Response; Don't agree with you at all here.. You still need to do grinding and quests. It just makes it a bit easier. Notice, I didn't say easy, Just easier. 6. Access to the latest changes before these go to live. One week in advance, yes.
.7. Being able to help improve the game with bug suggestions and feedback regarding new proposed changes Only minor issues will be addressed before the patch goes live. Major issues with proposed changes are never listened to as they're not looking for feedback on this. Got a missing letter in an item's name? We'll fix that right now!! This change makes an encounter impossible or takes a class from important to redundant in one fell swoop? Nah, not listening, push it to live!: Not true, wwe can make an impact and developers are at least now looking at what is going on in test. I posted a bug and got a fairly quick resoltuion. So we are making a difference.
8. Do you hate the long runs to get to where you are going? There is also fast travel to almost anywhere and LOTS of other perks Fast travel is a thing on live..
Response: It is NOT a thing on Varsoon.
9. Chrono is NEVER needed for plat since you can get plat very easily with loyalty merchants. Thus, there is less cash needed for investment in this game.. The economy is a hot mess on live, but free plat, like free xp, takes away the fun in the journey. Also, loyalty merchants are a thing on live..

Response: Yes and no. Most people have to sell Krono in order to get plat, pay for games etc on live servers. There is NO NEED to sell Krono on Test. Plus it is free to play. Thus, the real money drain isn't as noticeable on test vs the live servers.
10. Want to start from the ground up to revisit old content? Want to test events at a lower level to be sure that a live event is friendly to all levels? Test has a permanent xp bonus going. Some folks will level lock specifically for event testing, others just want to try out a new class from the beginning, and both are easy to do on Test. You can also do this on live. And as I said before, an xp bonus isn't necessary as xp is already crazy fast..
Response: I can agree to disagree. I don't find it crazy fast at all.
10. For you decorators: If you are a tester, whether as a random visitor, or as a permanent member of the community, and you need furniture for your home or guildhall, check in with Foiwom or Kasa to get access to our furniture giveaway dungeons. We give away many thousands of pieces of furniture every year, and as of the fall of 2020, we have one dungeon crammed full of free furniture and another one ¾ full. Anyone on Test is welcome to ask for access to the dungeons, with our only request being that you do not just grab stuff from there and broker it. The entire idea is for testers to share excess furniture gained from testing, etc. with other testers.
11. Because Test is small, people tend to help each other. If you need something such as bags, furniture, armor etc, people will help. Just send a general tell and/or post on the test forums. Join a guild on live and enjoy this benefit too.
12. You do have the option to boost each toon individually to level 110 if you want to test out high level toons. I haven't done that, but it is available. See above
Cons: There is really only two cons. First,Test server has a very low population. I think this is undeserved because players don't realize how great it can be, but most times I don't see over 20 people on the whole server!! Thus, if grouping is a major factor for you, you may not like it here. However, if you use a merc, you can do most content and if you have a friend too with a merc, you can do almost anything. Most EQ2 end game content requires not just a group, but a skilled and appropriately geared group. This is one of the reasons the test server doesn't really function to test new content apart from solo event stuff and very easy or lower level group stuff. It's why the devs have given everyone a beta server, where you can test high end new content, because without the character copy, there's no way to get a character on test that's robust enough to participate, let alone getting a whole group..

Response: Since I am not over 100 level, I can't comment on this.

Secondly, . The economy is basically non existent, which is why creating crafting mules, discussed above, is very important.
I should also note that the test server can be down a bit more than the live servers due to patching.
I do recommend, however, that you give it a try especially if you bring a friend or two over with you. I would bet that you will like it enough to never go back to a live server. I wish you luck attracting more players to test, but I don't think it's going to happen. Test is for testing the fluffier, easy content of EQ2. Beta is where you test the more interesting high end stuff.
Response; Nope, definitely don't agree. You can participate in everything that Live has to offer. The problem is getting more peeps. You can test and play anything that live has at all levels.

It really doesn't matter that you don't agree. If you knew what the high end of EQ2 is, you'd know you cannot access it on test. Yes you can zone in to new zones. But without characters with the required gear, stats and all the important extras, and without a community of equally ready characters to group with, you'll be wiping at the first mobs in those zones and getting nowhere.
Test is for testing seasonal events, crafting and solo quests. It's partly why heroic and raid content was always released in such a shocking state. They made the beta server to attempt to improve that situation, or at least look like they're attempting to improve it. The peeps on test have always been top notch but never given enough support by Daybreak.

Tanto, this is where you and some of the other hardcore critics lose the average player and forums poster.

Morte outright said "The problem is getting more peeps". Ergo you're arguing a point he already gave you strictly for the sake of bashing the game and another poster. Reality is, you can ACCESS all the content as he claimed. BEATING IT, as you said, is an entirely different situation, lol.

Thing is, I and probably several other people here, agree with you more than we'd like to admit. Above level 100, this game is broken as hell. There's alot that's still fun also however. More importantly, you're not going to convince anyone especially the Devs that they're wrong by beating them and the entire game down. Have you ever TRULY changed your opinion by being constantly berated, or has it made you dig in more?

Food for thought.

Jessaine, I couldn't have responded any better.

Oh that color is not friendly to the eyes...

I tried Test once and it was for an expansion, maybe I should revisit it for more than an expansion.

I don't know what happened to your post, but it's all jumbled.

Edit: Weird. I can read it in my reply.

I do not have a testserver directory - did I do something wrong?

Did you switch your version on the launchpad to Public Test?

I know I could just purchase more slots on live, but I've enjoyed using test to spin up more characters. It's given me a chance to play around with several different classes I don't play on the live server. I hang around there once I've gone through new expansion content, whether because I'm done going through it with my alts or I don't feel like going through it with my alts.

Erollisi is up on Test right now, and Test often doesn't go down for maintenance at the same time as live....Test is still up right now!

For the new/just returning folks: Top left corner of launcher must be changed to Test, then patched, and away you go! Then just change it back to US English or whatever you normally set it to, to play on the TLs or live servers again.