The Reward for Beta Testing Gets Even Sweeter!

We’re working hard on database changes for EQ2, and we need your help to make sure they’re awesome! To encourage people to help us, we've upgraded the stats on the Blessed Sokokar mount people get as a reward for helping us. This upgrade will go to anyone who has received a Bless Sokokar in the past, and anyone that helps us on the beta server.

Starting today and running until Monday, March 16 at 11:59AM PDT, we could really use your help again on the beta server. You can use our Beta Copy feature by typing /beta on a character you want to copy.

We’d appreciate it if you could:

• Re-copy characters to beta. Report (using /bug) if you end up in a zoned called “thunderdome”
• Make new characters on Beta and kill stuff. Report if your characters show any rollbacks when logging on and off.

What else are we looking for?

Weirdness or issues with the entire game, but our top test requests are:

• If you used /beta, is your character in the EXACT same state you left it on live?
• Enter/Exit Housing & Decorate
• Contested Dungeons like High Keep
• Test lock-out timers of various types
• Broker functionality
• Guild functions, changes, updates
• Pets and mercs that refuse to attack valid targets
• Not getting credit for things that you should
• Report if encounters are breaking randomly

How do I get the mount?

To earn the Blessed Sokokar mount for a live character, you have to kill at least 250 things on the beta server. We’ve updated some NPCs so that most will count toward the reward.

If you notice any quirks, please /bug immediately. We’re grateful for everyone’s help and support, and we’ll see you on the beta server this weekend!

Special Note: The beta server may be down at certain times throughout the weekend as we fix issues. We appreciate everyone's help and patience during this weekend's beta!

Very nice! Of course I just had to log in and look at the mount in a bundle a baby toon is running around with right now...no upgrade on it yet.

Happy Beta Testing, all!

Huzzah! Now that's a decent reward for spending a few days on a basically throwaway character to make the game better!

This makes me want to do the Beta testing

If you want people to use the test server, you should streamline the process. Currently, the user experience is they try to use it and are hit with a 17 gig download. Not everyone has unlimited free downloads.

If they follow the user guides on the forum as a work around, it's about 300 meg. So the question has to be, why isn't that script built into the launcher? Why not have it copy the local files first, then patch what is needed?

Surely even from the most money pinching point of view, this would make sense for you, because people downloading 17 gig a pop from your servers costs money.

@GurtbyC. Are you on a dialup or something? Who is charging you to download? Most people are on a broadband connection, pay a flat monthly fee, and nobody gets charged more for downloading 17gb. Downloading the beta may take extra time but it doesn't cost any more or less. As this is a beta there are very specific technical reasons why they want a full, clean download done versus a potentially tainted copy using an unqualified user created scripts that copy the local installation.

Still does not update when killing alot of mobs.

I've already claimed some of the sokokars prior to this announcement, will those get updated stats?

Does it matter what creatures I kill? As in, can I copy my level 100 berserker to the Beta server, enter Blackburrow, and...well, kill Blackburrow? Surely there are close to 250 mobs in there, but they'd be grey to a level 100 toon. Does that matter?

I would be interested in learning HOW to do this. I do not have the beta already and cant seem to find anything that says how. if someone could point me in the right direction, that would greatly help me to join in.

In the game launcher, at the upper left hand corner, you'll see "Version: U.s. English" (if you're in the US, I suppose). Click it, then when the menu opens, select Beta in the drop-down menu. It should be at the bottom.

went to do a testcopy command on the freeport server and it tells me "Test copy logs are disabled for this world at the present time."

It's not test copy, its /beta

How do you know mobs you kill are going toward the 250? Are you suppose to get some quest or counter?

some folks have a DATA cap on thier broadband accounts and when you exceed the cap they charge you additional funds.

No updates when killing critters, but the server keeps track. I just got the mount by doing exactly what I thought would work: killing everything in Blackburrow a couple of times.

WERE is Thunderdome never heard of that place
and I did make a character on Beta and I am doing quests and other things I would do with a new toon she was my only one that did not lose her achievement when the server went of line
and she had 190 kills and I was afraid I had to start all over

Quick question... I've never done the Beta test thing before, but the Sokokar mount with stats has me wanting to try. Question is if I get the mount, is it account bound? Or do I have to copy each character I want the Sokokar for in order to get it for each of them?


Sorry, one more question... Is there a level requirement for the mount? Will my low level alts be able to use it as a ground mount and have the stats with it?

I would love to help test, but all I get when I try to logon the Beta server is a black screen with the EQ music playing. I found some old forum posts about the same problem and they mentioned some DX9 files that were missing....but since we use DX11 now, I doubt that is the problem. Anyone know what I could do to get it working?

again this is how you get on the beta server
get to the launch pad and click on Version in the upper left corner that brings out a drop down menu pick Beta
and apply normally you don't need a full download so make shure that that square is not checked
if you got problems check the square and do a full download wait for the play button to appear press and you should be able to get on the Beta server when you want to go back do the same thing just this time pick US English
it usually takes me 50 seconds to a minute to switch from live to beta or test server and back I belief that all that's changed is what's different
like I said on top you only need a full download if you got problems