Perks of playing EQ1 Test Server

Well I have returned to my old game that started it all for me... EQ1. EQ is now F2P so i started up 4 characters on a regular server as Silver membership (can create 4 characters at Silver per account). Played around for a few weeks and the feeling that only Everquest could give me and no other game has since Everquest was created was back!!! I fell in LOVE with the game all over again :)

I also heard that the Test Server was the best place to play so I did some research to find out why. Here are the perks:

Friendly reminder for those that do not know or may have forgotten. The test server is F2P and comes with perks that usually require an active paid subscription (you get full GOLD Membership).

PERKS

• Full content unlocked including all expansions (equivalent of paid subscription on live servers + expansions free).
• You can make up to 8 characters per account on Test.
• No limitations on Mercs, so as a F2P player you can get the journeyman mercs on test (you have free Gold Membership)
• Test Server is always ongoing, so never wipes.
• Test receives all new content and expansions weeks before regular servers.
• Serverwide DOUBLE EXP! This applies to LOTD & Hotzones as well so you can effectively get 8x EXP!!
• Ability to copy over ANY existing toon from ANY server by logging in and typing /testcopy! The only limit is once every 8 hours, so just keep copying over an alt with all your cash and special items on it and you will never have cash problems in game :)
• Leveling is really fast, you actually see your EXP bar move when you kill stuff (not like days of old when it took 3 days of hardcore playing to get 5% EXP, lol)
• Ability to instantly level any new level 1 character to level 25 will a full suit of armor and all spells/songs for that class by typing /testbuffme.
• Immediate unlock of ALL veteran reward AA's. Your account doesn't need to be from 1999 to get all of the beneficial veteran AA's!
• Decent sized player activity results in enough people on to usually find a group but not so many people on that certain things are perma camped.
• There are raiding guilds on Test.
• Multiboxers are welcomed and not harassed.
• You can be power leveled from level 26-100 in 1 day by friends or guildies.

I have probably missed a couple of things, but this is a good start. You have to have a separate EQ1 install for Test Server so Download Test here: https://launch.soe.com/everquest/

Also if you ever played the LoN card game and have packs that need opening you can get the fastest mounts in game from the loot cards.

And remember to /testcopy from live server to Test with all your plat, and then /testcopy an alt with all your plat at least once a day to build up your funds in game :) If you don't have any plat on a live server you can purchase a KRONO from SOE store for $17.99 and sell for 100k plat on live servers, then you can copy the plat over to test.

Good Luck and happy hunting :)

any downside? i mean that sounds so good.. why even play on a normal server?!?! I'm guessing it is the same for EQ2

I haven't found a downside yet, don't think people play on it because they really don't have any idea what is there :). The only downside that may occur is finding groups (it is a low population server), but as a multiboxer I'm already a group so that doesn't effect me, lol. Most of the population is in the endgame levels (80-100).

EQ2 Test wipes and isn't always being used so they shut down the server till next test they do. EQ1 test is always being used and never wipes, and they never shut down the server except for patches and regular server maintenance.

In June 2000 EQ1 did a Test Server wipe of around 2000 characters and found this to be detrimental to their testing environment because everyone who played on Test said they wouldn't come back. So EQ reinstated the characters and made the Test Server a PERMANENT server so that testing will always continue. In June 2011, EQ removed all the restrictions of copying over to Test and added all the benefits that are there now in order to recruit more people to the Test Server.

So all the perks we get on Test Server were put in place to get people to play on Test. But maybe people fear that SOE will screw them in the end so they won't play on Test? But I mainly think it is because of the population (low population server).

I am having a blast on the Test Server. I am running thru alot of the old content just for kicks, and playing the new content while leveling. I see people in every zone I go into just about so the server population seems pretty good to me and i'm only level 70 with my guys right now :)

Because you can copy over plat every 8 hours there really isn't much of an economy. On a good day I see maybe 10 people selling in the Bazaar, and the prices are pretty cheap so i'm thinking people just sell stuff just to be friendly and helpful to people on the server.

People are always calling out loot that is rotting in a zone in General Chat for people to come and get for free. Always see people giving away free stuff in General chat to whoever claims it first. To be truthful I don't think I have seen anyone selling anything in Chat but I have seen people wanting to buy stuff in chat (mostly tradeskill stuff).

So you keep copying the same character over evry 8 hours? I read someone say you can buy a group exp potion and then keep copying it over, how exactly does that work. (by the way going to be 3 boxing Sk/Mage/Shaman/ also have a necro I may switch in every once and a while. Btw i have played on test 2 days and found the community excellent a far cry from Vox ( I hate that server.)

umm.. Just a heads up.. Coins dont transfer, and all items are not tradeable.

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/story.html?story=14888

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by warweasel

umm.. Just a heads up.. Coins dont transfer, and all items are not tradeable.

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/story.html?story=14888

---

than kind of kills it, no?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shadowlord63

PERKS

• Full content unlocked including all expansions (equivalent of paid subscription on live servers + expansions free).
• You can make up to 8 characters per account on Test.
• No limitations on Mercs, so as a F2P player you can get the journeyman mercs on test (you have free Gold Membership)
• Test Server is always ongoing, so never wipes.
• Test receives all new content and expansions weeks before regular servers.
• Serverwide DOUBLE EXP! This applies to LOTD & Hotzones as well so you can effectively get 8x EXP!!
• Ability to copy over ANY existing toon from ANY server by logging in and typing /testcopy! The only limit is once every 8 hours, so just keep copying over an alt with all your cash and special items on it and you will never have cash problems in game :)
• Leveling is really fast, you actually see your EXP bar move when you kill stuff (not like days of old when it took 3 days of hardcore playing to get 5% EXP, lol)
• Ability to instantly level any new level 1 character to level 25 will a full suit of armor and all spells/songs for that class by typing /testbuffme.
• Immediate unlock of ALL veteran reward AA's. Your account doesn't need to be from 1999 to get all of the beneficial veteran AA's!
• Decent sized player activity results in enough people on to usually find a group but not so many people on that certain things are perma camped.
• There are raiding guilds on Test.
• Multiboxers are welcomed and not harassed.
• You can be power leveled from level 26-100 in 1 day by friends or guildies.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by warweasel

umm.. Just a heads up.. Coins dont transfer, and all items are not tradeable.

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/story.html?story=14888

---

I'm confused. Is the official site wrong? Has that changed since the post? (Sep 2nd, 2008 at 8:44 AM by Railus)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by warweasel http://www.dual-boxing.com/images/bu...post-right.png umm.. Just a heads up.. Coins dont transfer, and all items are not tradeable.

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/story.html?story=14888

---

That story is from 2008. Coin and items still copy over. If you play on FV server you can even copy over raid gear to Test and its tradeable. But only from FV Server.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shadowlord63

That story is from 2008. Coin and items still copy over. If you play on FV server you can even copy over raid gear to Test and its tradeable. But only from FV Server.

---

Yes. I can confirm that you are now able to transfer over coin.

Are you sure about gear from FV? I will have to check that for sure!

What group are you running with? I'm working on 1 bard and 4 mages. I'm Bowd in game btw.

When I play, I'm using:

Wizard (DPS) Blowing Stuff Up/Gates/Evac
Mage (DPS) Pet Main Tank/DPS/Call of Hero
Mage (DPS) Pet Off Tank/DPS/Summoned Stuff
Enchanter (DPS/Utility) Charm/Buffs/Crowd-Control
Bard (Utility) Pulling/Melodies/Overhaste
Druid (Heals) Snare/Heals/Gates/Evac

6-box.

I'm currently visiting relatives so haven't played in a while. FV rules are that raid gear that drops can be traded or sold. So if you get raid gear on FV from raids or bazaar traders, you can copy it to Test, but if its bound to your character you can't trade it. There are several people on FV who will sell you a full set of copied raid gear for plat or kronos and they advertise all the time in chat.

I play everything, but my main is a SK. My group just sets in a corner and my SK swarm pulls about 20 mobs and kills them. So my group makeup doesn't really matter, lol.

Yea, realized the error of my 'coins dont transfer' post. I had traded 20k to a toon and then /testcopy on that toon, but didnt save/zone to have it register before the /testcopy. Hence, the coins didn't transfer.

Just wondering, but anybody be willing to let me borrow their plat/items they transfer to test for a few minutes so that i can swap them around between my toons and then /testcopy them? Most of my old 7 accts have naked toons on them apparently, so wasn't really able to scrape up much to /testcopy. Just ended up making some new accts and starting over on test. Could really use the coin though, a PITA to gear up a new 6box.

Or, anyone on FV that has a few Potion of Shared Adventure II-III that i can borrow to /testcopy for helping level my toons?

Is the server pretty stable? Some folks have said it drops pretty regularly, and if goes down on a weekend, it stays down until that monday.

Test is as reliable as regular servers. If there are problems on the weekend though there is no one to help you.