Terrors of Thalumbra Beta Starts Tuesday, October 20

From the EQ2 Forums:

That time is almost here! The beta test for Terrors of Thalumbra starts on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. This will be ready for players on Tuesday in the early afternoon.

Everyone that pre-orders Terrors of Thalumbra gets immediate access to the beta server once it goes live. Playing Terrors of Thalumbra on the Beta server also has perks for your live server accounts! There is more information coming soon about the rewards players will be able to earn by testing expansion content on beta.

Here is some information to help you get started in Beta:

How to provide testing feedback:

• Use the /bug or /feedback command in game to open a window and submit information
• Post issues and suggestions in the Terror of Thalumbra Beta Forums (Note: You have to be active in the beta to be able to post on these forums)

How to set up a test character for Beta:

• Beta buff merchant is available on the Freeport and Qeynos docks or at character creation points in Halas, Neriak, Gorowyn, and Kelethin.
• Beta buffer will give you the option to teleport to the Village of Shin to start your tradeskill questline, or to Neriak or Greater Faydark to start the adventuring quest line.

How to copy your character over to the Beta server:

• Log in your character and then type the /beta command. Beta copy will be available after the beta server is ready

To patch and get into the Beta servers:

• Open your station Launchpad
• In the top-left corner, click the ‘Version’ link which will open the ‘Select Game Version’ panel
• Choose ‘Beta’ in the drop-down menu and then hit ‘Apply’ to begin patching
• Hit ‘Play’ once the patching completes

Other Key Points:

• Beta installs into a subfolder that takes about the same space as your live game version.
• Remember to set the ‘Version’ back to your regular setting to access your normal server.
• The Beta server may not be accessible at all times, as patching occurs when it is necessary.
• The Beta server is wiped periodically, meaning Beta characters may be deleted with or without notice.

We look forward to hearing your feedback about Terrors of Thalumbra and seeing you on the Beta server!

Pre-ordering gives you immediate access to the Terrors of Thalumbra beta servers and Altar of the Ancients, a special housing item that grants daily XP gain. If you haven’t already pre-ordered Terrors of Thalumbra, you can do so here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When can I /beta copy?
A: Beta Copies will be available on Thursday. In the meantime, you can use the Beta Buffer at the zone-in point when you create a new character to get straight to level 100 with full gear.

Q: Why can’t I access Beta?
A: The Terrors of Thalumbra beta requires you to purchase the expansion (either the Regular, Collector’s, or Premium editions) before being able to Beta test.

Q: Where are the Beta forums?
A: The Terrors of Thalumbra beta forums are accessible here.

Get to EverQuest II Beta in 15-30 Minutes

Once you switch to Beta in the EQ2 Launchpad, the launcher will start downloading the entire Beta client including 18GB of data. You can reduce that to less than 1GB (and reduce patch time to 15-30 minutes) by following these instructions…

1. If your EverQuest II launcher is running, close and reopen it.

2. Click the game version (US English, etc.) in the lower left corner next to “Version”:

3. Change the Game Version to “Beta” and click “Apply”:

4. Allow the Launchpad to start downloading and run for 60 seconds. Now proceed to step 5.

5. Click the Gear icon in the lower left corner of the Launchpad and then click “Open Game Directory” to open your EverQuest II folder.

6. CLOSE the Launchpad and then follow either 7a or 7b below:

7a. FULL DOWNLOAD (STANDARD): Ctrl-click on your music and paks folders, and then press [Ctrl]-C. Click on your BetaServer folder and press [Ctrl]-V. It will take a few minutes to copy your live files to beta.

7b. STREAMING: Click on your assetcache folder, and then press [Ctrl]-C. Now click on your BetaServer folder and press [Ctrl-V]. It will take a few minutes to copy your live files to beta.

8. It will take a few minutes to replicate your EverQuest II graphics and music files from Live to Beta. You can click “Replace” whenever prompted to overwrite any files.

9. Now that the copy is complete, re-run the Launchpad and it will take another 15-20 minutes for patching to complete.

10. Click Play! If Beta is up and running and you have been invited, you will now be able to play.

CAUTION: Do not copy the entire EverQuest II folder into your BetaServer folder as there may be potential file conflicts which could cause problems playing the game — also you don’t want to copy over your Logs and Screenshots folders to Beta as this is just a waste of space.

NOTE: If you use a custom UI such as ProfitUI, DrumsUI, DarkUI, Fetish Nightfall, etc. you will want to use the default UI until the authors of these scripts have updated them.

NOTE: If your Launchpad crashes before it gets you into EQ2, delete your \EverQuest II\Launchpad.libs file.

NOTE: If EQ2 Beta crashes immediately after launching, go to your main EverQuest II directory and copy the D3DCompiler_43.dll and D3DX9_43.dll files to your BetaServer folder.