Should SE Implement a Public Test Server? (Talk on Released Content)

[Zumi]

They did this in FFXI have test server but only 1-3 people would even be on it at a time so they stopped doing it. You really couldn't try out alliance content because so few people would be on it. Probably something similar would happen if they did it for ff14. In the end it turned into a log on just to see this NM that is never up so you can joke about actually killing it.

[MilesSaintboroguh]

They did this in FFXI have test server but only 1-3 people would even be on it at a time so they stopped doing it. You really couldn't try out alliance content because so few people would be on it. Probably something similar would happen if they did it for ff14. In the end it turned into a log on just to see this NM that is never up so you can joke about actually killing it.

Or the fact you'd also have people playing on test servers just to play with the new toys and not give any feedback.

[SgtPepperUK]

Or the fact you'd also have people playing on test servers just to play with the new toys and not give any feedback.

In other MMOs I've tried where there's been a test server it has been pretty much this to the point that test players have kept hush-hush about a discovered exploit so they can use it once the content goes live.

Test servers have the potential to be useful in theory but, in practice, I don't feel those games, at least the ones I've tried that had test servers, were any better for it.