Some more newbie questions. Equipment and Sever ChoiceFollow

Well, it's easier to buy equipment because the market is bloated and there's a lot of coin moving around. So you'll have an easier time selling a couple spiderling silks and buying new armor. But...
Yes, it is. You know, I don't buy the "I was kicked from a group for having substandard equipment" bit very much, though I don't doubt that it's ever happened. I've never been in a group where anyone was kicked out due to their gear and I'd leave a group that ever happened in. Hell, I'd probably group with the guy who got kicked out and try to farm him some gear That said, most "new" players on older servers are alts of a higher level character. They usually are grinding through the initial 10, 20, 30 levels to whenever they feel the game becomes most fun (I can enjoy an alt in the 30's, some people want to race to 60+). The upshot is that they often solo or are being "power-levelled" by a friend if they're playing a solo-unfriendly class (warrior, cleric, etc). On newer servers you more often find less experienced players who are willing to group and play and take their time.
There is a /testbuff command on the Test server that makes you lvl 25 (?) with "appropriate" gear. I don't play on Test so this is hearsay but my understanding is that the "residents" of Test tend to look down on the people who come on just to make Testbuffs. Testbuffs have a reputation for being a pain in the ***, then just making a new Testbuff a day later with a new name. Until you're into your 40's, I'm not sure how warm the reception is.

Test has the lowest population of any server, I do believe. As such, it tends to be pretty insular. Again, I'm not saying all Test players are like that, it's just what I've picked up from reading others' accounts and some nasty manifestos from Test players on forums basicly saying "Proddies Go Home!"

Edited, Tue Jun 8 10:51:51 2004 by Jophiel