Test Servers can be 2 Weeks OR MORE Behind your Regular Client, upwards of a Month I think mine has been Behind.... It all depends on When they do their Updates between the Game Client and the Test Client...
They all give you Gold to 20K, Credits to 100 Million and XP to 100 Million to get your Tanks for Testing if there's something Outside your regular Garage you wanna Use.... However, as said Earlier, for some reason most everyone goes for the End Game Tanks to Test the Newest Mechanics and not the Meat and Potatoes Tiers that ought to be Tested.... This has several Effects and None of Which are Good really...
First, New Players like yourself are Forced into Tiers you don't really need to be In, and even on the Test Server this makes it Harder to get a Good read on the Changes both for WG as well as Yourself.... Spending all Day Back in the Garage because you lasted 30 Sec's to a Minute doesn't get any Testing done at all, let alone give you a Chance to REALLY See any Effect of the New Changes, in this Case the Equipment 2.0 Changes.... It also Limits the AMOUNT of testing you can Do and in How Many Tanks because those Higher Tier Tanks WILL Deplete the Credits and Free XP they give you in a Hurry...
Second, since all the Games are High Tiered, those are the ONLY Tiers they get a "Final Assessment" for and the Lower Tiers get whatever they get and occasionally that Works OK, but Mostly it doesn't.... I do KINDA like the Bot Filler Idea for the Test Server at the Lower Tiers, but the Bots also have all the Mechanics in the Game Programmed into them, and New Players are STILL Learning them so that can still be a Harsh Experience for them, but at least they can Get Lower Tiered Games in as can the More Experienced Players wanting to actually Test the Game Changes and not Drive the Top Tiers because they Finally Can.... It would allow for a Better Cross Section if Results that way at the very least, but until then this is what we're stuck with....
The Upside though is the test Servers are No Harm, No Foul Tanking.... So, what Happens on Test, Stays Test and it IS a Valuable Tool for both Players AND WG alike... But they need to do something to keep Players to Testing the Mechanics more than just Tooling About in Tanks... Warships Testing gives you Basically a Target Tier they want Used, my First Test there was in Tier 6 Ships and this Latest is both Tier 6 AND Tier 8 and they still give you the Resources to use Other Ships, but you have no Issues getting Games in the Target Tiers... So even this might not be a Bad way to Go in Tanks either, at least you'd get a Spread of how the Changes Effect other Tiers and not just the Top one's...