Why do we have to start at level 1 all over on PTS? I wanted to test but it takes too long to start over everything. Do we have some level boost so we can test out the new content right away everything all over again?
You don't have to start at level 1; you can start from level 1 (level 3?, "none"), level 12 ("Fungal Grotto"), and veteran rank 12 ("Craglorn"). It's easy to miss, though.
On the character creation screen, in the very upper-left corner, there is a black drop-down bar. Clicking on it lets you select "none," "Craglorn" and "Fungal Grotto." If you select Craglorn, you'll start out with a VR12 character (but you'll be limited to the DC and DC races).