diff --git a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/BufferReferenceTest.cs b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/BufferReferenceTest.cs
index a34a26d7f..827c186c3 100644
--- a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/BufferReferenceTest.cs
+++ b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/BufferReferenceTest.cs
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ public async Task Buffer_high_pressure_pub_test()
         {
             Url = _server.Url,
             RequestReplyMode = NatsRequestReplyMode.Direct,
+            CommandTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30),
         });
 
         await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
diff --git a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/PingCancellationTest.cs b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/PingCancellationTest.cs
index 459c1eeac..81e8d823b 100644
--- a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/PingCancellationTest.cs
+++ b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/PingCancellationTest.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 using NATS.Client.TestUtilities;
+using NATS.Client.TestUtilities2;
 using Synadia.Orbit.Testing.NatsServerProcessManager;
 
 namespace NATS.Client.Core.Tests;
@@ -19,8 +20,9 @@ public async Task PingAsync_succeeds_with_mock_server()
             logger: m => _output.WriteLine(m),
             cancellationToken: cts.Token);
 
+        await server.Ready;
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         var rtt = await nats.PingAsync(cts.Token);
         rtt.Should().BeGreaterThan(TimeSpan.Zero);
@@ -36,8 +38,9 @@ public async Task PingAsync_multiple_sequential_pings_succeed()
             logger: m => _output.WriteLine(m),
             cancellationToken: cts.Token);
 
+        await server.Ready;
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         for (var i = 0; i < 5; i++)
         {
@@ -75,8 +78,9 @@ public async Task PingAsync_throws_when_cancelled_waiting_for_pong()
             autoPong: false,
             cancellationToken: cts.Token);
 
+        await server.Ready;
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         // This ping should time out because the server won't reply PONG
         using var pingCts = new CancellationTokenSource(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(500));
@@ -95,8 +99,9 @@ public async Task PingAsync_concurrent_pings_all_complete()
             logger: m => _output.WriteLine(m),
             cancellationToken: cts.Token);
 
+        await server.Ready;
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         // Fire multiple pings concurrently — exercises the pool and concurrent SetResult paths
         var tasks = new Task<TimeSpan>[10];
@@ -118,7 +123,7 @@ public async Task PingAsync_succeeds_against_real_server()
         await using var server = await NatsServerProcess.StartAsync();
 
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         var rtt = await nats.PingAsync();
         rtt.Should().BeGreaterThan(TimeSpan.Zero);
@@ -130,7 +135,7 @@ public async Task PingAsync_times_out_after_server_stopped()
         await using var server = await NatsServerProcess.StartAsync();
 
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         // Verify ping works while server is up
         var rtt = await nats.PingAsync();
diff --git a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/ProtocolParserSizeCheckTest.cs b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/ProtocolParserSizeCheckTest.cs
index 91fa59019..099ba7400 100644
--- a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/ProtocolParserSizeCheckTest.cs
+++ b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/ProtocolParserSizeCheckTest.cs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 using System.Text;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using NATS.Client.TestUtilities;
+using NATS.Client.TestUtilities2;
 
 namespace NATS.Client.Core.Tests;
 
@@ -22,7 +23,8 @@ public async Task Msg_with_payload_exceeding_max_payload_does_not_oom()
         var logFactory = new InMemoryTestLoggerFactory(LogLevel.Error, m => output.WriteLine($"[LOG] {m.Message}"));
         await using var server = new FakeServer(output);
 
-        await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url, LoggerFactory = logFactory });
+        await server.Ready;
+        await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url, LoggerFactory = logFactory, ConnectTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10) });
         await nats.ConnectAsync();
 
         using var cts = new CancellationTokenSource(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
@@ -49,7 +51,8 @@ public async Task Msg_with_negative_payload_length_does_not_oom()
         var logFactory = new InMemoryTestLoggerFactory(LogLevel.Error, m => output.WriteLine($"[LOG] {m.Message}"));
         await using var server = new FakeServer(output);
 
-        await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url, LoggerFactory = logFactory });
+        await server.Ready;
+        await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url, LoggerFactory = logFactory, ConnectTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10) });
         await nats.ConnectAsync();
 
         using var cts = new CancellationTokenSource(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
@@ -76,7 +79,8 @@ public async Task Hmsg_with_total_less_than_headers_does_not_oom()
         var logFactory = new InMemoryTestLoggerFactory(LogLevel.Error, m => output.WriteLine($"[LOG] {m.Message}"));
         await using var server = new FakeServer(output);
 
-        await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url, LoggerFactory = logFactory });
+        await server.Ready;
+        await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url, LoggerFactory = logFactory, ConnectTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10) });
         await nats.ConnectAsync();
 
         using var cts = new CancellationTokenSource(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
@@ -103,7 +107,8 @@ public async Task Hmsg_with_total_exceeding_max_payload_does_not_oom()
         var logFactory = new InMemoryTestLoggerFactory(LogLevel.Error, m => output.WriteLine($"[LOG] {m.Message}"));
         await using var server = new FakeServer(output);
 
-        await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url, LoggerFactory = logFactory });
+        await server.Ready;
+        await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url, LoggerFactory = logFactory, ConnectTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10) });
         await nats.ConnectAsync();
 
         using var cts = new CancellationTokenSource(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
@@ -178,8 +183,9 @@ public async Task Valid_msg_still_works()
             logger: m => output.WriteLine(m),
             cancellationToken: cts.Token);
 
+        await server.Ready;
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         await foreach (var msg in nats.SubscribeAsync<string>("foo", cancellationToken: cts.Token))
         {
@@ -197,7 +203,8 @@ public async Task Valid_hmsg_still_works()
     {
         await using var server = new FakeServer(output);
 
-        await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
+        await server.Ready;
+        await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url, ConnectTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10) });
         await nats.ConnectAsync();
 
         using var cts = new CancellationTokenSource(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
@@ -231,6 +238,7 @@ private sealed class FakeServer : IAsyncDisposable
         private readonly TcpListener _listener;
         private readonly CancellationTokenSource _cts = new(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30));
         private readonly TaskCompletionSource _accepted = new();
+        private readonly TaskCompletionSource _ready = new();
         private readonly Dictionary<string, TaskCompletionSource> _subWaiters = new();
         private TcpClient? _tcpClient;
         private StreamWriter? _writer;
@@ -250,6 +258,8 @@ public FakeServer(ITestOutputHelper output, string info = "{\"max_payload\":1048
 
         public int Port { get; }
 
+        public Task Ready => _ready.Task;
+
         public string Url => $"127.0.0.1:{Port}";
 
         /// <summary>
@@ -309,6 +319,7 @@ public async ValueTask DisposeAsync()
 
         private async Task AcceptAndServeAsync(string info)
         {
+            _ready.SetResult();
             _tcpClient = await _listener.AcceptTcpClientAsync();
             var stream = _tcpClient.GetStream();
             var encoding = Encoding.GetEncoding(28591);
diff --git a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/RequestReplyTest.cs b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/RequestReplyTest.cs
index c4d9f269b..848fef370 100644
--- a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/RequestReplyTest.cs
+++ b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/RequestReplyTest.cs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 using System.Text.Json.Nodes;
 using NATS.Client.Core2.Tests;
 using NATS.Client.Core2.Tests.ExtraUtils.FrameworkPolyfillExtensions;
+using NATS.Client.TestUtilities2;
 
 namespace NATS.Client.Core.Tests;
 
@@ -233,6 +234,7 @@ public async Task Request_reply_many_test_start_up_timeout()
     public async Task Request_reply_many_test_max_count()
     {
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = _server.Url });
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         var sub = await nats.SubscribeCoreAsync<int>("foo");
         var reg = sub.Register(async msg =>
diff --git a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/SendBufferTest.cs b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/SendBufferTest.cs
index bdc5aa335..c995a720d 100644
--- a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/SendBufferTest.cs
+++ b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/SendBufferTest.cs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 using System.Net.Sockets;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using NATS.Client.TestUtilities;
+using NATS.Client.TestUtilities2;
 #if !NET6_0_OR_GREATER
 using NATS.Client.Core.Internal.NetStandardExtensions;
 #endif
@@ -40,8 +41,9 @@ void Log(string m)
 
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
 
+        await server.Ready;
         Log($"[C] connect {server.Url}");
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         Log($"[C] ping");
         var rtt = await nats.PingAsync(cts.Token);
@@ -128,10 +130,12 @@ void Log(string m)
         {
             Url = server.Url,
             LoggerFactory = testLogger,
+            CommandTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30),
         });
 
+        await server.Ready;
         Log($"[C] connect {server.Url}");
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         Log($"[C] ping");
         var rtt = await nats.PingAsync(cts.Token);
diff --git a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/Utf8SubjectTest.cs b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/Utf8SubjectTest.cs
index 00704fee7..73211e873 100644
--- a/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/Utf8SubjectTest.cs
+++ b/tests/NATS.Client.Core2.Tests/Utf8SubjectTest.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 using System.Text;
 using NATS.Client.Core2.Tests;
 using NATS.Client.TestUtilities;
+using NATS.Client.TestUtilities2;
 
 namespace NATS.Client.Core.Tests;
 
@@ -37,8 +38,9 @@ public async Task Utf8_subject_is_decoded_correctly()
             },
             cancellationToken: cts.Token);
 
+        await server.Ready;
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         await foreach (var msg in nats.SubscribeAsync<string>(">", cancellationToken: cts.Token))
         {
@@ -77,8 +79,9 @@ public async Task Emoji_subject_and_reply_to_are_decoded_correctly()
             },
             cancellationToken: cts.Token);
 
+        await server.Ready;
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         await foreach (var msg in nats.SubscribeAsync<string>(">", cancellationToken: cts.Token))
         {
@@ -123,8 +126,9 @@ public async Task Utf8_subject_with_hmsg_is_decoded_correctly_mock()
             },
             cancellationToken: cts.Token);
 
+        await server.Ready;
         await using var nats = new NatsConnection(new NatsOpts { Url = server.Url });
-        await nats.ConnectAsync();
+        await nats.ConnectRetryAsync();
 
         await foreach (var msg in nats.SubscribeAsync<string>(">", cancellationToken: cts.Token))
         {
diff --git a/tests/NATS.Client.JetStream.Tests/SlowConsumerTest.cs b/tests/NATS.Client.JetStream.Tests/SlowConsumerTest.cs
index 14a9f391a..f8707eca0 100644
--- a/tests/NATS.Client.JetStream.Tests/SlowConsumerTest.cs
+++ b/tests/NATS.Client.JetStream.Tests/SlowConsumerTest.cs
@@ -276,7 +276,10 @@ public async Task JetStream_fetch_slow_consumer_should_not_block_connection()
             {
                 var rtt = await pingTask;
                 pingCount++;
-                if (rtt.TotalMilliseconds > maxPingRttMs)
+
+                // Skip the first ping for max RTT calculation since it
+                // legitimately catches the tail of the 100-message publish burst.
+                if (i > 0 && rtt.TotalMilliseconds > maxPingRttMs)
                     maxPingRttMs = rtt.TotalMilliseconds;
                 _output.WriteLine($"Ping {i + 1}: RTT {rtt.TotalMilliseconds}ms");
             }
diff --git a/tests/NATS.Client.KeyValueStore.Tests/NatsKVWatcherTest.cs b/tests/NATS.Client.KeyValueStore.Tests/NatsKVWatcherTest.cs
index 2589a8927..9d9301fb1 100644
--- a/tests/NATS.Client.KeyValueStore.Tests/NatsKVWatcherTest.cs
+++ b/tests/NATS.Client.KeyValueStore.Tests/NatsKVWatcherTest.cs
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ public async Task Watch_subset()
     [Fact]
     public async Task Watcher_timeout_reconnect()
     {
-        var timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30);
+        var timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60);
 
         var cts = new CancellationTokenSource(timeout);
         var cancellationToken = cts.Token;
diff --git a/tests/NATS.Client.TestUtilities/MockServer.cs b/tests/NATS.Client.TestUtilities/MockServer.cs
index 4bde4af8a..0583e6c69 100644
--- a/tests/NATS.Client.TestUtilities/MockServer.cs
+++ b/tests/NATS.Client.TestUtilities/MockServer.cs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ public class MockServer : IAsyncDisposable
     private readonly List<Task> _clients = new();
     private readonly Task _accept;
     private readonly CancellationTokenSource _cts;
+    private readonly TaskCompletionSource _ready = new();
     private readonly bool _autoPong;
 
     public MockServer(
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ public MockServer(
         _accept = Task.Run(
             async () =>
             {
+                _ready.SetResult();
                 var n = 0;
                 while (!cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
                 {
@@ -151,6 +153,8 @@ public MockServer(
 
     public int Port { get; }
 
+    public Task Ready => _ready.Task;
+
     public string Url => $"127.0.0.1:{Port}";
 
     public async ValueTask DisposeAsync()