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Free Character Migrations for select EU realms
Players on EU realms looking for a change of pace or simply a new place to call home should take note -- Blizzard has opened up free Character Migrations for select EU realms. These Character Migrations are a one-time move from a predetermined list of source realms to a choice of a few destination realms. It's a one-time, one-way move, but it's absolutely free of charge for those that want to take advantage of the process while it's available. At the moment, these Character Migrations will be available until October 23. However, they can be closed down at any time, if enough people have taken advantage of the offer. Players may also want to note that this is on an individual character basis only. Any guild leaders looking to move their guilds may do so through the Guild Master Realm Transfer service, which they'll still need to pay for. However, guild members that want to follow to the new realm can do so for free with the Character Migration offer. Please note -- this service is only available to EU realms, and at this time, there are no free Character Migrations available for US players. Read on for the official announcement, as well as the full list of available realms for the Free Character Migration offer.
Dark Age of Camelot plans character transfer service and new art
Dark Age of Camelot's grab bag -- written by Sir Grabford B. Bagsworth III Esq., no less -- is back, and at the top of the most pressing questions is the issue of character transfers. Broadsword said that these are indeed in the works: "We would like to provide the opportunity to allow consolidation. This will be among the many updates and upgrades to the Broadsword account center that is currently underway. Currently, it's planned as a premium service –- but there are no details on the prices as yet." Broadsword mentions how art improvements have been going in the game following the studio's acquisition of DAoC. "We have renewed investment in this area, and we're really excited about updating art for various features in DAoC. Things we're currently discussing are: fixes for art-related bugs, new maps, UI skins, new items, monsters, and more!" Other topics in the grab bag include the return of in-game surveys, the status of the new website, and details of the next patch. The studio teased that it will be adding "a new long-term live event with a very cool surprise" with the update.
Free character transfers opening next week for select NA realms
Select North American realms that are experiencing high queue times will have an opportunity to catch some relief. Community Manager Bashiok announced that next week, Free Character Migrations will be offered to players on these high-queue realms -- players choosing to partake in the service will be allowed to transfer to slightly less crowded realms in order to ease queue times. Bashiok We'll be offering Free Character Migrations next week for realms currently seeing high queue times at login. Those looking to avoid waiting to log in can take advantage of the free transfers to a set destination realm. We're targeting the middle of next week for these Free Character Migrations to become available, and they'll remain open for approximately one week, or until a destination realm fills up. If you're looking to transfer with others we recommend setting up plans early to avoid any stragglers being left behind. Quote: Area 52 & Stormrage >--> Turalyon Tichondrius & Illidan >--> Blackrock Bleeding Hollow & Darkspear >--> Korgath The transfers will be announced on the front page once available. source Keep in mind that this is a free Character Migration -- this does not include the Guild Transfer service. For more information on the Free Character Migration service, including eligibility guidelines, take a look at Blizzard's official FAQ on the topic.
Free EU character migrations for select realms
For European players on select realms, you have a limited time -- until January 14th -- to hop to a new realm for free. Here's the list of transfers currently on offer: Takralus PvE Realms Draenor -> Magtheridon, Wildhammer, Kilrogg Silvermoon -> Magtheridon, Wildhammer, Kilrogg PvP Realms Kazzak -> The Maelstrom, Grim Batol, Tarren Mill*, Ravencrest* Outland -> The Maelstrom, Grim Batol, Tarren Mill*, Ravencrest* Ragnaros -> The Maelstrom, Grim Batol, Tarren Mill* Ravencrest* Stormscale -> The Maelstrom, Grim Batol, Tarren Mill* Ravencrest* Sylvanas -> The Maelstrom, Grim Batol, Tarren Mill* Ravencrest* Twisting Nether -> The Maelstrom, Grim Batol, Tarren Mill* Ravencrest*, Frostmane* *FCMs to Tarren Mill, Ravencrest, and Frostmane are unlikely to be available after 14 January, 2014. source These transfers are available to both factions and could be cut off at any time -- even before January 14, if Blizzard hits the realm population numbers they're targeting -- so if you're interested in transferring, act fast. These migrations follow the standard character transfer rules, so read up before you make plans to move.
Free Character Migrations available for EU players
If you're a European player looking for a new home, the search may just have gotten easier -- or at the very least, far less expensive. Blizzard is now offering free Character Migrations for players on certain EU realms. This process has been opened based on realm population tracking and analysis, and isn't available for every EU realm on the list. However, if you're on one of the lower population realms that has been listed, you can find yourself a sunny, higher-populated new home for free. Keep in mind that this offer is for European realms only -- US realms are not open for free transfers at this time, although that might change in the future. Also note that this is a Character Migration only -- Guild Master Realm Transfers are still available, but they remain a paid service. The full list of eligible realms, as well as the full post by Community Manager Takralus, is available after the break.
PlanetSide 2 inches toward character transfers but can't make cross-platform play happen
It's time for another exciting episode of Good News, Bad News with your host, Mr. Matt Higby! PlanetSide 2's creative director had a few things to say at SOE Live about the challenges of running the game across multiple platforms. The good news is that SOE is looking into character transfers that will allow players to jump between PC and PlayStation 4 versions. The bad news is that, at least for now, cross-platform play isn't possible. "Because of the update cadence, and the additional steps you have to go through to be able to release an update on the PlayStation network, we're not going to be able to keep our servers in sync, so you won't be able to just play with the same people," said Higby. "But we're also talking about having character portability, so a PC character could transfer to PlayStation 4 and then back. The character format's the same on both; it's just purely a matter of the server updates."
Free character transfers for certain US realms
If you're looking to escape your current WoW realm for greener pastures, Blizzard is currently offering free character transfers from select US realms to select US realms. Currently, the available free transfers are: Stormrage -> Trollbane Area 52 -> Turalyon Darkspear -> Vashj Tichondrius -> Blackrock Illidan -> Mannoroth Bleeding Hollow -> Korgath The transfers will be available until July 25th... or until Blizzard decides they've transferred enough characters and closes down transfers. So if you're keen to move your character, jump on it soon! After transfers are closed, you'll have to pay the usual $25 fee to move your character. For more details on free transfers, check out the Free Character Migration FAQ or jump in and get started moving your character right now.
Free character moves offered to select US servers
Higher population servers getting you down? Isle of Thunder too crowded to get anything done? You're in luck! Blizzard is offering free character moves from and to select servers as follows: Source Realm --> Destination Tichondrius --> Blackrock Illidan --> Mannoroth Stormrage --> Trollbane Blizzard notes that due to the unpredictable nature of free transfers, they may close down any Free Character Moves at any time and without warning if the target realm becomes full. So, if you plan on moving realms with friends or a guild, be sure to coordinate plans. These transfers are like Blizzard's paid character services, they're one-time, and one-way. If you change your mind after the free character transfer, you'll have to shell out the $25 USD to go elsewhere. As it stands, the free character moves have already begun, but will end on Thursday, March 21. If you'd like to get started, head over to Blizzard's Free Character Migration FAQ.
Star Wars: The Old Republic rolls out consolidation of locked servers [Updated]
Star Wars: The Old Republic has been making a move toward fewer servers with higher populations for a while, but tomorrow's maintenance is the final step. After character transfers earlier in the year and the higher-population technology rollout, the server lists are being fully merged as of tomorrow. If you still have characters on a locked server, they will be transferred over to their new home tomorrow whether you like it or not. For those players curious about their new destination or the ever-present naming issue, the team has created an FAQ to answer any obvious questions. The character limit on the destination servers has also been raised to 12. Players who have more than 12 total characters after consolidation will still have access to all of their characters but cannot create any new characters until they delete a few (although all of the characters will be available for play). As with any sort of transfer, there's still some ambiguity about how smoothly everything will run, so players will have to keep their eyes peeled, log in tomorrow, and see what happens after the dust settles. [Update: The team also just released a miniature dev blog that explains how shadows will soon be prettified.]
SWTOR character transfers now available
BioWare has just published a website update detailing its new Star Wars: The Old Republic character transfer service. Eligibility requirements are pretty straightforward: Your account can't be banned, and the character in question can't be a guildmaster. BioWare says that guilds will not be transferred, so if you're a guild leader, you'll need to re-form on your new shard and petition customer service for access to your guild bank. The posting says that transfers will be made available gradually, starting with the least populated servers first. An updated listing of servers is also available. Further details, including how to start the transfer process, are available at the official SWTOR site.
SWTOR patch 1.3 bringing group finder, legacy perks
A long time ago on a server far, far away, the Imperial forces BioWare prepared a Star Wars: The Old Republic update to rule the online world: patch 1.3. Called Allies, patch 1.3 will usher in a group finder, character transfers, and legacy perks. The group finder will aid in banding together interested adventurers to tackle operations and flashpoints. Lead Designer Daniel Erickson said that the time is ripe for the feature, as players are spread out in levels and are rolling plenty of alts. Saying that BioWare wants to "respect the communities" that have formed, Erickson reports that the group finder will not be cross-server. He also revealed some of the other key features for patch 1.3. Additional perks to the Legacy system will allow players to customize their experience; we'll see new ports, earlier access to mounts, and bonus XP modifiers for PvP. The patch will also change social gear to fit the armor type of the class using it, server transfers, and the ability to add augments to any crafting items. Looking past 1.3, Erickson promises a "return to big content" with patch 1.4. If you're a fan of the SWTOR novels, you'll also be delighted to hear that Drew Karpyshyn announced that his next novel, Annihilation, is scheduled for November 13th. You can watch the patch 1.3 preview video after the jump!
SWTOR preps character transfer service for this summer
Feeling grounded on a particular Star Wars: The Old Republic server while your friends are hyperjumping on a different one? BioWare says relief for player segregation is in sight, as the studio is preparing for character transfers in SWTOR starting "in early summer." According to Senior Producer Dallas Dickinson, the service will be made available in waves. The studio will begin by offering free transfers to and from specific servers, but later on there will be a more widespread system that will allow anyone to transfer to the server of their choice. The service should help alleviate issues with low population servers by offering transfers to high-pop ones. It's important to note that while some of these transfers will be free, others will require a real-world fee. SWTOR recently released in new territories including the Middle East and has plans for additional playable races for later this year.
SWTOR launches in the Asia Pacific region
Jury-rigged methods to create an Oceanic server are needed no longer: Star Wars: The Old Republic has officially launched -- a day early! -- in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore. BioWare is offering both the standard and digital deluxe version (the latter through Origin) for sale to interested space jockeys. The prices for both the client and subscriptions are in step with what we've seen from the North American and European product. Asia Pacific players who not only jump on board but either subscribe or use a 60-day game card by the end of April will also receive a Founder's Medal, which grants an in-game title. BioWare is aware that many players in these countries have already begun to play on NA servers, and as such the studio is offering a "limited-time opportunity" to transfer for free to a local server in late April. Entire guild transfers, however, will not be possible. The SWTOR FAQ page has more information about the transfer process and payment methods available.
Waaaghon Ho!: Warhammer Online merging servers following free transfers
Saddle up, rough riders: It's time to head to more fertile lands! Starting next week, select Warhammer Online players will be given the option to transfer between servers for free. The decision is Mythic's attempt to merge underpopulated servers, and the company hopes that this move will drive up the action in RvR for previously quiet locations. Players on the Gorfang (North America) and Karak Azgal (Europe) will be able to move house to Badlands and Karak Norn, respectively, starting December 14th. Once this happens, Gorfang and Karak Azgal will be marked as "Legacy" servers, keeping new players from rolling on them, and then after three weeks, the two servers will be shut down completely. Any characters left on those servers will not be playable until they transfer to their new homes. Mythic is also paving the way for guilds to move wholesale to new servers, with more information about this coming next week.
Star Trek Online opens character transfers to the test server
When the testing process started for Star Trek Online's upcoming free-to-play version, players were limited to creating new characters rather than bringing over old favorites. The reasoning was simple: Because the game will be flinging the doors open to a flood of new players, that experience absolutely needs to be top-notch. But now that the testing has been ongoing for some time, the Tribble test server is open for players to bring a higher-ranked Federation or Klingon character across. Naturally, there are some restrictions to the process, namely that players are limited in their overall number of characters transferred. Characters will also be updated to the newer game version, meaning several currency changes for Federation characters and a long list of changes for any Klingon characters. The newest entry in the Path to F2P blog series outlines the details, which should be pertinent to any players eager to see what their characters will play like when the business model shifts.
Free character transfers open from Outland-EU to select EU realms
If you're on the Outland (EU) realm, you're in luck! Blizzard's Vaneras has announced in a blue post today that free character transfers have been opened from Outland to Agamaggan, Burning Steppes, and Vashj. According to Warcraft Realms, all three destination realms are very lightly populated, which is likely the rationale behind this offer. Transfers will only be available until Oct. 18, so if you need a fresh start, now's your chance! Free Character Migration (FCM) The below FCM is available until October 18 2011. The migrations are open to both factions: From: Outland To: Agamaggan To: Burning Steppes To: Vashj source
Enter at Your Own Rift: Talking 1.3 with Hal Hanlin
Today we're on the verge of RIFT's third major update's going live. It's a doozy of a patch, too, with a little something for everyone: a raid for endgame players, guild banks for... well, guilds, character transfers for the antsy, and RIFT's second world event for one and all. With Patch 1.3, Trion Worlds puts its money where its mouth is by continuing with its streak of sizable, regular updates. It's a critical patch for some, as it seeks to answer the growing call for more endgame content while an increasing number of players hit 50. Fans of RIFT will most likely welcome the spread of the patch, but detractors will undoubtedly criticize why X was done instead of Y (and don't even get into Z; that letter is nothing but trouble). And above the noise, Trion sails on with apparent confidence and dedication. Even though we got to speak with Trion at E3, I got the opportunity for another pre-1.3 interview with Design Producer Hal Hanlin (which, by the way, is a superhero fake identity if I ever heard one). In this no-holds-barred discussion, we covered the selling points of 1.3, the accusation that RIFT is "dying," and the philosophy behind Trion's rapid stream of content.
E3 2011: Hands on with RIFT's 1.3 update
With patch 1.2 fading in the rearview mirror, RIFT players have turned their attention to the incoming patch 1.3 due on June 22nd. Titled Waves of Madness, the update will kick off a new world event and add an additional tier of endgame content in the form of an additional raid. We got the opportunity to dive into 1.3 early at E3, all while a petite seven-foot-tall dev perched on our shoulder and gave us running commentary. Patch 1.3's crown jewel is a 20-person raid in the ancient fortress of Hammerknell, which was built by folks who thought it'd be a smashing idea to cram evil spirits into runes and then use that as the foundation. Sounds to us a lot like building a summer camp on top of a desecrated native burial ground, but we're sure these architects had good intentions. Surprise, surprise, the spirits started to ooze out into Hammerknell and tore up the place. To make matters worse, Hammerknell is the prison of a water dragon -- and the water plane started to come to its rescue. So the Dwarves decided to treat it like an illegal toxic dump by sealing up the fortress, whistling innocently, and conveniently forgetting it until another raid area was needed. But it's not as simple as just unlocking the front door and marching in to claim some loot! Hit the jump as we walk you through the process of down-and-dirty archaeology!
Scott Hartsman: 'Happy customers stick around longer'
"Here's the overall philosophy behind all this: Happy customers stick around longer," Scott Hartsman said in an interview with Gamefront. "That's what we think. That's the beginning and end of it." It may seem like common sense, but for Hartsman and the team at Trion Worlds, it's a lesson they feel is easy to forget. He cites this as the driving force behind one of the game's major upcoming changes: the ability to transfer characters between servers for free. Trion hopes that the character transfers will help friends connect without the obstacle of separate servers getting in their way. Hartsman said that the tech behind the transfer is impressive -- not to mention "instantaneous" from a customer standpoint. Hartsman says that the team places a premium on talking frankly and frequently with players. If Trion doesn't always come across as perfect, he hopes that the company makes up for it with communication and sincerity: "We don't want to hide behind a big wall, and we don't want everything to come through a formal mouthpiece. I'd rather have us all out conversing with people and occasionally making a mistake here or there on the assumption that because we are talking to people more means that overall, things are going to be better." The lengthy interview covers a wide range of pressing topics, from the "bumpy" River of Souls event to the LFG system and the free trial program.
Enter at Your Own Rift: A case for player housing
Earlier this week we were treated to the news that Trion Worlds is going to offer free character transfers between "select servers" once Update 1.3 hits. Now, how useful this will be is anyone's guess -- as some have noted, this may just be a clever ploy to redistribute the population from high-pop servers to low-pop ones -- but generally it's been met with applause from the community. I remain impressed as a consumer with how fast and aggressive Trion is pumping out content, and the fact that this is a free transfer once per week is really cool considering how most other subscription MMOs charge for a similar "premium" service. Whatever Trion's motive and however it'll play out, I do know this: The company needs to continue to bring the heat to the competition. It's vital that RIFT distinguishes itself from the rest of the pack in some way, whether it be polish, originality, speed, customer service, or innovation. Today I'd like to make a case for what I think should be high up on Trion's development schedule: player housing. We know it's something the devs have discussed, with some very much for and some very much against, but I'm hoping it's gone past the brainstorming phase. Why should we care about what might seem like fluff? How could housing work in RIFT? Tune in after the jump, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel to find out!
