CharacterTransfers
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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
Three month cooldown on US and EU character transfers (and free transfers in EU)
Thundgot, one of the EU CMs, has confirmed that the character transfer cooldown has been reduced for the EU realms (and raised for the US Realms, as here it was previously one month, and three months, and six months before that). Currently, the cooldown for both EU and US transfers is three months. That means that any character you transfer has to stay put for at least three months before it can be moved again, which most players (and Blizzard, obviously) seem to agree is a good period of time.And on the heels of that news, Thundgot has also posted that free character transfers are available on select EU realms, as listed below:From: Frostmane, Grim Batol, Kazzak, OutlandTo: Boulderfist, Burning Blade, DaggerspineFrom: Stonemaul, WarsongTo: Shadowmoon First free character transfers in a while (the last I can find were these Oceanic transfers). Since BC was released, it seems like Blizzard has a pretty good hold on population control (or maybe it's just that the populations aren't changing that much anymore). I remember when free transfers used to come almost every week on US servers, but nowadays they are few and far between.[ via MMO Champion ]
Breakfast topic: Server transfers
It's been over a year since Blizzard began doing paid character transfers from server to server, and I'm still not sure how much of a success it's been. On one hand, it's definitely changed the WoW environment. Guildless raiders can now apply to hundreds of potential guilds, instead of just the few on their server. People who rolled on a random server, only to find that their friends had rolled on another, can join their pals without having to relevel. And long-abandoned alts can finally be dusted off and brought into the light. But there's a dark side to transfers, too. I frequent the Customer Service Forum, and a good number of the posts there have to do with unauthorized character transfers, character transfer screwups, or the like. (The rest of the posts are divided between "Why can't I swear in general chat?" "How can I become a GM?" and "Do something about the AFKers in Alterac Valley!") People are still unhappy that they can't transfer from PVE to PVP servers. And transfers can hurt. More than one guild has broken up because some of its officers decided to ninja-transfer to a better guild, sometimes taking the guild bank with them. People transfer in anger and then realize that they have to wait a long, long time to come back -- or sometimes can't come back at all. I've never transferred, and probably will never do it. In spite of the idiots, trolls, and ridiculous flame wars, Magtheridon is my home server, and I'd feel lost without any of the people I've grown to know over the past few years. Have you ever transferred? What do you think about the service?
Administrative notes for EU players
We've got a couple of notes from the CMs over on the European forums. First up: free character transfers! Transfers opened today allowing players on some of the highest population PvP realms to move to some of the lower population PvP realms. So if you play on the EU realms Grim Batol, Stonemaul, and Warsong -- you can transfer to EU realms Agamaggan, Daggerspine, and Spinebreaker. Transfers will be open until Sunday, July 22nd, so if you're interested in this, you've only got a week to take advantage of it.In less happy news, on July 17th, the EU web page will be offline for maintenance between 03:00 CEST and 09:00 CEST. While you'll be able to play, you won't be able to access the website.
Free transfers open for select EU realms
Today free transfers closed for several EU realms and opened for several more EU realms. Today's transfers are planned to remain open until next Wednesday, the 14th, but the transfer list can be changed at any time, so if you want to take advantage of this, better sooner than later. Currently, players on Grim Batol, Outland, and Warsong may transfer off to Spinebreaker. Want to get started? Read the transfer FAQ first (remember -- this is a one-way trip!) and then head over to the character transfer page.
US Character Transfer Offline
No, it's not broken and there are no technical problems. However, the system apparently works on a queue basis - and when the queue is filled, it automatically stops accepting new transfer requests. CM Tseric informs us that the queue system is in place to ensure that the system remains stable. If you managed to sign up for a transfer before the queue stopped new transfers, you should still be in the queue to be transfered - but because the queue's been maxed out, there may be a bit of a wait. For the rest of us - if you have a character you'd like to transfer, you just need to check back to see if the queue has opened up.
More US Realms Open for Transfers
More realms opened up for paid character transfers yesterday, with even more planned for today and the rest of the week. Though it looks like most realms will be open for transfers by the end of the week, the rules for transfer availability remain the same. So we're still waiting to see whether players' complaints on the fairness of transfers to new servers will have any long-term impact on the transfer policy. In the meantime, Blizzard Europe's policy has a slight alteration - adding the opening of the gates of Ahn'Qiraj as a factor in opening transfers.
EU Launches Paid Character Transfer Service
It's no real surprise this service was heading to European shores, but it does surprise me that the rules are slightly different. While most of the US and EU FAQs are identical, there's a slight difference in when servers are allowed to be open for transfers. On US realms, transfers are available to realms that have been open longer than 90 days (assuming the realms aren't already high population, with login queues, etc). On EU realms, there's an additional qualification - if a realm doesn't yet have the gates of Ahn'Qiraj open at 90 days, transfers won't open until either the gates open, or the server has had another 90 days to work towards it. This means that transfers may not be opened for as long as 6 months. I wonder if this restriction would be enough to calm some of the complaints on US forums as Ahn'Qiraj geared players start to transfer on to realms where the gates have not yet opened.
The Results of Paid Realm Transfers
I've spent a long time looking forward to the idea of paid character transfers. I have two well-geared 60s on an old realm that I abandoned for various reasons, and I'm excited at the prospect of having them available for play on the realm I now call home. So I've always looked at the prospect of transferring as a way of regaining access to characters that I'd put a lot of time and effort into, but had to abandon in order to play with friends.However, one of my want-to-transfer characters is in full tier 2, with some Ahn'Qiraj gear. I'd be transferring to a server well Nefarian has not yet been slain nor the gates of Ahn'Qiraj opened. And I can't be the only one wanting to move such characters, for one reason or another. There are many impassioned cries by players on realms old and new - as characters far beyond the realm's progression transfer over and start changing the face of PvP and PvE. With the number of restrictions on the transfer service ($25 per transfer, can only transfer every 6 months, can't transfer to severs less than 3 months old) it's obvious they've thought about the potential problems. And it's equally obvious, with the effort put into rolling out this program, that it's not just going to vanish. So where's the happy medium between a free-for-all transfer and allowing players to rejoin friends on other servers without abandoning previous efforts? Blizzard seems to be listening to player concerns, but where it will go from here, and how open character transfers will continue to impact realm status, is still a mystery.[Fan art by Guillaume Bonnet]
Additional Realms Opened for Paid Transfers
Blizzard seems to be moving quickly to expand their paid transfer service, and has opened eight new realms to transfer from. So if you have characters you're interested in moving off one of these realms, you're in luck! Characters may now be transfered from Burning Blade, Durotan, Earthen Ring, Elune, Laughing Skull, Lothar, Medivh, and Shadow Moon. Realms also seem to be disappearing from the ineligible destination list, meaning there are more places you can transfer to as well. (I haven't found a specific list, but noticed a realm I have characters on - Duskwood - is no longer on the ineligible list, though it was yesterday.)
New Paid Transfer Destinations Opened
Blizzard has added seven realms to the list you can transfer from. For those wanting to take advantage of the service, servers Arthas, Dalaran, Magtheridon, Spirestone, Stormrage, Turalyon, and Zul'jin are now available to transfer from. I have two level 60s on a server that I no longer play on, so I am glad to see that they're opening up new transfer realms relatively quickly - even though neither the realm I want to transfer from nor the realm I want to transfer to are currently available for transfers. When they do open up transfers to and from my desired realms, I'll get back to you with a users' perspective review of how the service works.
Paid Character Transfer Feature Opened!
Blizzard has officially opened their paid character transfer service today. The official FAQ on the service appears quite similar to the leaked information we saw last week, so if you read that, there should be no surprises. However, there is, of course, a catch - at present, only five realms are available to transfer from: Altar of Storms, Argent Dawn, Demon Soul, Illidan, and Warsong. If none of those are servers you've been wanting to transfer from, you're going to have to keep waiting. Blizzard plans to add more realms to this list, but they're starting small for now. Ready to transfer? Head over to the account management page and click on the "Paid Character Transfer" button.
Paid Character Transfer Coming Soon?
While this may be pure rumor (and I can't find a reliable source attribution anyhwere), there's a fairly detailed character transfer FAQ floating around with all the information on pricing and availibity. If this is just a rumor, someone's certainly gone to a lot of trouble to write it up with so much detail. Here are the highlights, though you'll have to read the full document to get all the details: $25 per character transfered Transfers can take up to 10 days to process, during which time you cannot access the character Not all realms avalible for transfer (full or high population realms, realms soon to be open for free transfers, or recently released realms will not be avalible) Restrictions on how much gold a transfering character may have (300g for characters level 10 to 30, 1000g for characters level 31 to 50, 5000g for characters level 51 to 60) You may transfer from a PvP to a PvE rule-set, but not from PvE to PvP You may only transfer to a PvP realm if you do not have characters of the opposing faction on that realm You may transfer characters from one account to another only if you are the subscriber for both accounts
Norgannon and Thrall Transfers Opening!
Finally, I'm sure some of you are saying. Initially announced on March 24th and delayed three times since, it appears that transfers to the new Norgannon and Thrall realms are finally going to happen. Begining Monday, April 17th, at 3:00 AM PDT, players from Shadowsong and Azjol-Nerub will be able to transfer to Norgannon while players from Alleria and Hellscream will be able to transfer to Thrall. Transfers will close on Thursday, April 20th, at 3:00 PM PDT, so get on it while there's a chance.
PvE to PvP Realm Transfers?
Because I do not play on any of the affected servers, the fact that Blizzard has opened up PvE to PvP realm transfers was not immediately obvious to me. Hyjal, Lightbringer, Shadowsong, Zul'jin, Alleria , Hellscream, and Whisperwind are all PvE servers, and have recently been given the opportunity to transfer to new PvP servers Black Dragonflight and Dalvengyr. This is interesting, primarily because Blizzard has, in the past, always kept realm transfers within their realm type. So these new transfers will allow seasoned players from old PvE servers a taste of the excitement of PvP without the difficulty that faces most players who wish to make such a switch - rerolling and releveling.
Norgannon and Thrall Transfers Postponed
While Norgannon and Thrall are supposed to be two new servers accepting transfer accounts (from Shadowsong & Azjol-Nerub and Alleria & Hellscream, respectively), transfers keep getting pushed further and further back. At the end of last week, they were scheduled to come online Monday. On Monday, technical issues prevented transfers from occurring. On Tuesday, as I'm sure you recall, all servers were offline. On Wednesday, we were told they were opening on Thursday. And today we're told that transfers are postponed until further notice. It's nearly getting to where you can't trust these people...
