Free transfers weekly, REALLY?

[Alemi]

Trion announced today, server transfers will be FREE and weekly. "Select shards" seems to be the term they use, but I imagine it'll be that you can't transfer to one of the 4 high population shards...

I'm kind of shocked, and not sure how I feel about this... feels like we may have a revolving door of people in and out on servers, but it could also be good in that you won't get "stuck" making a bad decision.

That said... anyone not a dirty Defiant still around boxing with any interest on getting together on a server?

Link so you know I'm not talking out of my backside :
http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/rift/rift-to-offer-free-character-transfers/210229305684204
or
http://forums.riftgame.com/showthrea...r-Transfer-FAQ

Text for those who don't want to click on a link...

"Hi all,

As announced, Free Character Transfers will be released in RIFT Update 1.3. These Free Character Transfers will be available to players on select shards via a new in-game feature. We are pleased to be able to offer this service to our players and hope you find it to be a great way to further enrich your experience and connect with others, we have provided a brief FAQ outlining this new feature below.

We’ll continue to release additional details as we get closer to the release of 1.3 and we encourage you to ask any questions you might have, we’ll do our best to answer all we can – thanks!

What are Free Character Transfers?

• Free Character Transfers will allow you to move your characters to select shards through an easy to use, in-game feature.

How often can I transfer my character?

• We’re allowing one free transfer, per character, to a select shard every 7 days. Please note this is subject to change while we continue to develop and test the new service.

What do you mean “select shards”?

• We want the shard you select to provide the best experience possible. It is important that there remains a balance between Guardian and Defiant players and to that available shards do not become too over populated or unbalanced. For this reason you will only be able to move to specific shards we’ve selected to accept new transfers, please note the shards available for transfer may change over time.

Can I move from a PvP shard to a PvE shard or vice-versa?

• Of course! The rule set of your current shard will not prevent you from moving to a shard of a different type. So PvP, RP, PvE, or RPPvP to your heart’s content - Just remember, you’re subject to the rules of your new home! (For example, non-consensual PvP on PvP shards and stricter naming policies on RP shards.)

What about my stuff?

• We’ll have specific details later, but have no fear! You’ll be able to take your items, currencies, achievements, titles, pets, collections, and heck, maybe even the kitchen sink!

Can I transfer from a North American Shard to a European Shard?

• Not right now, currently transfers will be restricted to select shards in your territory.

I’m a guild leader, can I transfer my guild?

• Absolutely, we know you and your members work hard to level your guild and make it your own. We’ll announce more details about this feature closer to its release, stay tuned!

Will these transfers always be free for everyone?

• For the forseeable future – yes! They could even become a permanent addition to the RIFT experience. This is very much an experiment we want to try and we feel this feature will add a unique way to play RIFT unlike other MMO’s. We’ll see how it goes and keep an eye out for any issues that arise.

So, when will 1.3 be released?

• 1.3 is the next major installment for RIFT and will arrive early this summer. Keep an eye on www.riftgame.com and here on the forums for more details as we get closer to its release!"

[MiRai]

Perhaps this will push Blizzard into possibly lowering their fees....


...but I doubt it.

[Oatboat]

They are still pushing their premium membership.. all this will do is make people hop ship a little easier.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

Interesting. I suspect this will probably just let them collapse unpopular servers quicker, or allow the playing population to "self-correct" if you will without having to spend dev/GM time forcing folks to move or whatever.

Seems like a good idea to me.

[Alemi]

I doubt Blizzard will bat an eye to this. Rift is still far too new for them to even give a rat's ass about, imho.

I'm kind of excited though, it should be an interesting way to get servers to balance themselves out.

[Tonuss]

It sounds like a pretty radical idea for managing server balance. I'm not sure if this would work for WOW without some heavy restrictions-- having tens (hundreds?) of thousands of players mass-transferring over the course of a week would probably be a huge disaster. It'd be fun if you were on a server that went from having a 3:1 imbalance in the other faction's favor to a 3:1 imbalance in your favor. It wouldn't be as much fun if that meant that you also went from logging in instantly to sitting in a 90 minute queue...

For a relatively new game with a smaller player-base it might just work, though.

[cichard]

So who is all coming to my server????? Skullcrusher! defiant!

[Alge]

I don't care about server transfers! I just want a guild bank Trion! Make it so!

[Norrin]

Yeah guild bank has my vote too.

[wyofiddler]

I like this idea, now boxers can group together on a server with other boxers without releveling. Woot!