Free Character Transfers Now Available On Select Servers

[Sendai_S]

An acknowledgement of what I was saying being true was all I wanted.

 

That said, I'd hardly consider myself a devil's advocate. Others have explained very well just why Bioware is really being pretty reasonable in this situation. I just happen to agree with them.

 

It doesn't matter tho - I am still put in a position where I have toons that I spent time on that will now be left essentially unplayable by MMO standards unless Bioware manages to send them to other servers or magically increases the characters per server over night.

 

Truth is you're poking the bee's nest. Taunting the bear. Dodging a train. You are provoking a lot of people who spent time on toons who want to be able to play them... people who are essentially being discriminated against for enjoying the game and rolling multiple toons - a mechanic I might add that Bioware has ENCOURAGED with the legacy system... the only reason I haven't played mine on JJT was cause for so long it has been a dead server. I once went 4 hours being in a PVP queue during prime time before I even got a pop on it.... so long that I actually had forgotten I was in a PVP queue.

 

You can't PVP wihtout other players and my personal favorite endgmae is PVP.

[ZeroPlus]

Hello,

 

Is there like a Server Transfer troubleshooting page that I can check if I encounter issues? I am unable to transfer my last character from Darth Malak to The Fatman for it is saying that I have consumed the 8 slots even if it is clearly showing that I still have one left? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

 

I had this exact same issue.

 

Do what is detailed here: http://www.swtor.com/support/helpcenter/5381.

 

Worked for me .

 

Good luck!

[ZeroPlus]

Are you kidding me w/ all these transfers? I mean there wasn't more than 7 people on either fleet at the same time at all. And not to mention the fact that the warzone ques didn't pop at all. I waited in que for six hours. These transfers suck period! The server i'm on might as well be a graveyard. Bioware really failed epicly w/ this. They might as well force people to transfer at gunpoint now. I think it's time to go find something new. Thank you bioware for monumentally screwing up an already smaller populated server.

 

I'm not really sure what it is you're complaining about.

 

Are you saying that your destination server is a graveyard? Or are you saying that your server is now a graveyard because everyone else has transfered off that server to its destination server?

 

If the first, then you are probably playing at times that aren't the norm for that server. It can happen and unfortunately there is nothing Bioware can immediately do in that situation. You might want to (if possible) try and log on at diferent times of "your" day to see if the server has more people online to try and get a feeling for when your server's prime time is. You might also want to check the "Server Selection" screen to see which servers are not "Light" when you want to play. Once you have that information, you can either wait for when you can choose your destination server for a transer (and maybe pay to transfer (Bioware hasn't specified if this will be a paid service or not)), or you can contact Customer Service and explain your situation (maybe they can assist you).

 

If the second, then (I'm sorry to say) you are the cause for your frustration. Simply take advantage of the free transfers that are currently being offered and move to your server's destination server. You won't regret the decision.

[Dudeo]

Just thought I'd mention that I transfered al 8 of my guys over to Nightmare Lands yesterday and it was smooth and quick and last night was amazing the amount I got done. Good job bioware.

[BJWyler]

Just thought I'd mention that I transfered al 8 of my guys over to Nightmare Lands yesterday and it was smooth and quick and last night was amazing the amount I got done. Good job bioware.

 

Yup - good things are worth waiting for. Transferred 6 toons from two different origins to two different destinations and they went pretty much instantly. The only downside I experienced was the known loss of mail - I kind of liked having the SWTOR mail in the box to let me know how old the toon was at a glance.

 

BJ

[MadBernieSkills]

Yes, before the transfer try to create a character on POT5 with the new name that you want to lose, if you can then keep that character while you transfer (which forces a rename) and then delete it, if you can't then the name is already taken and you will have to rename anyway. Also create a character today on POT5 with the original name you want to get back to "reserve" it and delete that character just before the transfer.

 

Unfortunately this may require the use of 2 character slots rather than 1 but it will ensure that you get the name you want if it is that important to you.

 

Very clever, that works for me. Thank you.

[Matetrix]

I hope we can keep some guild unity in this mass juggle! I don't know about you guys but I have made a few friends and that's one of the main reasons I stuck around. If they disappear ..then so do I. You can bet I'll cancel my sub quicker than you can say Bye-Bye. I got a message that a couple went to (now)a full server. A 15 min wait to log on there?? holy cow!. I can only Imagine the Lag Monster that is. so do we have a say where we can go?? if not I'll tell you where I am going...to the exit.

 

Regards,

Materix

Dark Mercenary

[Xuvy]

The initial character transfer service is now available, allowing qualifying characters to be transferred at no charge from selected origin servers to selected destination servers. This character transfer service will be available as long as is required to help maintain population balance across the service and create a better overall gameplay experience. Select servers will be eligible for free character transfers based on the player populations of the origin and destination servers.

 

Read More

 

Our whole guild has migrated to corellian run and when we try it won't let us...(from col/tobin) r u going to fix this?

[asbalana]

We got free transfer to The Harbinger, from Vornskr, today.

 

LAG

LAG

 

 

 

 

wait for it....

 

 

 

L

 

a

 

G

 

 

Too many other servers got moved here, but we really had no choice, as it would be bad on a dead server.

Hopefully, after the Transfer Frenzy, it will stabilize.

The main problem will be, in waiting for Spawns of Dailies,World Bosses, ect.

 

Other problems were:

 

Losing my First name to some jerk, who created Kallas, today, on hutta, and losing my legacy name of Starburner.

My guildies sending tells/email to false character, thinking it was me.

Lag Induced Blacking out of Screen upon load in,on fleet.

Names being taken or spoken for, causing everyone, to change names, making it hard to get back into guild.

 

I have eight characters on Vornskr and two on Harbinger and was much surprised that after the weekend of monitoring things they decided to move Vornskr to Harbinger. I was hoping that they would just consolidate a number of low to medium servers rather than overloading Harbinger. My wife and I have not moved anything yet and will probably wait until the weekend. We are somewhat concerned about the name change bug that some have reported and BWs lack of help when that happens. Perhaps they will get that fixed. What I am seeing now is that Harbinger is much overcrowded with very very bad lag to the degree I had not seen since launch. I guess the only solution to the drop in frames and other pop problems was the sub drop. Vornskr has become a ghost town almost overnight with fleet dropping from 40 to 50 at prime times to single digits.

 

So we are scratching our heads. Harbinger appears to be overpopulated although we will see what happens when things cool down and Vornskr was destroyed and especially if you are active on the GTN is no longer viable.

[ZeroPlus]

I have eight characters on Vornskr and two on Harbinger and was much surprised that after the weekend of monitoring things they decided to move Vornskr to Harbinger. I was hoping that they would just consolidate a number of low to medium servers rather than overloading Harbinger. My wife and I have not moved anything yet and will probably wait until the weekend. We are somewhat concerned about the name change bug that some have reported and BWs lack of help when that happens. Perhaps they will get that fixed. What I am seeing now is that Harbinger is much overcrowded with very very bad lag to the degree I had not seen since launch. I guess the only solution to the drop in frames and other pop problems was the sub drop. Vornskr has become a ghost town almost overnight with fleet dropping from 40 to 50 at prime times to single digits.

 

So we are scratching our heads. Harbinger appears to be overpopulated although we will see what happens when things cool down and Vornskr was destroyed and especially if you are active on the GTN is no longer viable.

 

Today's maintenance brought with it the following patch note:

================================================

1.2.7b Patch Notes

6/19/2012

General

•In order to improve overall performance, the maximum number of simultaneous players on the Imperial and Republic Fleets has been decreased.

================================================

So this should alleviate the lag problems people have been experiencing when on the fleets.

 

As for the "name change bug"... what "name change bug"?

 

You just have to know what is going to happen. Check this thread: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=480756.

 

The important part is in the first bullet point. I'll quote it here and highlight it for your reference:

================================================

•When you have transferred multiple characters to the same destination server please be sure you are aware of which character you are renaming. When you choose a character to rename you need to check the name of the character and compare it to which character is selected behind the rename pop-up window. A transferred character can be renamed by clicking on the portrait at the character select screen.

================================================

 

I transferred 8 toons yesterday and had to rename 4 of them. The process was pretty simple and the character that was being renamed was *always* the character that could be seen behind the rename pop-up window. I had no problems at all in renaming my characters.

 

The current feeling of overpopulation is to be expected. Everyone is logging on to transfer their toons and check out their new "home". Give it a few days and play times will even out again and queues/lag should be a thing of the past.

[Sindistical]

Last night i was logged in during prime time and it was completely dead. i never got a wz que to pop in 6 hours. Plus tif i do decide to transfer, there is the possibility i would to change 1 or more of my toons names, and their legacy names. No offense but i've been here since launch and i don't care i'm not going to change my toon(s) names, goto a server where nobody knows me, disband my guild, and petition customer service to get our guild bank back. Am i just a little ticked off? You bet i am. Why should the customers suffer for Bioware's short sightedness? I may be forced to transfer. But i WILL NEVER change my toon(s) names just to fit in on some other server.

[Tenceriker]

Last night i was logged in during prime time and it was completely dead. i never got a wz que to pop in 6 hours. Plus tif i do decide to transfer, there is the possibility i would to change 1 or more of my toons names, and their legacy names. No offense but i've been here since launch and i don't care i'm not going to change my toon(s) names, goto a server where nobody knows me, disband my guild, and petition customer service to get our guild bank back. Am i just a little ticked off? You bet i am. Why should the customers suffer for Bioware's short sightedness? I may be forced to transfer. But i WILL NEVER change my toon(s) names just to fit in on some other server.

 

Bioware will make you get a new name if your name is taken on what server you transfer to.

[ZeroPlus]

Last night i was logged in during prime time and it was completely dead. i never got a wz que to pop in 6 hours. Plus tif i do decide to transfer, there is the possibility i would to change 1 or more of my toons names, and their legacy names. No offense but i've been here since launch and i don't care i'm not going to change my toon(s) names, goto a server where nobody knows me, disband my guild, and petition customer service to get our guild bank back. Am i just a little ticked off? You bet i am. Why should the customers suffer for Bioware's short sightedness? I may be forced to transfer. But i WILL NEVER change my toon(s) names just to fit in on some other server.

 

There is something you need to understand here Sindistical. Server transfers are the current reality. You can either accept it or not. If you don't accept it, you will end up playing by yourself on your current server. Sorry, but that is the reality of the situation.

 

In the vein of accepting reality, have you logged onto your server's designated Destination server and tried to create a new toon that uses your current toon's name?

 

If you were able to create the toon, congratulations! you just reserved your toon's name on your Destination server . Don't delete this toon until such time as you decide to transfer over your toon. Once the transfer is complete, and only then, delete the placeholder toon and rename your toon to recover its name.

 

Repeat the above process to understand which of your toon's names are available on the destination server *OR* to reserve any names that you wouldn't mind renaming your current toons to. Just remember to keep at least one slot free on the Destination server so that you can transfer your toons over one by one and use the names you reserved.

 

Hope that helps.

[Alxandria]

I have to admit, for the first time since I started playing in Pre-Play, I'm disappointed. I think my disappointment comes from two different but connected issues:

 

1) The reality that the server transfer process was a necessity. This isn't useful, it's basically being angry that the day is hot, or that people suck, it's just reality.

 

2) The way the server transfer were handled. I'm not referring to the process itself, from what I can gleam, it seems to be mostly smooth with the usual hiccups you would expect (losing your name, or your legacy name) and the guild issue is an annoyance, but not detrimental. I'm more bothered by the fact that the solution given to us was to have us go from light servers to queues. I understand we are seeing a higher than average log-in because of transfer but that doesn't really remove the disappointment that the decision was made that the servers should be as full as possible, instead of perhaps aiming to make them just very populated.

 

I really do enjoy the game, I have 3 50s, one high 40s, and I plan to get others to 50 as well. I enjoy the gameplay, the storyline a lot, I even like crafting, yet somehow the server transfer system kinda burst some sort of bubble. (That's the best analogy I can give.) Maybe it's temporary, and when the weekend rolls around and I start the hassle of disbanding the guild, getting everyone over, rebuilding, I'll be in better spirits and can shrug this all off, but for now, server transfer kinda left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

I almost wish they had decided to do server merges instead of transfers. Transfers ended up being a defacto server merge. 8 people on fleet on Vornskr during primetime, even I can't play in that environment, and I almost exclusively play solo (The dead GTN is what made me realize I had to transfer.)

 

I don't think I have anything helpful other than explaining what I feel has caused my disappointment and let you decide if it holds any water, or if somewhere something could have been handled better. I'm not quitting, not yet anyway, I'm just disappointed right now.

[Sonicthesneak]

I'm assuming, you just can't transfer to any server you want? That's a bit sad I guess. Most of my friends are on The Fatman now, but my characters can't transfer to that server. So I'll have to decide if it's worth the tons of cash it will eventually cost to move them over to that server later on or just leave SWTOR for a bit longer and hope that the Free server transfers open up a bit more in the future.

 

I guess no one is to blame, and server pop comes first, but I really wished that I could move my characters to The Fatman and get back into playing right away.

Edited June 19, 2012 by Sonicthesneak

[SeedlesS]

When can we transfer off The Fatman server? A lot of us PvP'ers made toons there due to low population on our original servers. I'd like to transfer those toons to the server my main legacy was forced to transfer to.

[bnglsfan]

What I cant understand is the reason why they are overloading servers with the transfers when the reason they opened up all these servers was because of server overload.

 

Its like they dont know what a happy medium is they just want one extreme or the other and it is frustrating.

 

ATM I am on a dead server but I refuse to transfer to a server that has waiting periods to log on. I would understand this if it was free 2 play but I pay good money to play and will NOT wait in line to log into a server.

 

If I am forced to move to a overloaded server then I guess I will be looking for a new game...plain and simple!!!

[Jonoku]

I'm trying to get all my characters in one server together and in one legacy together still, bioware needs to come up with something fast, got one month to do so. Not much of a choice they already lost 100 servers worth of players.

[ZephyrMourne]

Please GOD, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, let me transfer off the disaster that is now Harbinger! All my characters are there and since the ill-advised cluster... that transferred 10 other servers here, I CAN'T PLAY THE FREAKING GAME AT ALL. Funny, bet you still take my money at the beginning of the month...

[TryRoon]

I want to transfer but, every time I look at the server that I 'm suppost to transfer to it is full. If that is what is going to happen I'm not transfering. I chose this server when all the others were full and Ithe one I started on was very heavy. Now it has 50 or less but I would rather stay where I am and be able to log on when I want then not be able to log on at all.

[Relinthal]

I seem to be missing something, perhaps it's in the hundreds of replies here but I dunno. You see, I get it that they're trying to spread out the server populations....cool makes sense. But why is it that my server, Mind Trick, is being shunted to a server that's apparently under high load? A lot of people bailed on my server and I'm not sure why. I'm thinking I might just wait to see if the server population here fills back up.

[ZeroPlus]

Guys,

 

If you're worried because you are seeing your destination servers as being full all the time, just wait a while.

 

Everyone and their dog is currently transferring all their toons over to their destination servers and checking out their new home. The next few days are going to be hectic. Give it a few days and play times will settle down again.

 

What I mean by that is that where you are now seeing queues and, for exemple, 300 people on the fleet at 21:00 because everyone is logging on to see their new home, in a few days time you will probably only see 150-200 people on the fleet at 21:00 and no queues. Despite any misgivings you may have, having 150-200 people online at the same time on the fleet is much much better than only having 50-70.

 

So, wait a few days to give things time to settle down. You will see that very soon there won't be queues to logon and things will settle down.

 

The transfer over to a populated server is well worth it.

 

There will be more stuff to buy on the GTN (I've seen things I never saw before on sale) and more people to buy what you sell (for the first time in a long time, stuff was selling as I was putting it up for sale).

 

There will be more people questing so it will be easier to get people to assist you with [Heroic 2+] and [Heroic 4] content. In the same vein, if you are on a planet doing a quest and someone else is killing the same mobs as you, strike up a conversation and group with them: not only will things go faster but suddenly those [Heroic 2+] quests will be in reach and with a quick query in General you can find 2 more people to do any [Heroic 4] on the planet. I've grouped more in the past few days than I have in the past few months and it's been fun. Friendships have started with less.

 

You know those flashpoints you never did before while levelling because there was never anyone to do them with? That will be a thing of the past.

 

Sure there is going to be some competition for Scavenging/Bioanalysis/etc resources, but that is just something that needs to be taken in stride. Just move on. The more people harvesting nodes, the faster they will be popping up. Move on and you will find other nodes.

 

In summary, transferring is worth it. If you don't want to wait in queues, wait a few days before transferring but do transfer. It is worth it.

[Poliwrath]

Prettty crappy that i can only transfer to a pre programmed one.

 

After hydian way went dead i made new char's on Red eclipse and wanted to get my chars from hydian way and take em with me to red eclipse. But it seems i cant do this. Why! first make me all excited.. and then i can't make a choice.

[TWIN_SUNZ]

Prettty crappy that i can only transfer to a pre programmed one.

 

After hydian way went dead i made new char's on Red eclipse and wanted to get my chars from hydian way and take em with me to red eclipse. But it seems i cant do this. Why! first make me all excited.. and then i can't make a choice.

 

Same but from Hidden Beks...

[Cbaoth]

OOOOk..so lets just say I want to move to a different server than the once listed? Im on bloodworthy and want to transfer of to a pve server, when can I do that BW?

I'll gladly pay for it if the feature to transfer to any server is comming along in the future?