Runes of Magic US / AU

This thread is devoted to discussion on merging or copying specific characters instead of merging entire servers. If you want to discuss merging entire servers and coming up with silly new server names, go here instead.

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What is the first intended outcome?
A character on server <x> can MOVE to server <y> should a user want to make this change.

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Initial rules as I see it:
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- The user can keep the same character name if it isn't already being used in the destination server. If it is being used, then they are forced to come up with another name.
- The user can only move to the destination server if that user doesn't already have max amount of characters allowed for that server. If he/she does, then that user needs to delete one from the destination server first before merging.
- Once migrated to the new server, the character will be removed from the original server.

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Initial pros as I see it:
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- Provides flexibility up to the user if they want to move a character or not. Not everyone wants to migrate nor go through that process. If the user wants to move, they are willing to accept the risk that something bad goes along with it where something didn't transfer properly.
- Provides flexibility up to the user when they want to move a character. "I'm tired of playing on <x> server, I want to permanently play on <y> server now with my end game character instead."
- Depending on how RW implements it, they could even charge <z> diamonds in order to perform the character transfer. AKA, more $$$ spent on the game. What is a reasonable amount? Everyone will have their own opinions, but I'll stay clear of what it *should* be.
- Know what sort of environment you are getting into. If you are moving to a PVP server, you know what type of environment you are getting yourself into. Same thing the other way around.

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Initial cons as I see it:
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- Can no longer play on the original server with the same character if wanted to.
- Economy and outcome of this sort of change. Just like server merges, there is going to be quite a bit of adjustment needed depending on who stays/leaves a particular server.
- One will lose access to your guild castle if you worked hard on it on the currently hosted server. They will only transfer the character over and its attributes/gear, not the guild castle. I suppose the guild castle could be transferred over too, but that would require rules as well like:
> Only the guild owner has the ability to submit if the castle can move. No one else in the guild can.
> Same guild name restrictions apply as character name restrictions.
> Upon successful moving of guild castle and there are still members in it from the original server, they will automatically be guildless once the merge has been successful.
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What is the second intended outcome?
A character on server <x> can COPY itself to server <y> should a user want to make this change.

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Initial rules as I see it:
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- The user can keep the same character name if it isn't already being used in the destination server. If it is being used, then they are forced to come up with another name.
- The user can only copy to the destination server if that user doesn't already have max amount of characters allowed for that server. If he/she does, then that user needs to delete one from the destination server first before merging.
- The character could never be copied back to the original server. This will prevent duplication of gear/stats/etc coming from one account into a server's economy.

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Initial pros as I see it:
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- Provides flexibility up to the user if they want to copy a character or not. Not everyone wants to go through that process. If the user wants to try out another server, they are willing to accept the risk that something bad goes along with it where something didn't transfer properly.
- Provides flexibility up to the user when they want to copy a character. "I'm tired of playing on <x> server currently, I want to play on <y> server with my end game character."
- Depending on how RW implements it, they could even charge <z> diamonds in order to perform the character copy. AKA, more $$$ spent on the game. What is a reasonable amount? Everyone will have their own opinions, but I'll stay clear of what it *should* be.
- Know what sort of environment one is getting into. If you are being copied to a PVP server, you know what type of environment you are getting yourself into. Same thing the other way around.
- Can still play on the original server with the same character if wanted to.

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Initial cons as I see it:
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- Economy and outcome of this sort of change. Just like server merges, there is going to be quite a bit of adjustment needed depending on who stays/leaves a particular server.
- One will lose access to your guild castle if you worked hard on it on the currently hosted server. They will only copy the character over and its attributes/gear, not the guild castle. I suppose the guild castle could be copied over too, but that would require rules as well like:
> Only the guild owner has the ability to submit if the castle should be copied. No one else in the guild can.
> Same guild name restrictions apply as character name restrictions.
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There might be other rules/pros/cons that I'm not thinking of at the moment, but this should give a good idea of potential alternative methods of server merging. Detailed case scenarios would certainly need to be mapped out before these sorts of capabilities are developed to see what potential impact it would have on the server's economy. However, even before this gets ventured by the player base, probably need some feedback first from the CM if these sorts of options are even on the table.

Howdy heirienza,

Re First Point: Yep, this goes in line with the economics part of the server. Not sure how this will really cause more or less of an issue at this time.

Re Second Point:
Part A) They can still move to the destination server, they just need to change their name first. Not that hard. Those characters that already have the name on the destination server were there first, so they get priority.

Part B) If the COPY option was used, they would not have to leave their guild on the prior server. However, yes, this would be true for the MOVE option. But, it isn't to the guild's choice, it is to the player that wants to move.

Re Third Point: Regarding the MOVE option, the guild owner has the right to do whatever he/she wants with the guild. If that means others in the guild would have to find new ones, that is a conversation they will have to make. Same sorts of guild decisions like what should be in the guild castle/upgrades/etc. Regarding the COPY option, there is no issue.

Re Fourth Point: Yep, see First.

Re Fifth Point (regarding "and you should be able to switch to any server however you want"): That is fine in a MOVE option. However, not in a COPY option based on the rule previously provided:
"- The character could never be copied back to the original server. This will prevent duplication of gear/stats/etc coming from one account into a server's economy."

I prefer the copy character option for now until something overwhelming changes my mind. As a fact, this provides the most flexibility to the players and also provides RW another source of potential income. It is going to be very subjective as to what least amount of impact to the economy means regarding any option that is pursued. Some examples:

Does a player want to see guilds constantly bickering in world chat regarding who was was taking down/stealing/etc a world boss?
RE: Some don't mind, others do.

Do players want to constantly fight over mobs and even resources that don't spawn too frequently? Perhaps for title farming, quests, etc. Channels help sometimes, but not always.
RE: Some don't mind, others do.

Are players complaining because they can't run the latest HM instance?
RE: Some will complain, others don't care as they play for other reasons.

ETC..

If the 'end game' (whatever that means in one's eyes) players want to put their character on one or two highly populated 'end game' servers to in essence replicate server transfers, they still can with this copy option. Those left behind will still do their thing and have their level of 'fun'. If need be, they can even find new guilds for those that stay behind and want to run other stuff other than the latest HM instances (e.g. Zidlef of Disturbed keeps bringing this up about his guild).

Quoted from "WhiteFlour"

These threads and assumptions are great and all but shouldn't we wait until they give some information on what THEY intend to do rather than what we want them to do.

Yep.

Quoted

However, even before this gets ventured by the player base, probably need some feedback first from the CM if these sorts of options are even on the table.