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?
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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Nemdok Aug 7th 2007 1:04PM
A while back I used to call Warsong my home server. This was of course up until I got sick of "BR?!" and "Ahuehuhehuehue", so I decided to hop on a free server transfer to Alterac Mountains. Boy do I regret that decision. This server is devoid of competent tanks and dedicated priests, it's almost impossible to get a PUG going. It's so god damned frustrating.
Never again will I transfer from high population to low population servers.
Swarfy Aug 7th 2007 1:33PM
Two guilds that I have friends in used the Free transfer's to Baelgun before TBC hit. We're originally on Blackhand. the one deciding factor was the 'Oh I'm going to log on. F*ck, 950 person queue. Ok so I'll go read a book.'
And no the 950 person queue is not exaggerating. I hit a queue one night of over 1K. Ever since my friends, fiance and I transferred we haven't hit a queue. I love Baelgun, bu still kinda miss Blackhand since some of our friends didn't move.
MartinC Aug 7th 2007 6:14PM
@11, you need to play on a RP server.
RP servers are great because they weed out all (or certainly most) of the 12-year olds. You get a much more mature, friendly, and skilled crowd there. Not to mention people that can actually communicate in complete sentences. I've played on many different types of servers, and I was amazed at how much better everything is on an RP server.
Don't worry about the RP aspect, as how far you want to take that is strictly up to you. Truth be told, I see most characters try to RP up until about level 15, and then they start getting more serious about the game, and the RP element becomes nonexistent.