New server transfers.

[Shockeye]

Server Transfers

In order to address population issues on select realms, we've opened a new PvP realm, Garithos and a new PvE realm, Khaz Modan. Players with characters on designated realms (listed below) will have the opportunity to transfer their characters to these realms until next Wednesday, January 11th at 3:00 PM PST. Please be aware that until 3:00 PM PST on Friday the 6th, standard character creation will be unavailable for these 2 new realms.

The following three realms will be allowed to transfer to Garithos.

Warsong
Blackrock
Illidan

The following four realms will be allowed to transfer to Khaz Modan

Proudmoore
Draka
Hellscream
Blackhand

If you're interested in transferring your characters from the realms listed above to the new corresponding realm, please follow the link below.

https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/character-move.html

Update: Character transfers for today have been extended to 5:00 PM PST. Starting tomorrow, however, transfers will only be open during the normal character transfer window of 3:00 AM to 3:00 PM PST.

Looks like you Proudmoore people have a new way out of Aussie Hell.

[Fabricated]

Oh snap. Unfortunately the three other realms transferring with us guarantees a flaming hellpit of lag and queues if we transfer.

I'm gonna have a lonnnnnnnnnng talk with my guildies over this. You think the Aussies will transfer?

[schild]

Everyone wants to be on a server called Khaz Modan. I wonder when Blizzard is going to notice that they just need to open up a new server every day until everything is perfect. Queues a year after release is not a sign oif proper metrics.

[Dren]

I'd rather see them figure out a way to just open up transferring to everyone all the time (with obviously some restrictions like time between transfers to avoid item/money transfer services.)  I'm guessing they'd see less of a need to keep opening up new servers that way.  Plus, that would be quite satisfying to the players as I know countless people that would love to meet up all in one server, but are currently scattered all over.

[Hoax]

Almost makes you wish we could just pay $15 to xfer all characters from one realm to another...   

[MrHat]

I'd still be playing if they let me move my characters around a bit.

[Sobelius]

When they allowed a transfer off of Frostwolf, the server pop dropped to be sure but no more queues or other crap. IMHO things on Frostwolf got much better after the transfer and I'm glad my main stayed there. Too bad at level 51 total boredom with WoW set in. I'm chomping at the bit for ESIV:Oblivion.

[Dren]

When they allowed a transfer off of Frostwolf, the server pop dropped to be sure but no more queues or other crap. IMHO things on Frostwolf got much better after the transfer and I'm glad my main stayed there. Too bad at level 51 total boredom with WoW set in. I'm chomping at the bit for ESIV:Oblivion.

Stop it with the Oblivion talk.  I was content totally forgetting it is coming.  Now you've done it, thanks!

[Morfiend]

When they allowed a transfer off of Frostwolf, the server pop dropped to be sure but no more queues or other crap. IMHO things on Frostwolf got much better after the transfer and I'm glad my main stayed there. Too bad at level 51 total boredom with WoW set in. I'm chomping at the bit for ESIV:Oblivion.

Transfers ruined my old server, and also fucked with my new server pretty bad. Populations are now messed up on both servers. Friends got split up, it was a total clusterfuck. Transfers where the worst thing to ever happen IMO.

[Venkman]

They wouldn't need transfers if their BG system wasn't linked to rewards that, by their nature, can only only be in the game world in so much quantity. Multiple instances of every BG would make people happy enough as it is, but then across the board there'd be more people in higher rank gear. They dug their own hole by adding that second ladder of equipment achievement.

But the other queues are mostly based on the inability of servers to properly scale to a fluctuating number of players. Basically, they didn't build the game to scale as much as its needed to. This is likely because of the persistent parts of the game. With the way the zones are designed, there's only so many people that can be in the persistent part of a continent before it starts crashing (as was prevalent last January on Eastern Continents upon most Pacific/Mountain time zone servers).

The game is based on its instances. It's already a zone-based experienced. The value of a seamless world has always been arguable anyway, so I wish they'd just sub-divided the contents, specifically separating Ironforge into its own zone and be done with it. Yea, I know, hard and stuff. But it's that or continually buying/renting new hardware for far more money, effort and chance of failure.

[Dren]

When they allowed a transfer off of Frostwolf, the server pop dropped to be sure but no more queues or other crap. IMHO things on Frostwolf got much better after the transfer and I'm glad my main stayed there. Too bad at level 51 total boredom with WoW set in. I'm chomping at the bit for ESIV:Oblivion.

Transfers ruined my old server, and also fucked with my new server pretty bad. Populations are now messed up on both servers. Friends got split up, it was a total clusterfuck. Transfers where the worst thing to ever happen IMO.

That's because the transfers are done as a rush rush thing right now.  My point is if they were open to be done at any time, my belief is that people would just even out and overpop issues would resolve themselves, but over a gradual wax and wane type result.  Of course, when you tell an overpopulated huge queue server that they can now transfer within the next week to a low pop server, said server will get thrown out of whack.

[Jayce]

When they allowed a transfer off of Frostwolf, the server pop dropped to be sure but no more queues or other crap. IMHO things on Frostwolf got much better after the transfer and I'm glad my main stayed there. Too bad at level 51 total boredom with WoW set in. I'm chomping at the bit for ESIV:Oblivion.

Transfers ruined my old server, and also fucked with my new server pretty bad. Populations are now messed up on both servers. Friends got split up, it was a total clusterfuck. Transfers where the worst thing to ever happen IMO.

You mean Sargeras (your old server)?

I'm still there, and there are no queues but plenty of people.  A few tards in my guild wanted to transfer, but we didn't and now things are peachy.

From my perspective at least.

[Soukyan]

Everyone wants to be on a server called Khaz Modan. I wonder when Blizzard is going to notice that they just need to open up a new server every day until everything is perfect. Queues a year after release is not a sign oif proper metrics.

Blizzard_board_member_001: Metrics be damned! We have 5 meelleeon subscribers! 

[Wolf]

Server transfers suck. I don't know how it is over in the US, but being the survivor of TWO transfers (can I call myself a survivor if I canceled because of the second one?) i can tell you the Blizz EU guys are totally fucking clueless. Any guy that has zero experience with the game can conjure up better transfers with a couple of hours of work with the census site.

[Azazel]

Oh snap. Unfortunately the three other realms transferring with us guarantees a flaming hellpit of lag and queues if we transfer.

You think the Aussies will transfer?

There's not a chance. The Aussies are on Proudmoore (and Blackrock) because in EQ and everything before we were scattered all over the fucking place and you were lucky if you could get 1 or maybe 2 Oceana-timezone guilds on a server. The Oceania community were begging Blizz to nominate a couple of servers as Oceana before release, but they ignored us, so the playerbase via a few websites decided on Proudmoore & Blackrock as the Primary PVE/PVP servers, with two other I forgot as secondaries. It's nice to have a server with a population on it during your primetime.

having said that...

The two new Oceana-preferred servers are far worse than Proudmoore as far as crowding goes, and they've only been up a little over a month. They vastly underestimated how many of us there are. - The only way I can see the Aussies getting off of PM or BR in any numbers would be if Bliz did the fucking obvious thing of making a pair of new PVE & PVP Oceana-preferred servers, then letting the people on fucking Proudmoore and Blackrock transfer to them. That would get a lot of Aussies transferring.

[Xanthippe]

From what little server hopping I've been doing lately, many servers (except the new ones) have a queue at 6pm pacific time.  I guess a lot of people got WoW for Christmas, and maybe a lot of people are coming back to the game.

One of the biggest complaints I've read on server boards is about queues - both to get into the game and to play in the battlegrounds. (I cannot imagine the suckage to be on one of those elite 40man raids, suffer a crash, and then have to wait 15-30 minutes to get back on (particularly if it happens to several people)).

[Tale]

You think the Aussies will transfer?

There's not a chance. The Aussies are on Proudmoore (and Blackrock) because in EQ and everything before we were scattered all over the fucking place and you were lucky if you could get 1 or maybe 2 Oceana-timezone guilds on a server. The Oceania community were begging Blizz to nominate a couple of servers as Oceana before release, but they ignored us, so the playerbase via a few websites decided on Proudmoore & Blackrock as the Primary PVE/PVP servers, with two other I forgot as secondaries. It's nice to have a server with a population on it during your primetime.

having said that...

The two new Oceana-preferred servers are far worse than Proudmoore as far as crowding goes, and they've only been up a little over a month. They vastly underestimated how many of us there are. - The only way I can see the Aussies getting off of PM or BR in any numbers would be if Bliz did the fucking obvious thing of making a pair of new PVE & PVP Oceana-preferred servers, then letting the people on fucking Proudmoore and Blackrock transfer to them. That would get a lot of Aussies transferring.

What he said. In 1999 I helped organise a mass movement of Aussies to EQ's Tribunal server, which spawned the first big Aussie guilds Southern Legion (social/raiding) and Aurora Noctum (hardcore raiding). They are still going strong, but we founders moved on. We have since played many other MMOGs and experimented with "unofficial Australian servers" and US-dominated servers. The main Australian server is *always* the best choice because it insures your character and guild against the isolation of playing in the GMT +10ish time zone (small population countries, US and Europe asleep).

I think the only thing that would stop Aussies clinging to Proudmoore would be if Blizzard physically located servers in Sydney, Melbourne or Auckland. The current "Oceania preferred" servers are located in the US, so the latency is no different.

[Dren]

Queues are plaguing my server now as well.  We went for 6 months without any real issues and now I have to wait 25-30 minutes to log in during prime time.  I'm gonna have to go back to logging in early and letting it sit all evening until this passes over again.

Stupid, but true.

[Azazel]

I think the only thing that would stop Aussies clinging to Proudmoore would be if Blizzard physically located servers in Sydney, Melbourne or Auckland. The current "Oceania preferred" servers are located in the US, so the latency is no different.

I think a decent number of the Aussie guilds would move across even if they just nominated a couple of servers as "oceana preferred" (and let us xfer to them) simply because the majority of new players (who don't have existing friends/etc on PM/BR will gravitate towards the obvious choices (oceana preferred). I've run into so many people that play WoW and when we ask each other what server/realm we're on, almost all are on <random servername here>, so there's still a lot of people in the same EQ-situation we were in simply because they never heard of aussiegamers.net (when it was still around).

Blizz has recognised the playerbase's actions now though (only a year+ late) and Proudmoore, Blackrock and the other couple are mentioned in the little $2 14-day trial they're offering at the moment as servers with a large Aust/NZ/etc playerbase..

But yes, if they physically located some servers over here (or in Auckland) and allowed transfers, they would be insta-flooded with people. So if they ever do it, I kinda expect they'll do it in the same half-assed way they did the oceana-preferred servers and only set up one PVP and one PVE, creating instant 3-hour queues for all. I'm not joking, to get onto Frostmourne a couple of weeks before Christmas on a Sat afternoon the queue was bouncing between 120mins-180mins. That was the end of my bothering with trying to play on FM. Prime-time maintenence FTW~!

And yeah, quite a few of my former guildies when I was in the local EQ Aussie guild are now in either AN or SL. Well, likely quite a few retired by now, but you get the idea...

[Tale]

I left Blackrock (where I was fanatically Horde) for Proudmoore to play with an SL spin-off called Winds of Fury (Alliance). Got to 60 and raided with them, but left WoW in September. Thinking of taking it up again now, but the worst thing about Proudmoore apart from the queues was the team imbalance. It seemed to be about 70% alliance, 30% horde. It's being reflected in the Ahn'Qiraj quest results - Proudmoore is coming third, but it's mostly Alliance work: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/wareffort/wareffort.html?96

It also made battleground queues insane on the Alliance side, and it felt like a very weak server due to the lack of Horde activity. But you need a good guild more than anything, so I couldn't take a server transfer or reroll. Guild would not take a transfer together, as there was a cut-off on transfers and some absent people would be left behind permanently, plus we would have cut ourselves off from a large recruiting pool.

[Azazel]

I'm sure when the eqpansion brings blonde elf breasts to the horde side it'll start to fix the imbalances on servers like ours. Especially with the new ease of using the Goblin AH's as a means to transfer tons of twink-cash across to people's horde alts..