I think giving you 1 week after you create your account to transfer or delete to be able to change server for free would be a good soultion. That gives you enough time to talk to friends and see where they are in case you make a mistake and also avoids the going to the winning server problem since you can't really figure that out in a week.
I think giving you 1 week after you create your account to transfer or delete to be able to change server for free would be a good soultion. That gives you enough time to talk to friends and see where they are in case you make a mistake and also avoids the going to the winning server problem since you can't really figure that out in a week.
Home servers are account bound, not character bound.
So you are assigned a home server? No choice?
You CHOOSE a Home Server. After that, you're bound to that Server (for WvW) until you pay for the server transfer fee.
Would I be able to delete my characters, and choose a new home world? Or is it locked in forever?
I don't think that would work. Your home server is an account choice that you are prompted to make the first time you log into the game, not a character choice. That said, the purpose of the server lock is exclusively to prevent the potential WvW pvp exploits you fear. Through the "guesting" system, not only can you still make and play new characters on other servers, but you can also play any of your current characters on any other server you like at any time, for free. The only thing you cannot do is participate in WvW pvp for other servers.
Read this recent PCgamer article for more info. Here's a small relevant section:
"PCG: Obviously your home server is an important part of World vs. World battles. How will you keep easy access to server transfers from being abused by people wanting to join the “winning” team?
EF: The fee should serve as a pretty large deterrent to people looking to jump on the winning side. Beyond this, a player’s not eligible to receive any of the World vs. World bonuses during the match that is ongoing when they transfer. Because of our matchmaking system, you can never be certain that your side is going to win the next matchup, so you’d be risking your money without any guarantee of being able to reap the rewards that come with victory."
There's nothing stopping you from telling your friend what server you're on. There's already a list of server names, so if you and your friend still end up on the wrong server, then it's your own fault.
That is a little harsh. Lets say I buy the game and start playing. A friend buys it is choses a server then tells me he is playing. Based on the experience of the majority of players he would assume he could just make a character on my server later. he likely wants to just jump in and play.
Now, even with deleting his characters, he can't change servers?
I do not think a lot of people will be ready for this mechanic to be in the game. You should at least be able to "reset" your account and start from scratch or be given one free transfer etc.
You and I know how it will work but my guess is the majority of people wont. . so saying it is their fault is like saying that someone hit by a bus should have seen it coming. . even though it went trhough a red light which is not typical. I agree.. they should have been looking . . but most people won't and they will get PO'd.
There's nothing stopping you from telling your friend what server you're on. There's already a list of server names, so if you and your friend still end up on the wrong server, then it's your own fault.
That is a little harsh. Lets say I buy the game and start playing. A friend buys it is choses a server then tells me he is playing. Based on the experience of the majority of players he would assume he could just make a character on my server later. he likely wants to just jump in and play.
Now, even with deleting his characters, he can't change servers?
I do not think a lot of people will be ready for this mechanic to be in the game. You should at least be able to "reset" your account and start from scratch or be given one free transfer etc.
You and I know how it will work but my guess is the majority of people wont. . so saying it is their fault is like saying that someone hit by a bus should have seen it coming. . even though it went trhough a red light which is not typical. I agree.. they should have been looking . . but most people won't and they will get PO'd.
I'm pretty sure it explains what you are doing when you pick your home server.
Wow, that would really suck if that's the case. My friend picks up the game, accidently picks a different server, and we are stuck not being able to pvp together unless one of us pays to xfer? I think that is a horrible design decision.
That's why it's likely they'll change it based on suggestions. I had the same problem during beta, as did other people, but like ANet stated, they didn't expect the amount of people that ended up buying the game. Changing design decisions is what betas are all about.
Yeah but 2 things:
1) I don't like people being able to server hop at will. It will cause the balance problems the OP was worried about where everyone jumps to the "winning" server. Unless they put some kind of population lock in, or a massive cooldown.
2) Really, your scenario is no different that any other game presently. Talk to your friend, agree on a server ahead. If one of you jacks up,...not sure what to say there. Buy gems with gold, free server xfer, yay?
The only way I can see this working is if every account gets one free transfer.
The only thing players can do on other servers are PvE and Structure PvP (which is cross-server anyways) so balance is not a factor there. They cannot WvW anywhere but there home server. If you switch servers you do not gain WvW benefits for a couple of weeks and there is a 7 day cooldown along with a gem cost to do so. So joining the "winning" server won't matter since by the time you can actually WvW the server won't be winning anymore since the matchup will be different. (Every week or two server matchups change based on position) Deleting all your characters to switch servers is also counter productive as you would lose all the character power you had even if you were switching to a winning server. Character stats scale to be even in WvW but you do not have all your traits or abilities. So if you deleted every time you wanted to change servers you would have nothing again in terms of character power.
Comments
I think giving you 1 week after you create your account to transfer or delete to be able to change server for free would be a good soultion. That gives you enough time to talk to friends and see where they are in case you make a mistake and also avoids the going to the winning server problem since you can't really figure that out in a week.
I agree I think this would be a good solution.
I don't think that would work. Your home server is an account choice that you are prompted to make the first time you log into the game, not a character choice. That said, the purpose of the server lock is exclusively to prevent the potential WvW pvp exploits you fear. Through the "guesting" system, not only can you still make and play new characters on other servers, but you can also play any of your current characters on any other server you like at any time, for free. The only thing you cannot do is participate in WvW pvp for other servers.
Read this recent PCgamer article for more info. Here's a small relevant section:
"PCG: Obviously your home server is an important part of World vs. World battles. How will you keep easy access to server transfers from being abused by people wanting to join the “winning” team?
EF: The fee should serve as a pretty large deterrent to people looking to jump on the winning side. Beyond this, a player’s not eligible to receive any of the World vs. World bonuses during the match that is ongoing when they transfer. Because of our matchmaking system, you can never be certain that your side is going to win the next matchup, so you’d be risking your money without any guarantee of being able to reap the rewards that come with victory."
That is a little harsh. Lets say I buy the game and start playing. A friend buys it is choses a server then tells me he is playing. Based on the experience of the majority of players he would assume he could just make a character on my server later. he likely wants to just jump in and play.
Now, even with deleting his characters, he can't change servers?
I do not think a lot of people will be ready for this mechanic to be in the game. You should at least be able to "reset" your account and start from scratch or be given one free transfer etc.
You and I know how it will work but my guess is the majority of people wont. . so saying it is their fault is like saying that someone hit by a bus should have seen it coming. . even though it went trhough a red light which is not typical. I agree.. they should have been looking . . but most people won't and they will get PO'd.
Wa min God! Se æx on min heafod is!
I'm pretty sure it explains what you are doing when you pick your home server.
The only thing players can do on other servers are PvE and Structure PvP (which is cross-server anyways) so balance is not a factor there. They cannot WvW anywhere but there home server. If you switch servers you do not gain WvW benefits for a couple of weeks and there is a 7 day cooldown along with a gem cost to do so. So joining the "winning" server won't matter since by the time you can actually WvW the server won't be winning anymore since the matchup will be different. (Every week or two server matchups change based on position) Deleting all your characters to switch servers is also counter productive as you would lose all the character power you had even if you were switching to a winning server. Character stats scale to be even in WvW but you do not have all your traits or abilities. So if you deleted every time you wanted to change servers you would have nothing again in terms of character power.