World Transfers

[Bedalin]

We are still resolving timelines on moving the worlds to new tech but it is looking like we should be moved over in the next 2-3 months. I will give a better timeline once I have it.

5 US and 5 EU is correct. In our selection we will have one RP per region (EU & US) and one world per language (DE, FR and ENG).

I really think it would be better,if you remain one normal and one RP-Server per language at the EU-Cluster.

[Vyvyanne]

So it's possible that transfers to Brandywine won't open up till you revert back to the pay per transfer mode?

Yes. We are working on getting up sooner, but as this is our largest population and there are many concerns with it being "too Populated" making it a paid transfer only will prevent a land rush. We can reconsider this once the world is up in the new datacenter and we see how performance is doing.

However once we open the initial transfers, those who wish to move off of Brandywine to another server are welcome to do so during the free period.

[Thego]

when you transfer your character to a new world, the world will check to see if there is a naming conflict. If there is, it will grant the name to the incoming character if the character existing on the world has not been active for one year or more. The less active character will have a -1 added to their name and a rename token granted to the character

And if both were active before the merge?

[Assasiny]

Thanks devs and Turbine for this amazing post ! Probably the best post since 2 years now :P

But here is my question: Will Brandywine players be able to transfer for free OUT of the server ?

[Jurny]

Frelorn, Thank you so much!!

[Thalifea]

Yes. We are working on getting up sooner, but as this is our largest population and there are many concerns with it being "too Populated" making it a paid transfer only will prevent a land rush. We can reconsider this once the world is up in the new datacenter and we see how performance is doing.

However once we open the initial transfers, those who wish to move off of Brandywine to another server are welcome to do so during the free period.

Thank you for the information, and quick response

[StinkyGreene]

when you transfer your character to a new world, the world will check to see if there is a naming conflict. If there is, it will grant the name to the incoming character if the character existing on the world has not been active for one year or more. The less active character will have a -1 added to their name and a rename token granted to the character

*Furiously activates the 7 Nimrodel zombies*

[Vyvyanne]

And if both were active before the merge?

Then the character that is already present on the destination server takes precedence and the incoming character gets a "-1" added to their name and a name change token.

[Warmutkan]

Suggestion, as a Kin leader:

Please include a dev diary or similar walkthrough for the kinship transfer process when the time comes. Making a mistake when transferring my own characters isn't a big deal, it only affects me. A leader making a mistake on a kinship transfer is a bigger deal since it can affect dozens-hundreds of people.

Thanks for the diary. Very detailed.

[cdq1958]

My American geography is poor, apologies

Well, if we are going to be more accurate geographically, the move is more-or-less southwest.

[jrsbebes]

Thank you for such enlightening information

I have noticed a possible exploit which is to immediately create as many characters you can on all the worlds before August 3rd in order to get the goodie box. Please may I humbly suggest that you discourage such greed!

I wouldn't worry in the notes it stated no new characters will be able to created for the closing worlds as of todays update, though the list won't come out until Aug 3rd.

[Namesse]

And if both were active before the merge?

The character transferring in would have -1 appended and a rename token. Just like was written in the notes.

[Lenton]

I'm scared...

I guess the 5 NA servers sticking around will also be the 5 largest ones. That makes 4 servers pretty clear, but all the rest are mostly equal. I have a feeling that Vilya won't be sticking around...

[RJFerret]

Our kin frequently has players return after years away. Just this past month we've had multiple players back who haven't played for two years. It's not uncommon for folks to only play summers, or conversely, during the school year. Others are off on extended travels, also broken computers with inadequate alternatives, moves, all sorts of reason limit folks from being able to log in.

In game mail only lasts a month and a half. When the kin is moved, does that mean future log-ins on the old server do not see a lingering Message of the Day?

Is there any facility to get a message to kinmates a year from now, who come to an old closed server and only have the option to transfer, to see where their kin has gone?

Might a provision be made to allow them to see a MoTD? (Since they won't be able to access mail at that point.)

[jrsbebes]

Greetings Citizens of Middle-Earth!

We are finally ready to reveal the details on the new World Transfer process, the consolidation of LOTRO's worlds, and their movement to a brand new data center. We appreciate your patience as we have worked to make the new transfer process as well-rounded, simple, and effortless as possible. The first part of this article will discuss our timeline and the second part will go over the details of the new transfer features themselves. So grab a goblet of Elvish Wine and kick back, because this will be a long one. Read more.

Thanks for the update Frelorn !

[PoeticNightmare]

I'm really happy to see this happening. Been wanting to return to the game but have been discouraged by how desolate it has been on my server. I'm excited to see an active chat/world again and meet new people while I catch up from where I left off in game.

[Flooz]

I wouldn't worry in the notes it stated no new characters will be able to created for the closing worlds as of todays update, though the list won't come out until Aug 3rd.

So we can find out which worlds are closing by trying to create a character on each world?

[Pontin_Finnberry]

5 US and 5 EU is correct. In our selection we will have one RP per region (EU & US) and one world per language (DE, FR and ENG).

Does this mean only 10 servers will remain? am i reading that right?

[PoeticNightmare]

Question: Aside from Brandywine, is there a chance of the other severs becoming closer during the transfer process as they fill up? I'd like to transfer to Landroval but cant until i return from a trip in September. I worry about it filling up in that time.

[CuruornEU]

I have a question regarding the naming priority. A few years ago I transferred one of my characters and later transferred it back. When I returned my name was stolen by someone on a throwaway account for the sake of pissing me off. My character still has a free rename token and the -1 behind his name. I would like to change back to my old name, however I'm unable to do so prior to the transfer (because my name is still taken) and as such I presume I will not get priority on the original name when transferring? If I recall correctly my characters original name is also taken on the server I'm planning to go to.

Would like to know if there is some kind of workaround to this with the assistance of a GM so I can get my name back.

[Vyvyanne]

Suggestion, as a Kin leader:

Please include a dev diary or similar walkthrough for the kinship transfer process when the time comes. Making a mistake when transferring my own characters isn't a big deal, it only affects me. A leader making a mistake on a kinship transfer is a bigger deal since it can affect dozens-hundreds of people.

Thanks for the diary. Very detailed.

To Transfer Kinship:
1. Choose destination world and announce this to your kinship via MOTD, emails, etc
2. Transfer your Kin-leader character to the preferred world via the character transfer interface in the launcher
3. When you log in on the destination world with the Kin-leader, the kinship will be already created and ready for you. As Kinmates join that world they will be auto-added back to the kin. All items from housing or storage will be granted back to the character they were bound to, or in the kin-leader's storage.

[Padhril]

While it's good to have some more information on how the process will work, I'm not sure that giving out the number of servers to remain without actually naming said servers was such a wise idea. As already demonstrated in this thread, the speculations, calculations, and rumours on which servers will remain are just going to fly sky-high (which is a natural reaction, it's not as if I don't have my own suspicions). I'm sure we'll see a lot of panic now from people whose server might turn out to survive in the end, while others might feel safe according to conclusions they draw, yet suddenly find that they are going to lose their server after all. Those speculations have existed before, but with actual numbers we're all going to try to come up with some numbers-based reasoning.

Also, please, please try to inform people who transfer what being on an RP server entails, particularly when it comes to naming and additional rules like not griefing RP'ers. If people transfer to an RP server without a clear expectation of what that means, it'll result in annoyance - from those who transfer and feel unwelcome because they don't realise the culture might be different than on their original server, and from the existing population who think they're getting an influx of trolls even though that isn't actually the case.

We've already seen some problems when Russian players transferred in just because some people (not necessarily RP'ers in this case) were unable to accept that according to Turbine's rules those Russian players were in fact allowed to speak Russian in World while they were trying to find other Russians. The amount of xenophobia displayed was astounding.

[Thego]

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping, the "age" of the account would be the crucial factor.

[CM-Amenophis]

What happens to all none Account Shared Items? My Shared Bank is full, also my Private Bank and Housing Slots. Will i lose something? That wasnt mentioned in the Diary.

[Fratonia]

Thank you for this summary.

One thing that I am missing is information on the items in the enhanced purse (festival tokens, taxidermist items etc.). Will we lose them during transfer or are they part of the character data that gets transfered?