Suggestion: One Free World Transfer Per Account/Character
Howdy hi!
I have a brilliant idea for you. Simply put, this entire world locked, then world transfer business has been... let's say less than enjoyable for so many of us here. I wound up on a server where I know no one, one that isn't even on my time zone (an EU for a NA), and in general not a place I foresaw staying in if ever free world transfers were offered. No offence to the lovely people of Phoenix, you've all been awesome, but I miss my friends, friends I've had in some cases for nearly 10 years now.
Currently, I can see about 3 to 4 threads of people who are, like me, not thrilled with this idea of a time-limited window. There are so many questions to be answered, and with only 5 days, it's either jump into the fire and hope not to be burned, or be locked out and forced to pay for something that is, quite frankly, not our fault.
So, here is my idea (modified slightly with input from a friendly poster over at Alla): Send everyone a single-use item. This item entitles either the character or the account (your call there) one free, pro-bono move to any server as per the current restrictions. This would serve a couple purposes.
For one, it would cease the congestion you have right now. I'm sure your customer support teams are tired of the complaints. This also give your server maintenance team some rest too. They do enough day to day, let's cut them a break!
For two, it allows you to see how the world transfers go, see where everyone is headed, and provide regular feedback on which servers are jamming up and which are freeing up. This would allow larger groups to target a server with lower populations for more friendly play conditions. It helps you, it helps them. It's a win-win!
For three, it gives those stuck on Legacy an option to wait it out. Just hang tough, suffer through the dark times if they are unhappy where they are, and then burn the usage when you allow Legacy and non-Legacy to mix once more. Again, win-win. You have a happy customer, you also get room on Legacy servers later down the road.
And finally, it saves face for all of the times you've stumbled this go-round. I get it, this game exploded in popularity. It's fine to be unprepared. You have budgets and investors and bosses. All of these things must be factored in. But right now, you are frustrating an already frustrated population by avoiding a simple, elegant solution. You could even just put down on accounts that the first world transfer is free, period! Why not? It's great customer service. It allows you to go onto a server, discover that you were in a gap of time where you could get help, ask around on forums and then move to one that works better for you.
I know you guys are passionate about the game. So are we! We love this game, that's why we get all bent out of shape when it's getting choked by roadblocks like these. Why not just forget time limited periods and just give us the chance to go hang with our friends?