Recruit a friend feedback

[Subhi]

Problem(s):

Server locks are causing the "Recruit a Friend" system to repel new players instead of enticing them. The fact that the recruited players only find out about server lock AFTER purchasing the game exacerbates the issue. Instead of starting with a good experience that would cause increased interest, they end up feeling like they have been the victim of a scam. This sours the new player experience before they can even try the game.

Example:

I recently invited two friends to the game. Neither were able to create characters on my server despite staying up past midnight the first night. The second day one of them started around 7 AM PST and despite refreshing continuously throughout the day was not able to create a character until 2:30 AM the next morning. The other has still not been able to create a character after 3 days.

[Subhi]

Suggested Solutions:

Here are the two that come to mind offhand. Hopefully the community can generate more.

• Set an account flag when a recruitment code is entered that allows a server lock bypass for the first character created on the account. If necessary, adjust the population cap limit that triggers the server lock down to prevent this from causing queues.
  
• Implement an "Overflow" server that a new character is automatically redirected to if their desired server is currently locked, and provide an automatic in-game prompt to join the live server when resources allow. For an example of successful implementation of this method see Guild Wars 2 and how zone overflow is handled.

[Subhi]

Please read before commenting:
My purpose in posting this is to generate ideas towards a solution to an issue that has been allowed to continue for far too long. Please limit responses to constructive suggestions and refrain from reposting the common apologist response, which is to make a character in the early morning on weekdays. That is a work-around, not a solution, and even then is only acceptable for people who do not work a standard shift or have other responsibilities.

Also, my apologies for the multiple posts. I went over double the allowed characters in a single post, and had to break it up.