The "Meteor mark": anyone else come upon this issue?

[Miste]

While I don't remember 100%, I think it was the exact opposite. Legacy servers were full and they would have wanted to spread out servers as much as possible. If anything they encouraged legacy players to move to newer servers and didn't allow new players to make characters on legacy servers.

No, this is incorrect on all accounts.

New players could choose to make a character on a legacy world if they wanted to there was no restriction except if the world was maxed out. (I had friends of mine join my legacy server as new players)

Legacy characters could only transfer to Legacy worlds at the beginning (for example my world from 1.0 was Ridill and it became a Japanese legacy server and I am NA so, like all legacy players, I was given one free transfer to another world, but my choices were ONLY other legacy servers at that time. New worlds were forbidden to me unless I started a fresh character on them.)

SE didn't want legacy characters on new servers due to server economy issues since legacy characters got to keep a portion of their gil from 1.0 which depending on the character could be in the millions of gil. Also having all or simply multiple jobs/crafts at 50 would make the legacy characters have a monopoly on the market board until the new players caught up.

The new servers were fresh start servers that new players could start on in order to have the experience of everyone starting fresh and not having maxed out level 50 legacy players with a lot of gil and resources running around.

[Pixiehawk]

In 1.xx I had to stop for financial reasons, and wasn't able to come back until ARR had started - I wasn't able to be there when the world blew up and thought my 1.0 character was lost. When I found out it was still there, just on a Japanese Server I "rescued" her and am using her as an alt. Her highest job is 30 or so, and my Main is in the 60s. I couldn't give up all the stuff I'd done on my main (Yokai Watch/glowey car, I'm looking at you >< ) but it is fun to tool around on her when I'm in the mood for more low-key stuff.

[Enkidoh]

What wasn't moved, retainers. Not that I think mine had anything of value on it.

Actually, 1.0 retainers were in fact moved with your 1.0 character into ARR, in fact, after transferring their 1.0 character into ARR, a 1.0 player could immediately rehire their 1.0 retainer from the Retainer Vocate as soon as they started ARR (and didn't have to play through the story to get Minfilia to unlock them) - you had to create a new appearance for them though. But you could keep their old name and they had everything you stored on them intact.

Curiously a 1.0 retainer also has the Legacy mark (depending on if you equip gear on them that keeps their upper back bare, the default Retainer outfit hides it), which proves even more a 1.0 player retained their.. um.. retainers.

[Kogasan]

I also played during 1.0 but during beta I fantased or however you spell it the character and therefore ended up some how losing my tatoo. I wonder if in that case how you would get it back.

[worldofneil]

you had to create a new appearance for them though

I'm pretty sure mine kept her appearance, at least she looks identical in the old photos to how she is now. I don't think I intentionally did that, but maybe I did, it was so long ago now. I remember the same name coming up though and remember thinking that was cool.

Curiously a 1.0 retainer also has the Legacy mark

Wha....!? I NEVER KNEW THIS. I guess I never had the retainer in an outfit that shows it off, at the same time never flicked the camera round behind her. She's also not the retainer I "place" outside the house. Wow how exciting, thanks for this!

Edit: Disappointingly mine does not have the tattoo I don't know if she lost it on my recent server transfer to Omega or if it was never there To the best of my knowledge she's never been retainer fantasia'd.

I also played during 1.0 but during beta I fantased

Adding to the above, the tattoo is not affected by the Fantasia and didn't come out until 2.0 itself (you couldn't Fantasia in any of the betas, only delete/create a new character and maybe you did that?). Most 1.0 players also didn't have to use a Fantasia to change their appearance, first time you logged in you had the option. Although I say most, it didn't work for everyone so they later sent a Fantasia to all 1.0 characters for free to fix those that didn't.