Guild Wars 2

If this is in the wrong section, I apologize, but I found it to be the most fitting.

Alright, so I’ve just purchased Guild Wars 2.

I log in for the first time and I’m prompted with a server (or world) list; and of course, to no surprise, the server where all my friends are is Full. So I thought to myself: “Okay, well, I’ll just hop onto Piken Square and mess around until Tarnished Coast opens up.” So I go to do that and I’m then prompted with an “are you sure?” message. Now, just to be safe, I googled to see what “Home Server” meant exactly, and I came to realize that ANet was offering free transfers within the first six months but is now charging. It seems rather strange that I pay for an online game for the soul purpose of playing with my friends and find out that I can’t, and that if I want to, I’m going to have to pay an extra $20 to do so if I want to play right now and transfer later.

I understand you guys have to make money, but this is poor form and just downright cheap. Similar tactics are: “I’m going to inject you with small pox and then charge you for the antidote.” It’s essentially the same thing when you restrict someone’s access to a server, and then charge them to change it just to play with their friends. This is manipulative and bears traits inherent in a bully. I payed $60, and now I’m going to have to pay an extra $20? Not only that, but now I have to wait for an undetermined amount of time just to play with my friends? I also presume that this wait is going to be exponentially longer now that transfers are no longer free and the bandwagon players are trapped in Tarnished Coast.

Anyway, all griping aside, is this true?: Taken straight from the wiki. Mainly pay attention to the boldened text.

“Transferring

To transfer to a different world, go to the character selection screen (using F12 or when you first logon) and select the desired world; you will be logged out while the game makes these changes, which might take 5-30 minutes. You can transfer once every seven days at a cost determined by the destination server population.

Medium 500
High 1000
Very High 1800

The transfer fee is only charged if you have characters on your account; in other words, if your account has no characters or you delete all existing characters first, you will be prompted to select a new home world after creating a new character, free of charge."

It is true

If you delete all your chars you get to move for free

But any items you want to keep will be gone too unless you place them in the bank, cause that will move with you.

You can also guest to any server in your region for free, at any time. You can not, however, take part in WvW; all other aspects of the game are offered to guests. There is a limit of two servers per 24-hour period, but you can guest as many times as you like. You can also earn gold in-game and pay for your transfer by exchanging that gold for gems. The free server transfer option was only in place while guesting was being made viable. Before the game ever launched, it was announced that server transfers would require a fee. I am sorry you were not aware of the policies before purchasing. I do hope you have fun adventuring in Tyria, though. Welcome. =)

Edit: Do be aware that there is a 7-day cooldown between server transfers, fee or free.

Gaile Gray.6028:

What the wiki states is true, and makes it easy for new players, such as yourself, to resettle on a new home world. Do be aware, too, that your friends can move to your world, instead. Since they’ve been playing for a while, they’ll have more wealth than you, so it won’t be a major hit on their pocketbook.

And yes, guesting is a good option, as well!

Or your friends could chip in and send YOU gold, which you can then turn into gems for the transfer fee.

Rakos.3165:

If this is in the wrong section, I apologize, but I found it to be the most fitting.

Alright, so I’ve just purchased Guild Wars 2.

I log in for the first time and I’m prompted with a server (or world) list; and of course, to no surprise, the server where all my friends are is Full. So I thought to myself: “Okay, well, I’ll just hop onto Piken Square and mess around until Tarnished Coast opens up.” So I go to do that and I’m then prompted with an “are you sure?” message. Now, just to be safe, I googled to see what “Home Server” meant exactly, and I came to realize that ANet was offering free transfers within the first six months but is now charging. It seems rather strange that I pay for an online game for the soul purpose of playing with my friends and find out that I can’t, and that if I want to, I’m going to have to pay an extra $20 to do so if I want to play right now and transfer later.

One option is to wait until the middle of the night/early in the morning (when the Tarnished Coast server is not listed as “full”) and create a character then. I know that means you can’t play right now (which does suck) but you will be able to play on the server you want to soonest and without further cost to yourself. Guesting is not much of an option if you want to WvW with your friends.