Moving empty character slots to another server?

Once a player unlocks a character slot on a specific server, it stays on that server forever, and cannot be moved to another server. If they ever want to play on a different server, there are only these options:

1. Character Slot Purchase: at 480 points for 1 or 800 for 2, that's at least $10.
2. Character Transfer: 800 points (at least $10) or earned monthly with VIP.
3. Become a VIP: $15 per month.

There is no approved mechanism for a player to move an unlocked slot from one server to another. I opened an Incident with The Support Team, which confirmed this. I think that this policy is unwise at best, and perhaps unethical at worst. I believe that this is a short-sighted mistake that offends me as a player (a VIP) and ultimately hurts the game in the long run.

First, let me make it clear that I am talking about empty "Create Character" slots. I am not talking about created/equipped character slots: that's a value-added service that can and should cost points. This topic of this thread is limited to only empty character slots.

I do not see how NCSoft loses anything by making it easy or convenient for players to move unlocked/empty character slots among different servers. If anything, doing so would encourage such players to play MORE, because it gives them the mobility to seek out and find the server the best suits their needs and/or gives them greatest enjoyment from the game. If the player is playing on a server that makes him/her happy, then they're more likely to stay there, keep playing, keep shopping, keep buying points, etc. This is ultimately the best outcome for CoH and NCSoft.

But if the player is "locked-in" to a specific server that somehow becomes dull or even hostile, then what recourse does the player have? Can they easily move to another server? No, not really. Yes, they might have a transfer token, or might be willing to buy one, but how will they choose a destination? Without the ability to freely sample the other servers with a new character, why would they gamble a transfer token, points, or real cash on a new server, sight unseen?

No, it makes far better sense to give the player the option of using one of the empty slots they've already unlocked, instead. Allow them to move it from server A to server B, so they can at least try it out. What difference does it really make if the unlocked slot is on or the other anyway, as long as the net number of slots is the same?

I understand that it's completely within their rights for NCSoft to define how players are allowed to create and use character slots on the servers: I don't disagree with that, nor that they are wrong to do so. I'm just saying that this may not be right or best, either. It might be better and smarter for NCSoft to give their customers a bit more flexibility, so that they might enjoy their products and services more, and as an incentive to spend more money on those products and services.

I've been playing CoH since November 2004. I'm a 5+ year veteran VIP with 4 accounts (2 VIP, 2 Premium/Free). Since CoH Freedom went live, I've purchased 8,960 Paragon Points ($100 USD, apart from those included with VIP). So I want to make it clear that I'm not complaining about money, begrudging NCSoft any money, or whining about getting something for nothing.

Thanks for your time and attention.

Sincerely,
Ralph S. Thomas
a.k.a. @Rathstar1
formerly of Virtue
now on Liberty
(which is why I want to move my slots, dammit!)

If you would like to make a suggestion, head on down to the Suggestions forum.

If you're trying to report a bug, I'm sorry, this is not a bug.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dispari I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.

Fourth one down in the "For fun" section.

PM one of the OCR team asking them to move it.

Beastyle, Freitag, 7deCouer or Zwinkyhockeypuck (look at Community Digest for correct spelling of his name, I refuse to spell it right).

You may be able to send a PM to Moderator 05, Moderator 07, Moderator 12 or Moderator 13 with the request as well. I don't think any of them have PM's disabled.

EDIT: Ano as soon as I submitted that post, it's been moved.

Thanks for moving this thread to the appropriate forum. I do appreciate the assistance.

Although I must say that I'm a bit disappointed that it's buried in a section called "For Fun!". To me that implies that my concerns won't be taken seriously, nor be given significant merit or consideration. This might seem like a minor or trivial concern to some people, but it really is quite important to me, and I suspect it might be of interest to many others. Because I have reached the end of the line as far as I could by going through the Support Incident route, it seemed to me that the logical next step would be to communicate my concerns here on the forums. I am a paying customer after all, so as a VIP Subscriber I enjoy full posting privileges on these forums and agree to follow the Forum Rules and Guidelines.

This situation has left a bad taste in my mouth. It seems to me that NCSoft cares more about squeezing a few more bucks out of me than it does about satisfying me as a customer. It's such a minor thing, but it has such a major effect -- don't they realize that they'd easily get a few more bucks out of me if they keep me happy (I did mention that I shelled out $100 for points 8000 points already, right)? Instead, the harsh reality of it feels like a cold slap in the face. Consequently, I'd rather not give them another dime. I think I've paid quite enough for now, thanks. It's not that I haven't enjoyed the products and services for which I've paid: I have indeed done just that. But now that I more completely understand the nature of our business relationship, now that I know where the boundaries are, I'll be sure to stay well within them, as clearly defined by NCSoft, thank you.

So I decided to cancel my second VIP subscription (I am keeping my first one active), and I choose not to purchase any more Paragon Points. I will simply continue to accrue those incidental points and transfer tokens that come with the single VIP subscription, and use those to transfer and/or acquire the slots I want on Liberty. If that's how NCSoft wants me to play the game, then that is indeed how I shall play it.

In the meantime, it seems I now have extra gaming money to spend elsewhere. I wonder if SW:TOR is any fun?

Since they charge for moving characters between servers, it seems logical that they would charge for moving character slots to other servers (to pay for the cost of developing a service that a relatively small number of players would actually use).

They've probably discussed this very thing, and decided that the price they'd have to charge for this new service would be the same as buying a new character slot. Which makes the whole thing rather pointless.

i was talking to friends in game, even got turned into a thread one day.
This is a few years ago, waaaaaay before i21.
This was my idea on the whole thing:

Instead of just toon, have the ability to also move empty server slots around with the server transfer tokens.
Either have the prompt: Toon or Slot, when selecting the transfer. Then select the toon/slot from the server you want to transfer followed by the server you want it transferred to.


I play on Guardian, and guardian alone. I have 26 out of 26 slots used, I have 12 slots on each other server i don't use. I don't have a lot of cash to waste on the game, so i can't spend that on server slots to unlock the 22 other slots, but i am willing to use the server transfers that are collecting dust to open up more slots on my server. And i'm sure there are more people like me who have these server tokens collecting dust, glad to either get a few retired toons back home, or just the ability to create new toons.