Amazon planning second round of New World server transfers this year
Plus details on server merges and cross-region transfers
Server transfers were introduced to New World last month, letting players boot their characters to a new world. It was implemented as a way to ease queue times in the popular MMORPG, but didn't work completely to plan - it caused a gold duping glitch, and some players have been blocked from transferring altogether. Amazon Games say they're currently working on resolving these blockages, and are planning a second round of server transfers before the year's end, so everyone has a chance to jump worlds.
In an update post on New World's forums, Amazon say their top priority is "to address the edge cases that have blocked players from using their free transfer token." Some players have been blocked due to trading post "ghost contracts", which seem to be quests stuck in limbo holding you to the world you started them in.
They say that these "ghost contracts" should be sorted now, but there is an ongoing problem with "pending contracts" that are also blocking transfers. They're currently working on a fix for those.
"The first round of server transfers provided a lot of lessons for us to learn from, and we apologize that it has been at the expense of some of you joining your friends on a server of your choice," Amazon say. "After transfers have been unblocked and our investigations into these cases are complete, we are looking to provide a second round of server transfers. Estimated timing is before the year’s end. We will keep you updated if that changes"
It's not clear if this second round of transfers will be free for everyone again, or if transfer tokens will just be offered to those who haven't had a chance yet. The company have previously said they plan on selling transfer tokens in the future.
The developers say they're also "gauging interest" in cross-region transfers. Originally, Amazon said players would be able to hop regions (jumping from EU Central servers to US East, for example), but they quickly backtracked. From the sounds of things, before they properly commit to this feature, they want to know how many people will actually use it. If you want to express your interest, head to this forum post.
Lastly in New World server news, server merges "are on the horizon". Amazon say they've been testing the tech since beta, which would mash two servers together, and they're nearly ready to use it in the live game. Once they pick a couple of candidates, they say they'll run thorough checks to make sure they're compatible (looking at population, faction representation and more). They don't say exactly when merges will start, but here are the details on how it should work:
"Players on worlds identified for merge will be informed in advance of the plan. Players with characters on a merge candidate world will not lose their progress (including gold, items, faction, and company); however, territories will belong to the companies on the partner world. For example, if World X is confirmed as a merge candidate, and World Y is identified as the partner world:
- Players on World Y are not impacted, other than an influx of players on the world. World Y territory ownership persists after the merge. Companies are compensated 50K Coin, which is 3.3x the cost of war, for loss of territory ownership due to a world merge.
- World X characters are relocated to World Y - characters, companies, housing, gold, and owned items remain intact, but territory ownership will not persist on the new world.
"At this time we are not offering transfers to players after a world has been merged. This position may change as we learn more."
Amazon's full forum postis well worth a read if you're into the game. It also talks about plans to add new outfits, details the game's luck system, provides an update on issues with declaring wars, and loads more.