Deletion of Lower Level Characters of Longer Inactive Accounts and Server Merges in AoC

Tarib wrote: Deletion of low level characters on inactive accounts

As announced in the December Letter from the Game Director we will merge the Age of Conan servers soon. Today we wanted to announce some preparations for the server merge that will include the deletion of characters from levels 1 to 20 on accounts that were inactive (without subscriptions) for 7 months or more.

Qualifications for Character Deletion Process:

• NO characters will be deleted from an account that has a valid, running subscription.
  
• If an account's subscription ran out 7 or more months ago, and the account is not reactivated until the character deletion process starts, characters below level 21 will be deleted. Characters of level 21 and up remain untouched and are NOT deleted.
  

Owners of accounts that qualify for the character deletion process mentioned above, will receive an e-mail today to inform them about it. If you have an account that was not active for 7 months or more and therefore qualifies for deletion of characters level 1 to 20, you can re-activate your account now to ensure that your characters progress and names stay intact.

We will release more information on the server merges including a detailed FAQ on commonly asked questions during the process later this week.

Tarib wrote: Server Merge Information
As announced in the December Letter from the Game Director we will merge the Age of Conan servers soon. We have been following the player feedback on the server communities closely and we are moving forward with the additional server merges and transfer options that have been requested. We operate the game today with a high number of servers, compared to other major titles in the same segment as us, so it's only natural that we take a look at what measures we can take to ensure an enjoyable gaming experience for our players.

It is more important to ensure the best possible play experience and community for the players. Some of the servers that we retained last year just didn't pick up again after their populations levelled off after the fast start at launch. We left them alone and didn't merge them last time out as they were just on the cusp of what we considered acceptable, so we wanted to give them a chance to continue. However they haven't changed and have seen slight declines that mean it is more appropriate that we move them into the populated and healthy server populations.

Today we want to give you some detailed information about how these merges will happen and what this will mean for you, the players.

We will be merging the servers in the second half of January 2010. The exact date has yet to be announced but we will let you know as soon as possible. It is important to us to ensure that the merge process goes as smooth as possible. The list of servers for the merges is available here.

It is important to know that during the time servers will be merged, all servers of the same territory (US or EU) will not be available. This means that during the merge downtime all servers will be unavailable. The exact duration of these downtimes will be announced soon but we expect them to be longer than the usual update downtime.

When the merge process is complete we will be giving all active subscribers an appropriate amount of free game-time to compensate for the additional downtime required for the merges. The details of this will be communicated once the merge process is complete.

Once the merges are complete we will be offering a free one-use character transfer option for all characters so that if you wish to join a different community after the merge than the one you were allocated you are free to do so. This transfer will be free of charge and can be used once per character and will be available from your billing pages.

IMPORTANT: Prior to the above mentioned server merges, we will delete characters of levels 1 to 20 on accounts that were inactive (without subscription) for 7 months or more. This will happen during a maintenance downtime on the 19th of January (the official downtime announcement will follow soon). In detail that means:

• NO characters will be deleted from an account that has a valid, running subscription.
  
• If an account's subscription ran out 7 or more months ago, and the account is not reactivated until the character deletion process starts, characters below level 21 will be deleted. Characters of level 21 and up remain untouched and are NOT deleted.
  

Please also check the Server Merge FAQ which should answer most questions on the topic.

Tarib wrote: Server Merges: List of Servers

Below you find the list of the planned server merges. The first server shown (in bold) will remain as the server name and server ruleset after the merges. The servers merged together with the first one are then listed below.

EU Servers

English

• Crom (PvE)
  

• Fury (PvP)
  

• Hyrkania (PvE-RP)
  * Blackscar
  * Zingara (Spanish)
  

• Aquilonia (PvP-RP)
  * Skullcrusher
  * Indomitus (Spanish)
  

German

• Mitra (PvE)
  

• Asgard (PvP-RP)
  * Aries
  

French

• Ishtar (PvE)
  

• Stygia (PvP-RP)
  * Ferox
  

Russian/Polish

• Rothat (PvE)
  * ScarletCitadel
  

• TwoEagles (PvP)
  * MoonOfBlood
  

US Servers

• Set (PvE)
  * Ironspine
  

• Wiccana (PvE)
  * Gwahlur
  

• Tyranny (PvP)
  

• Cimmeria (PvP-RP)
  * Bloodspire
  * Agony
  

Tarib wrote: Server Merge FAQ

This FAQ should answer most of the questions on the topic of the planned server merges. As soon as additional information will be available, we will add it to this FAQ.


When will the server merges happen?

We will start merging the servers in the second half of January 2010.</blockquote>

Will all servers be merged at the same time?

Yes. We plan to have the servers merged within one day (24 hours). There might be different downtimes for EU servers and US servers though.

Which servers will be merged?

The final list of servers is available here.

What happens if several characters with the same name end up on the same server?

This depends on the following aspects and rules:

• Is the character on a still active account?
  
• If several characters of the same name are all from active accounts, the one with the higher level will keep his name.
  
• If merged characters have the same level, the one from an account which is registered on a longer time base will keep the name (so 3 month recurring over 1 month recurring).
  
• If characters are from accounts with the same subscription recurring time, the last login will decide which one keeps the name.
  
• The other(s) will be prompted a message at the first attempt to log in with that character stating that a new name must be given to this character.
  

What happens if two guilds with the same name end up on the same server?

The server of origin will be added to the guild name so all guilds will keep their name but with the name of the server they originated from. A guild has of course the possibility to get their guild name changed again by sending an in-game petition.

What is happening with guild cities when guilds are moved to another server?

Guild cities will be moved to the same playfield and spot they have been before. When necessary a new instance will be created. So every merged guild will have access to the same guild city on the new server.

And what will happen with guild battlekeeps?

Since build spots for battlekeeps are limited on each server, all build spots will be cleared and guilds will be reimbursed the resources for their battlekeep. This is to make sure that the guild get the needed resources again and every guild gets the same chance. Detailed information about how guild leaders need to request the resource reimbursement will follow soon.

Will there be a possibility to transfer single characters to another server for free?

Yes. The one-time free option to transfer characters to another server will be available after all server merges have been completed. Every character will be eligible for one free transfer and this offer will be valid for one month after the final server merges have been completed. This transfer will be free of charge and can be used once per character and will be available from your billing pages.

Can a character be transferred from one server ruleset to another (e.g. from a PvE server to a PvP server)?

Yes, that will be possible.

Can a character be transferred from one language server to another (e.g. from a German server to an English server)?

Yes, this will also be possible.

Can a character be transferred from an US server to an EU server or vice versa?

No, characters will only be able to be transferred to another server in the same territory (US or EU).

Will it be possible for whole guilds to be transferred to another server after the merge including taking with them their guild city and/or guild battlekeep?

No. Every member of a guild will have to be moved to a new server with the single character transfer option described above. Guild cities and battlekeeps will only be moved or reimbursed with the server merges.

Will all the items and messages stored in the bank also be moved automatically to the new server?

Yes, all items and messages (including items attached to messages) will be moved.

Will also all characters of currently inactive accounts be moved with the merges?

Prior to the above mentioned server merges, we will delete characters of levels 1 to 20 on accounts that were inactive (without subscription) for 7 months or more. This will happen during a maintenance downtime on the 19th of January (the official downtime announcement will follow soon). In detail that means:

• NO characters will be deleted from an account that has a valid, running subscription.
  
• If an account's subscription ran out 7 or more months ago, and the account is not reactivated until the character deletion process starts, characters below level 21 will be deleted. Characters of level 21 and up remain untouched and are NOT deleted.
  

All characters that were not deleted during this character deletion process will be moved.

How will I know if one of my friends had to rename his character after the merge?

If one of your friends had to rename his character, his name in your friendslist will automatically be updated to the new name. But you will have to talk to your friend to find out what his new name is as you won't see his old name in your friendslist.

Please note: after the merge, better check with your friends if they had to rename any of their chars before you start to send /tell information or in-game mails to them. Otherwise it might turn out that you talk to or send in-game mails to another person than you actually intend to.