In an effort to help create a fresh server that is 'new', I have the naive idea that everyone would get transferred such that the fresh server will be just that, FRESH. The economy of a server is a major concern. If it becomes too one sided, it can ruin a server. To elaborate more, what I mean by starting fresh is how to best go about transferring accounts where the new TBC realm economy will not go totally sideways when it launches. I have played MMORPG's where the servers have been totally f#ck'd up by one sided economies. I have been both at the top and bottom of this idea meaning I've been both the one with unlimited gold and almost no gold. With unlimited gold you basically can buy your way to the top, i.e. a PTW atmosphere. Not what I would like to see with WoW. With almost no gold and someone with a monopoly on everything, you can't afford anything and everything takes that much longer. Not a bad thing but also not intended to be this way for everything in game. There are a few things which will inevitably make this happen. Below is a list of what I see as potential issues and a potential solution to these issues.
The economy is a major issue which is affected by many sources.
1. Gold - Issue: If unlimited gold is allowed to be transferred, the economy will be very one sided to those who are gold farmers and already have thousands of gold at their disposal. This can lead to things like a monopoly over the Auction House. Potential Solution: I suggest limiting gold to 100G. This should be enough for anyone to be able to get a good jump on respec'ing skills, professions, etc. and is a very obtainable gold amount for anyone that raids weekly or does dungeons often on the Vanilla servers. This will inevitably put everyone on a level playing field when it comes to starting currency.
2. Materials - Issue: If unlimited materials are allowed to be brought over, a couple things can happen. I. They can be sold on the Auction House for gold. II. They can be utilized to power level a good way into new professions, i.e. stocking up on ore and herbs for Jewel Crafting and Inscription, respectively, which will ultimately lead to gouging on the Auction House (though this may happen anyway with new materials). Potential Solution: I suggest not allowing ANY ore, herbs or skins (others?) allowed to be transferred. This will inevitably put everyone on a level playing field when it comes to leveling professions.
3. Item Transfer - Issue: Those that so choose can always find those one off items that are worth a lot of gold but are not very useful and stock up on those items to vendor. Potential Solution: I suggest any tradeable items should NOT be allowed to be transferred. Soulbound items should be allowed to be transferred pending the total soulbound item vendor amount does not exceed a predefined gold amount. Ultimately if your bank and bank alts are fairly full, you will need to choose what gets brought over. This will help steady the gold availability at the start of the fresh realm.
4. Bank Alts - Issue: As I was typing Item 4. above, this issue came to mind. Alternate characters could potentially carry on them the same amount of items to maximize gold / item availability. Potential Solution: I suggest only one character being transferred be allowed to have items in its bank / bags. All other characters will have their items removed.
5. Mail Storage - Issue: If you are not aware, the mailbox is a great source of extra bag space by simply mailing items to an alt character and leaving the items in the mail until needed. For this reason, mail storage could be used in the same fashion to bring gold / items over to the new realm which could potentially ruin the fresh economy. Potential Solution: I suggest not allowing ANY mail to be brought over.
I am interested to hear what others think about this unprecedented transfer event and how this may affect the new realm. If you have other ideas to help further bring everyone on an even playing field on the new realm, please share.
Please be kind in your responses. Some may not like these ideas, which is fine, but your responses should be respectful at the very least.
