Isle Of Refuge is DEAD

I demand royalties! When IoR was announced, I questioned why they just didn't finish what they started on Live, with a few additions - and you'd get the Isle of Refuge ruleset, without the move restrictions. (but then they couldn't require a subscription, and in the words of IoR proponents - keep out the common riff raff)

*cackles and imagines fives of pennies rolling in*

Don't get your hopes up.

When Isle of Refuge launches, there will be no transfers allowed on or off Isle of Refuge. This is a new Norrathian community being formed, and we want you all to have the opportunity to build relationships and a thriving player economy. There are no plans to EVER allow transfers off the Isle of Refuge server, though we may open transfers TO this server at a future date.

Unless they pull a rabbit out of their hat, the usual Daybreak plan from past games and actions is to ignore the situation long enough that there is no hope or point of putting any effort to the issue because so many have quit, so they can then justify shutting it down with everyone and everything on it.

Hmmm, where's that "renew our commitment to chatting with players" Holly spoke about? She has yet to make a single post in the forums this year. Mooncast has her beat with one post so far.

They also said that noone getting Drundered will come back EVER - and I have seen lots hopping around happily on live servers after a quick vacation over there.

Dead servers? -> allow transfers off with/without closing it down - prob fixed.

Yeah, your quote is from before they even allowed people to transfer there for 450 Daybreak Cash. Pretty sure someone else posted that they are considering transfers off as long as they spend 30 days on the Isle or something like that. TO me thats a money grab. That will take a dead server and make it deader. They need to merge AB, Storm and IoR and adopt IoR ruleset.

Dead indeed.
Myself and 2 friends are beyond annoyed that we paid $25/per to move a character each over there to play. Then the server dropped dead and we can't get the characters back :/
They are forever lost to the wasteland that is IoR (same with my $25 ...)

At least with other servers, we could move the characters again.

You paid for a transfer to IoR, and you should have known it was a one way ticket, as the info was readily available. There was no assurances the server would be a success. You got exactly what you paid for.

IoR has flopped, a tough break. Time for you to work on characters on proper live servers. The failure that is the IoR ruleset should not be forced on others (like AB) to try keeping it alive. IoR failing demonstrates the IoR ruleset is not desired by enough people to be viable.

As was pointed out earlier, some people both predicted and pointed out the problems with the IoR server and what was likely to come from it. While I hate to see people effectively get ripped off, no one who played on that server or paid to move to that server really has anyone to blame but themselves.

That's a bit of a stretch. All it proves is the IoR ruleset wasn't enough to overcome the massive downsides to moving characters, or starting from scratch.

Perhaps. But I suspect that an in-game poll to convert an existing server to the IoR ruleset would be a completely lopsided affair. Who knows, I could be wrong, so I encourage DBG to run a poll to find out.

I do not play on AB, but I am confident if DBG polled the AB server on who they wanted to merge with, IoR or Majdul, the result would be a lopsided massacre in favor of Majdul. Even if the people on AB who wanted IoR could transfer there for free, I doubt IoR would see any tangible gain in population, and those who go to IoR will probably regret it.

Of course, that is just my opinion, someone else may think completely different, the best way to get an answer is for DBG to poll AB residents. I doubt those who are pro-IoR would want to see the results of that poll.

IoR is the only server full of riffraff

Quoted for potential inaccuracy. Preliminary reports suggest that IoR contains far more tumbleweed, than riffraff. Unfortunately, it is hard to obtain an accurate count of tumbleweed, especially in the deserted, dusty, barren conditions of the IoR server.

We all know that IoR was a way to try and make some more money, and a way for the devs to point that the reason IoR failed is because people really don't want to have the sell able items. If you started your character there/or transferred there, there should be no reasonable expectation of moving back to a live server. The rule set of selling on the broker is no different from SLR on the live server, other than it makes it easier to get a piece of gear and not have to be on and bid on it.

That was why I said just make the rules the same on live server and then move everyone back. More people playing on live servers, makes for more grouping, people able to just go on the broker and buy items they want, makes more people able to do more content. which hopefully would lead to more grouping.

This is a win-win all around

Stach

IoR is a great place, I disagree with those saying it is riff raff.

The issue(s): it's a different ruleset server which developed into a very friendly community. Said community is very guild-centric, so those not in a guild think it is dead. Trolls don't care for it, as the friendly folks of the Isle simply ignore them til they leave.

Sadly, the opening of the TLE/ Heritage event server, also lured a large chunk of population away.

The summer ethereal promo is painful, as well. Those remaining are a split lot, meaning some can run Experts...a lot of the newer or returning players cannot. Many folks re-roll to come here, since they cannot transfer off, hence they need more work. This has caused a rift even in my own guild. Some of our players play on alts, so that they don't "Exclude" the folks in our guild that cannot do the Expert runs. For those of us that can run experts and would like the greater amount of Eth coins or better gear, it can be frustrating.

my 2c on the topic.

There aren't enough people playing EQ2 to sustain multiple servers period, so every time they introduce another one, it is problematic for existing servers. Face it, DBG cares more about a quick cash grab than quality, quantity, or sustainability. Things will not improve until they turn the lights off which would be a mercy at this point.

This whole topic has me thinking about the forums spam that was going on the month before FG dropped. IoR people were on here advertising how great it was, how the population was very healthy and alive. Those people on IoR had better character and were much more pleasant than on other servers. And now I see, you are either in a guild "Clique" or you are left to rot. Bonus: FG dropped and more than half the server pop died. Did I miss anything?

Edit: This is just an observation based on forum feedback and posts. In no way have I ever played on IoR.

Refer back to my post saying only riffraff is on IoR :3

I've only been playing for only a few months (I'm a long term EQ1er that fancied a change) so possibly my expectations and experiences are a little different. I started off on AB (mistakenly thinking it to be a Euro oriented server) but no matter because there are numbers of friendly guilds to join and people to chat with on that server, I've had a really good time slowly learning and levelling up different classes on AB trying to see how it all fitted together and then recently, out of curiosity as much as anything else, I moved one character over IOR . Literally everything is quiet in EQ2 in early Euro hours so I'm used to the general lack of population but in my limited experience people on the Isle are again very friendly and chatty. I joined a really nice guild who have offered information, insight and assistance.

I think Thurgadin is the EU based server.

The population was healthy pre FG....but just like everyone else, the server took a massive population hit when FG launched. No one from the server has "ever" claimed that it wasn't guild centric though. That has been said from the beginning in these forums and most everywhere else. If you want to have the most fun on IoR, find a guild that suits you. Cause LFG is and always has been mostly non-existant

If you are left to "rot" cause you won't do that...thats your problem.

Yea, I am in a guild and can't imagine, not being part of one. Especially since I like to raid. However, I know plenty of people who prefer to play in their own guild and grp with friends outside. IoR definitely sounds like a server that only invites the cool people who don't raid. The whole "That's your problem" mentality could be another big factor people are turned off at the notion of moving to that server. Just an observation, doesn't sound inclusive, but rather selective to a fault. Meaning if you don't agree with everyone or are arrogant enough to have your own opinion, you stand to be exiled. Whether it be trolling spam or just a simple difference of opinion. Again, never been on the server, basing everything off of what I see on these forums and now private messages from players who were there and left.

But that being said, to each his own. If that's how you feel Norrath should be, guild groups only, far be it for me to say it's not right. Sounds more like a private server where everyone there deserves what they signed up for. So I think I am now leaning to, don't allow the transfers at all, you were told if you go there, there's no return. And that is definitely a "That's your problem" situation.