Going free to play has a habit of causing disruption, especially when it comes to the more popular servers. In the case of Icewatch and Akala, two European shards, the already popular servers became overloaded thanks to the influx of new players ready to give free to play a try, as well as the returning players who had already called the server home. As a result, Trion was forced to alleviate the load by converting the shards into “trial status,” forcing players to move their characters elsewhere using the game’s free server change tool.
What is trial status, you ask? When a server is put on trial status, only the starting cities of Meridian and Sanctum are available. Characters are fully accessible and do not lose any equipment, but must be transferred off of the server in order to play in areas beyond the starting zone. Transferring is free and does not carry any of the normal restrictions of how much platinum your character may have on them. A guild master may transfer his guild over to a new server, in which case each member will be notified on their next log in and be given the opportunity to follow.
Since players are understandably angry at this move, Trion is compensating refugees from Icewatch and Akala with exclusive titles, an exclusive wardrobe set, and +1000 loyalty.
(Source: Rift)
MMO Fallout 