[World Transfers] The Great Migration Guide

[Aedelric2]

This really is not intended to be a discussion thread (there are other threads for that), it is what I am going to loosely call a guide. I created this guide to hopefully take some of the confusion out of the transfer process as well as to consolidate what information we have been given. I am focusing on the information that I assume will affect the most people. I am only human, so if you see a mistake, something I have misinterpreted, or have something to contribute please let me know.

Which servers are closing?
The following worlds will be closing:

US	EU
Elendilmir	Estel
Riddermark	Gilrain
Firefoot	Eldar
Nimrodel	Anduin
Windfola	Morthond
Imladris	Maiar
Dwarrowdelf	Vanyar
Silverlode	Withywindle
Vilya	Snowbourn
Meneldor

This will leave the following worlds remaining:

US	EU
Arkenstone	Belegaer [DE-RP]
Crickhollow	Gwaihir
Landroval [EN-RE]	Sirannon
Gladden	Laurelin [EN-RP]
Brandywine*	Evernight

*Brandywine is not available as a transfer destination until it can be assessed using the new hardware. It is recommended that if you wish to make Brandywine your new home, you wait to transfer until Brandywine becomes available as a destination.

Bear in mind that Laurelin [EN-RP] and Belegaer [DE-RP] are "Roleplay Supported" servers. RP servers have rules in addition to Turbine's CC. If you which to move to one of these servers, please respect the role playing communities and familiarize yourself with the rules and polices prior to doing so (http://de.support.turbine.com/link/portal/24001/24011/Article/1965/LOTRO-Official-Roleplaying-Rules-and-Policy). Turbine has stated that their roleplaying polices/rules will not change with the server consolidations. Landroval [EN-RP] is a "Roleplay Encouraged" server and is not subject to any additional policies or rules.

Please note that at the beginning of 2016, the closing worlds will not be available for play. However, you will still be able to transfer off of them indefinitely. Character creation should be disabled for the closing worlds currently undergoing a transfer.

Also note that transfers between US and EU or EU and US servers is NOT possible (only US to US, etc.).

When will I be able to transfer off my current server?
The simple answer… we don’t really know yet. Turbine has released the order in which they intend to perform the transfers (see “What servers are closing?” above). Thus far, they seem to be doing 1 pair (1 US server and 1 EU server) per week. You will not be able to initiate a transfer off a closing world until Turbine makes transfers for that world available. Here is what we do know of the schedule.

US	Date	EU	Date
Elendilmir	September 14 - ongoing	Estel	September 14 - ongoing
Riddermark	September 29 - ongoing	Gilrain	September 28 - ongoing
Firefoot	October 6	Eldar	October 5
Nimrodel	October 13	Anduin	October 12

What will transfer?
The following items should transfer with you:

• Destiny
• Shared storage
• Unlocked house storage
• Items in house storage
• Wardrobe
• Shared currency (mithril, skirmish marks, etc.)
• Items in inventory
• Items in vault
• Remainder of housing maintenance balance will be credited toward a new or existing house on your destination server.

What will NOT transfer?
The following will not transfer:

• Mail & mail attachments
• Friends list
• Items posted in the auction house

Can I split up my toons between destination worlds?
Yes. You can select which toons go to what destination world. However, your shared items can NOT be split, and you will have to decide which toon will get your shared items.

Paid Transfers
Transfers off the closing worlds will remain free indefinitely. The October date given for when paid transfers between the remaining worlds was suppose to resume is no longer valid. To my knowledge a new date has not been set. Vyvyanne did state that free transfers between the remaining worlds would be available once the new hardware is in place sometime late fall.

Names
If there is a naming conflict, incoming players will have a –x (where x is a number) suffix added to their name. So far the highest x reported was in the 60s. You will NOT receive a token. There will be a rename button in the alert panel.

Character Slots
The new maximum number of purchasable slots now available seems to be 48 (instead of 50). In other words, there should be plenty of room to transfer all your characters from a closing world to a new world with existing characters.

Kinships
Please note that when a leader transfers the kinship on the old world will disband, leaving few options for kinship wide communication. Leaders, plan ahead so that all your members know where to go and when it is safe to do so. The transfer function does not maintain chronological order; therefore, kinship leaders should take steps to ensure that they arrive before their kinsmen. If a kinship leader completes the transfer first, all subsequent members should be automatically added back to the kinship. All historical data (player notes, rank, join date) should be intact. Bound items will be returned to their owners. Unbound items will go to the kin leader’s first/main tab of storage or escrow. Leaders may want to clean out their storage/escrow before transferring to make more room. The housing maintenance balance and unlocked storage should be credited upon purchase of a new kinship house.

Tribes and Creeps
Except for the housing, the information about transferring kinships applies to transferring tribes as well. In the event that you have multiple creeps of the same race, you can transfer all of them to the same world. You will get a drop-down menu allowing you to choose which one to play.

Transfer Order
It has been stated that the transfer order has not been stressed enough so here it is in red caps.
Phase 1: 1) KINSHIP LEADERS, 2) HOME OWNERS, & 3) SHARED ITEMS
Phase 2: 4) ALL OTHER CHARACTERS
All components of Phase 1 (Leaders, home owners, and shared items) should be transferred SIMULTANEOUSLY. Using the option to transfer everything at once is no longer recommended. This option has caused data loses. To avoid losing items or being dropped from your kin, you should use the order listed above.

The Transfer Process and What to Expect
There are a few edge cases of losing items that can be avoided by logging into all your characters before transferring them.
1) Open the LOTRO launcher and log into your account.

2) At this point, you should see a “Transfer” button right under the “Play” button. Click on “Transfer.”


3) A second window will pop up with a list of the worlds you can transfer from. Select your server and click on “Next” down on the bottom right.


4) Remember the recommended transfer order. For this example, I don’t have any kinship leaders or house owners on this server. I am also a bit paranoid, so I would select the “Shared Items” option first instead of the “Select All” option. Click “Next”.


5) Expand the “Move” option. Under “Move” select the server you would like to make your new home. Notice that there may be an option to copy to Palantir. This option only copies your data; it will NOT transfer you and should be ignored. Click “Next” on the bottom right.

[Aedelric2]

The Transfer Process and What to Expect (continued)
6) Confirm that you want to transfer using all the options you selected previously. Click “Confirm” at the bottom right. You do NOT need a transfer token.


7) A third window will pop up asking for your confirmation again. If you are sure, click “Yes”.


8) Click “Close” to finish. Your transfer is now in progress. Close the launcher and wait for your email or 6 hours (whichever comes first). Please, note that it is not possible to begin a second transfer at this point until your current transfer is complete.


9) Rinse and repeat until you have moved all of your stuff to your new world.

The time it takes for a transfer to complete is any where from a few minutes up to 6 hours depending on traffic.

You MAY get a message stating that you have been “banned” or locked out of your account (won’t have access to the forums & can’t log into the launcher). Don’t be alarmed! This is to ensure that your data is being transferred correctly. In rare cases, a few people either didn't experience the ban or the ban ended before the transfer was complete leading to some confusion/problems. Turbine was trying to reduce or eliminate the forum ban. No updates on their progress yet.

When the transfer is complete (regardless of whether the transfer succeeded or failed), you should receive an email from Turbine. There are those who aren’t getting an email. Last I heard, Turbine was looking into this issue. After 6 hours, it should be safe to log in regardless of whether you got the email or not.

Help!!! Something went wrong!!!
Submit a ticket and/or contact customer support with your error code (if you have one) at support.turbine.com.

Sources
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/world-closure-announcement
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/world-transfers
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/kinship-transfer-guide
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?576724-First-World-Transfers-Opening!&p=7446055#post7446055
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?573104-World-Transfers
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?577308-How-long-does-it-take-for-the-confirmation-email-to-arrive-14-hours&p=7445682&highlight=#pos t7445682

Good luck with your transfers!

[MandravalGalabian]

Good guide so far,
but I think the number of char slots is not 50... it should be 36... assuming no char slots are hidden somewhere in the shop...
I have atm 23 slots available, and can buy 13 in the shop.

Turbine stated, that they doubled the buyable slots, and I think they are right.
iirc you get 5 (VIP) + 2 (Moria) + 2 (Update 16.2) + 1 (Beorning package) + 13 (buyable) + 13 (double buyables) = 36 slots

[ladysherlockian]

So, if I have some characters on Imladris, I should wait until transfers from that server are open, or may I transfer the characters now? I also wonder how long will the transfers remain free, the first date given was perhaps until this October, so should I transfer the characters now so that I do not have to pay for the transfer? I am f2p so it is important for me to use the free option.

[Padrin]

So, if I have some characters on Imladris, I should wait until transfers from that server are open, or may I transfer the characters now? I also wonder how long will the transfers remain free, the first date given was perhaps until this October, so should I transfer the characters now so that I do not have to pay for the transfer? I am f2p so it is important for me to use the free option.

did you even read the post?

Good job Aedelric2

[maartena]

Great post!! Awesome work!

On the transfer order: I thought that when you transfer your kinship leader, you also have to transfer your shared items at the same time. House owners come next, unless of course your kinship leader IS the house owner.

[RJFerret]

On the transfer order: I thought that when you transfer your kinship leader, you also have to transfer...(removed incorrect info)

It's kin leader, house owners, then shared storage, finally remaining characters. (If you do different order or all at once, you might lose bound items.)


---Offering some corrections/edits for the guide per the double-check it request in other thread:

Add to the do not transfer section that: auction listings do not transfer

In the rename portion, remove language talking about receiving a "token", that doesn't happen. There will be a rename button in the alerts panel. No token is received, nothing will be in bags, folks should check the alerts window.

this line: Unbound items will go to the kin leader’s storage or escrow.
should become something like: Unbound items will go to the kin leader’s first/main tab of storage or escrow (so might want to clear it beforehand).

In transfer order section it's important to remove the "all at once if going to the same world" option as that can lose bound items and drop characters from kin (and has).

extra/broken IMG tags starting before 4) and then on

After transferring, you may try to log in as soon as you want, you'll be prevented from doing so if the transfer process is not yet complete. I'd remove the red "Regardless, it is NOT advised to log into a character while the transfer is in progress." as that can't be done and freaks folks out for no benefit reason. Even if something is screwed up, it's safe to log to the character selection screen to see results once the account is unlocked.

Note that kinship characters should give plenty of time before following the leader, especially if transfers are taking hours. Folks transferring shortly after the kin leader have arrived before to no kin when transfers have been slow.

[Aedelric2]

So, if I have some characters on Imladris, I should wait until transfers from that server are open, or may I transfer the characters now? I also wonder how long will the transfers remain free, the first date given was perhaps until this October, so should I transfer the characters now so that I do not have to pay for the transfer? I am f2p so it is important for me to use the free option.

Your only option at this time is to wait, since the transfer off that server haven't become available yet. Also, you don't need to worry about having to pay right now. Since they seem to be running behind their original schedule, the October date when paid transfers were suppose to resume was pushed back.

[maartena]

Note that kinship characters should give plenty of time before following the leader, especially if transfers are taking hours. Folks transferring shortly after the kin leader have arrived before to no kin when transfers have been slow.

I have devised a cunning plan for this.

1) Create a level 1 toon on the closing server. Log it in once so it can be added to friends lists. (In the proper intro instance, not the pre-tutorial)
2) Communicate the name of this toon to the kinship before you transfer and ask everyone to add the name to friends lists.
3) When the kinship leader transfer is successful and the kinship is created, you can DELETE this toon from the closing server.
4) This will signal the people left behind that it is safe to transfer: If the toon is no longer in friends list, that's the signal! If you can't add the toon to friends list, it's already gone and you can transfer.

With this, I am hoping to be able to "signal" my kinship members that it is "safe to travel".

[maartena]

It's kin leader, house owners, then shared storage, finally remaining characters. (If you do different order or all at once, you might lose bound items.)

I am basing my statement on what Vyvyanne has stated here: https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...nsfers-Opening

"Remember that to make a Kinship transfer smooth, the Kinship Leader should move character and shared data to the destination world first, followed by the Kinship members so that everyone is auto-added on the new world."

I was planning on doing just that, kinship leader ONLY and shared data on the first transfer. Are you saying that this statement is no longer correct (as has been the case with other statements that have been superseded with newer statements), and if so: Please point me to where it states that shared data should actually be transferred later in the process?

For now, I am going by what Vyvyanne has stated, and that info seems to be the most recent..... Unless you have newer info perhaps? Please let us know!

[RJFerret]

I am basing my statement on what Vyvyanne has stated here: https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...nsfers-Opening

"Remember that to make a Kinship transfer smooth, the Kinship Leader should move character and shared data to the destination world first, followed by the Kinship members so that everyone is auto-added on the new world."

I was planning on doing just that, kinship leader ONLY and shared data on the first transfer. Are you saying that this statement is no longer correct (as has been the case with other statements that have been superseded with newer statements), and if so: Please point me to where it states that shared data should actually be transferred later in the process?

For now, I am going by what Vyvyanne has stated, and that info seems to be the most recent..... Unless you have newer info perhaps? Please let us know!

Actually that is the same info, just without an added interpretation/assumption...I re-read the full post and here's my understanding and the ramifications experienced per my understanding, and I'm sorry I don't have a simple link, as it's a culmination of info from various experiences and info, and would be a series of links going back to our beta testing. Reading through both of the beta testing reply threads would corroborate it partially, and reading all the World Transfer thread from when initial open transfers began, as well as various threads posted separately of stuff "lost" (which wasn't, just wrong order/partial transfer steps) and I'm not sure where the post about kinmates falling out of kin went, but it was on the first day closing world transfers.

The importance of her statement above is that both kin leader and shared storage go before kinmates, NOT the presumption that shared storage and kin leader need to go simultaneously, and overlooks that house owners should move prior to shared storage.

I would not move the kin leader AND shared storage simultaneously. I would move the kin leader, once done, then move house owners, wait, once done then move shared storage, THEN have kinmates move.

Here's why.

If you move shared storage, house contents/escrow goes. When you subsequently move a house owner, bound items connected to the kin leader could get left behind/lost. Therefore it's important for house owners to go before shared storage to minimize risk of loss.

If you move a kin leader and shared storage simultaneously, we have seen the process operates in parallel, not series, so there's a slight risk of the above happening with the kin house contents.

Now here's why you want shared storage to go before kinmates, so bound items get returned to them, rather than lost/orphaned.

So yes, Vyvyanne's statement should be followed, in that you want the leader and shared (IE, house contents) to go before kinmates, but her info is not saying that you want the leader and shared account to go simultaneously. It also only speaks to maintaining kinmates in kin, it isn't in regards to other circumstances.

Note, there is no benefit to moving too much at once. It doesn't save time, it doesn't prevent risk, it doesn't offer any gain, it just reduces mouse clicks I suppose. However transferring the different categories of things one at a time does offer benefit of insuring against loss of items and loss of kinmates.

Looking at the entire picture, kin leader first, house owner second, shared storage third, now okay for kinmates and/or remaining characters (this is when you would enact your "all clear" signal). This satisfies Vyvyanne's, "Kinship Leader should move character and shared data to the destination world first, followed by the Kinship members" as well as other issues.

Sorry for the detailed explanation, but it does explain why Vyvanne could only put so much info in her sentence. ;-) The interrelationships are more complex than the one dimension she was touching on in that paragraph in a bit focused on kin transfers.

[Aedelric2]

I am basing my statement on what Vyvyanne has stated here: https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...nsfers-Opening

"Remember that to make a Kinship transfer smooth, the Kinship Leader should move character and shared data to the destination world first, followed by the Kinship members so that everyone is auto-added on the new world."

I was planning on doing just that, kinship leader ONLY and shared data on the first transfer. Are you saying that this statement is no longer correct (as has been the case with other statements that have been superseded with newer statements), and if so: Please point me to where it states that shared data should actually be transferred later in the process?

For now, I am going by what Vyvyanne has stated, and that info seems to be the most recent..... Unless you have newer info perhaps? Please let us know!

Maartena, the document you are referencing is indeed a newer document than the one that spells out the order. However, I suspect it is an oversight on Vyvyanne's part. The kinship leader is usually the owner of the kinship house. In my particular case, my kin leader, kin house owner, and personal house owner are one and the same. I suspect Vyvyanne made this assumption when he/she made the comment you are referring to or for sake of simplicity didn't write out the full order again. RJFerret is also correct in that the "and" doesn't have to mean simultaneously. In short, I still think the kin leader, house owner, shared storage, all others order still applies at least I haven't heard any thing to the contrary.

Personally, I would completely (including all characters) transfer the leader before any other members attempt a transfer. I would also only do the transfer in stages waiting for a confirmation email before begining the next stage, but that may just be me being nitpicky.

[Aedelric2]

Good guide so far,
but I think the number of char slots is not 50... it should be 36... assuming no char slots are hidden somewhere in the shop...
I have atm 23 slots available, and can buy 13 in the shop.

Turbine stated, that they doubled the buyable slots, and I think they are right.
iirc you get 5 (VIP) + 2 (Moria) + 2 (Update 16.2) + 1 (Beorning package) + 13 (buyable) + 13 (double buyables) = 36 slots

Hmmm....

"We have doubled the amount of max character slots you can purchase."
"Two free slots have been added to Premium and VIP accounts and we have doubled the amount of purchasable slots to the realm of 50 per world."
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/world-transfers

Can I get a second person to verify that the new maximum number of character slots is 36?

[Aedelric2]

It's kin leader, house owners, then shared storage, finally remaining characters. (If you do different order or all at once, you might lose bound items.)


---Offering some corrections/edits for the guide per the double-check it request in other thread:

Add to the do not transfer section that: auction listings do not transfer

In the rename portion, remove language talking about receiving a "token", that doesn't happen. There will be a rename button in the alerts panel. No token is received, nothing will be in bags, folks should check the alerts window.

this line: Unbound items will go to the kin leader’s storage or escrow.
should become something like: Unbound items will go to the kin leader’s first/main tab of storage or escrow (so might want to clear it beforehand).

In transfer order section it's important to remove the "all at once if going to the same world" option as that can lose bound items and drop characters from kin (and has).

extra/broken IMG tags starting before 4) and then on

After transferring, you may try to log in as soon as you want, you'll be prevented from doing so if the transfer process is not yet complete. I'd remove the red "Regardless, it is NOT advised to log into a character while the transfer is in progress." as that can't be done and freaks folks out for no benefit reason. Even if something is screwed up, it's safe to log to the character selection screen to see results once the account is unlocked.

Note that kinship characters should give plenty of time before following the leader, especially if transfers are taking hours. Folks transferring shortly after the kin leader have arrived before to no kin when transfers have been slow.

Thanks for taking the time to critique the guide. I will try to fix the pictures. Seems like you have been through this rodeo before, so I have a question for you. Do you know if the items in our vaults transfer?

[maartena]

Looking at the entire picture, kin leader first, house owner second, shared storage third, now okay for kinmates and/or remaining characters (this is when you would enact your "all clear" signal). This satisfies Vyvyanne's, "Kinship Leader should move character and shared data to the destination world first, followed by the Kinship members" as well as other issues.

Sorry for the detailed explanation, but it does explain why Vyvanne could only put so much info in her sentence. ;-) The interrelationships are more complex than the one dimension she was touching on in that paragraph in a bit focused on kin transfers.

The problem is that Vyvyanne doesn't say it that way..... in English she says: "character AND shared data to the destination world first, followed by the Kinship members", not character, FOLLOWED BY shared data, followed by kinship members.

She says "AND". If she had meant they needed to be done in different steps, I would think she would use: character followed by housing, followed by shared data, followed by kinship members, but what I read is that character AND shared data should be moved first, and right after that she clearly uses "followed by" for the kinship members.

Her statement is confusing, but in English it does make grammatical sense. I can not find any other statements made by the Turbine team - and I have looked, that specifically state that the kinship leader and shared items SHOULD be separate transfers. I can only find this statement regarding this, and it says "character AND shared data first, FOLLOWED BY kinship members. Don't you think that if she did mean separate transfers, that she would have used "followed by" between character and shared data?

It might be best that Vyvyanne herself clears this up.

[Aedelric2]

The problem is that Vyvyanne doesn't say it that way..... in English she says: "character AND shared data to the destination world first, followed by the Kinship members", not character, FOLLOWED BY shared data, followed by kinship members.

She says "AND". If she had meant they needed to be done in different steps, I would think she would use: character followed by housing, followed by shared data, followed by kinship members, but what I read is that character AND shared data should be moved first, and right after that she clearly uses "followed by" for the kinship members.

Her statement is confusing, but in English it does make grammatical sense. I can not find any other statements made by the Turbine team - and I have looked, that specifically state that the kinship leader and shared items SHOULD be separate transfers. I can only find this statement regarding this, and it says "character AND shared data first, FOLLOWED BY kinship members. Don't you think that if she did mean separate transfers, that she would have used "followed by" between character and shared data?

It might be best that Vyvyanne herself clears this up.

You are 100% correct in that her statement is less than crystal clear. I will try to find out.

[RJFerret]

Thanks for taking the time to critique the guide. I will try to fix the pictures. Seems like you have been through this rodeo before, so I have a question for you. Do you know if the items in our vaults transfer?

You're welcome, thank you for taking the time to put it together, an awesome resource. (The extra pic tags are the least concern IMO.)

Yes, they do, with the associated character (while shared storage obviously goes with shared account stuff).

[Olgomil]

Hmmm....

"We have doubled the amount of max character slots you can purchase."
"Two free slots have been added to Premium and VIP accounts and we have doubled the amount of purchasable slots to the realm of 50 per world."
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/world-transfers

Can I get a second person to verify that the new maximum number of character slots is 36?

We had a long discussion about this number a time ago ( https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...75492-How-many ). For me, ive 23 slots in my account and another 13 available for to purchase in the store, total (for me) is 36. We asked fo a word from Turbine about the exact number, but no answer in the thread.

Sergio :-)

[pH_Red]

This is great information!

Thanks so much for taking the time to put all of this together in one spot with clear, step-by-step instructions.

[Vovo]

Bravo!

I agree that this guide is very much needed, especially by players who have not been checking the forum every day for official announcements and official responses to questions.

This guide has the potential for us to easily provide one link, in chat, for players who are not forum participants (for whatever reason). In contrast to the current situation, where there are just too many links (for chat) covering so many different aspects of the process. I've noticed (in-game) that many players are really confused; and while others try to give advice, some of that advice is outdated or has been misunderstood.

This guide, and forum member comments, also highlights the problem of ambiguity, that inevitably crops up from time to time when officials try to provide written guidance. If I were Frelorn or Vyvyanne, I'd see this as a good opportunity to clarify the identified ambiguity. Furthermore, after uncertain points have been clarified, and the guide has been given the stamp of approval by Turbine, it should be made a sticky, and a link should appear at the game log-in window.

Just my thoughts of course!

[Marancil]

Please keep this thread clean and do not make ANOTHER transfer discussion thread out of it....

[Hammadryad]

I have a question about wardrobe items. The items in my wardrobe on a closing server are different to the items in my wardrobe on the surviving server I will be transferring to, but both wardrobes are full. What will happen to the wardrobe items that there isn't room for, as several are items I no longer have the original item for and will be extremely difficult if not impossible to replace?

[Eadreid]

Quick question re the transfer order and timings:

The order is self explanatory and as stated it says to allow 6 hours to transfer. So say we initiate the transfer of kin leader/house owner (the same toon in my case), is it safe to initiate the transfer of shared storage, and then subsequent toons, during this "6 hour window", or do we have to wait until the 1st transfer is 100% complete and can log into the toon on the new world before starting the shared storage? hope that makes sense.
Only reason i ask is so i know whether to allow plenty of time for the whole process (potential 24hours) or whether it can all be done in that 6 hour window, as long as the order is maintained.

Cheers in advanced, nice guide btw, can i link it onto our guild website please to inform our members a little better?

[Chouxbun]

Thanks for the thread - very much appreciated.

But yes, I find the start order very ambiguous too. Up until recently I believed it to be kin leader/house owner/shared stuff/all the rest. But then I read about housing storage and it was mentioned that as long as you transferred house owners at the same time as the shared items you won't lose the current storage in the house (mine was purchased years ago and the 2 chests merged into one when they revamped housing). And I really don't want to go back to 30 items and have to purchase my storage back with mithril coins.

So I totally agree, order really needs clarifying by Vyv or Frelorn if possible

[RJFerret]

Quick question re the transfer order and timings:

The order is self explanatory and as stated it says to allow 6 hours to transfer. So say we initiate the transfer of kin leader/house owner (the same toon in my case), is it safe to initiate the transfer of shared storage, and then subsequent toons, during this "6 hour window", or do we have to wait until the 1st transfer is 100% complete and can log into the toon on the new world before starting the shared storage? hope that makes sense.
Only reason i ask is so i know whether to allow plenty of time for the whole process (potential 24hours) or whether it can all be done in that 6 hour window, as long as the order is maintained.

Cheers in advanced, nice guide btw, can i link it onto our guild website please to inform our members a little better?

Note six hours is only on the first day if the system is overloaded with a rush AND you haven't received email confirmation.

Normally it works like this, transfer kin leader, get email confirming success in a few minutes, done. Transfer house owners if separate, email, done. Then transfer shared storage items, get email, done. Now remaining. Whole process complete in less than ten minutes.

If, however, you transfer as soon as they open during a rush, it'll take longer, possibly hours. You won't be able to log in until the first is done, so your thought of initiating another transfer is impossible, as your account will still be busy until the transfer is done. You wouldn't want to anyway, as the transfer process has been proved to not be sequential (in series) but something started later may complete sooner than another process, this is how some folks fell out of a kin, they transferred a couple hours after the leader, only to arrive before the leader, so there was no kin for them to land in and they needed re-invites and lost original join dates and the like.