On October 5, 2010, all of the Lineage® II servers will merge. The eight existing servers will become two servers, one based in North America, and one based in Europe.

• Aria, Bartz, Devianne, Phoenix, and Sayha will merge and become Chronos (NA).
  
• Franz, Luna, and Teon will merge and become Naia (EU).

To Prepare for the Server Merge

1. Delete Characters to Seven or Less per New Server: The easiest way to prepare for the server merge so that you have the most control of the process is for you to delete your own characters. You need to reduce the number of characters to seven (7) characters per each of the two new servers: Chronos (NA) and Naia (EU). Figure out which among your characters you will delete, empty those characters if you wish, and set them to be deleted. Character deletion is a seven-day process, but set-to-delete characters will not be included in the merge process, so you will have nothing to worry about.
2. Clear Out In-Game Mail: Characters' in-game mail will be deleted during the merge. Remove items from the mail system prior to October 5, 2010 to avoid losing them.
3. Collect Auction Proceeds: Auction sale proceeds will be deleted during the merge. Collect all auction sale proceeds prior to October 5, 2010 to avoid losing them.

After the Server Merge

After the merge, many game systems will be reset, though some will not. Keep the below in mind to prepare yourself beforehand. The details are:

• All characters will be moved to the nearest town.
  
• Inventory and private warehouse items for all characters that are successfully transferred will remain intact.
  
• PvP, PK, and Karma points for all characters that are successfully transferred will remain the same.
  
• Characters' in-game mail will be deleted. Remove any items from the mail system prior to October 5, 2010.
  
• All unique-colored names from Battle Tournament will be reset.
  
• Cursed weapons, Seven Signs status, and the in-game community board will all be reset.
  
• Seal Stones and Ancient Adena will be transferred and deposited. Seal Stones will be returned to your characters. Seal Stones that were contributed to the priest of each cabal will be converted into Ancient Adena and placed in your private warehouse prior to the server merge.
  
• The Hellbound stage will be set to the highest stage reached across all of the merging servers.
  
• Auction sale proceeds will be deleted. Collect all auction sale proceeds prior to the merge.
  
• Pet names will be reset.
  
• Friend lists and ignore lists will be reset.
  
• Raid points will not be transferred.
  
• Clans, castles, manors, Clan Halls, and the Olympiad are discussed in their own sections near the end of this guide.

The Merge Process

These are the steps in the merge.

1. Character Queued to Merge (Unless Set to Be Deleted)

All characters on all servers are queued to merge to the new servers, unless you have set a character to be deleted. (Characters that are queued to be deleted before the server merge will be deleted successfully beforehand and will not interfere with your other characters' slot consolidation.) North American server characters are queued to merge to Chronos, and European server characters will be queued to merge to Naia. Your characters now undergo a series of tests to select the top seven characters (those that will remain after the merge).

2. Dormancy and Character Level Checked

All characters below level 20 are deleted if they have not logged into the game in over a year. In other words, the character is dormant. If your character is level 19 or lower and is dormant, it is deleted. If your character is level 20, it moves on to the next step. To remove the "dormant" status from a character of level 19 or lower, log in to the game with that character before the merge.

3. Characters Reduced per Account to Seven Slots per New Server

• North American Server Players: Among your characters on Aria, Bartz, Devianne, Phoenix, and Sayha, the seven characters with the highest amount of experience (character level and percentage through that level) are kept and transferred to Chronos. The rest are deleted.
  
• European Server Players: Among your characters on Franz, Luna, and Teon, the seven characters with the highest amount of experience (character level and percentage through that level) are kept and transferred to Naia. The rest are deleted.
  
• Ties: In cases where a seventh and eighth character have the same amount of experience, the older character is deleted to reduce the number of characters to seven on a server. If you have two characters in this situation and you wish to keep the older character, log in and get a little more experience in the character you want to keep. To have perfect control of which characters remain, remember that the best way to manage this issue is to delete characters yourself before the merge to reduce the number of characters per new server to seven or less.

4. Character Name Conflicts Resolved

Once a character has successfully passed the above steps, it is placed on the destination server. If your character has the same name as other characters on the new server, each character with that name will have a number appended to its character name. These numbers correlate to the server a character originated from. You will notice this name change after logging in to the Character Selection screen. Review the "Name Changes After the Server Merge" section below for the process to change a character name that had a name conflict.

Server Merge Special Cases

Characters on a Low-Level Subclass: The server merge process only examines the main class of each character. If you have a high-level main character that is on a low-level subclass at the time of the merge, only the character's main class level is taken into account.

Example: You have seven high level (76+) characters and one level 50 character among the merging servers, each on their main class. You switch one of the high-level characters to its level 40 subclass. Now it appears that you have six level 76+ characters, one level 50 character, and one level 40 character. When the server merge occurs, the level 50 character will be deleted because its main class was the lowest of all eight characters. The level 40 subclass character will remain.

Characters Whose Level Has Been Lowered by a Subclass Change Account Service: Players that previously purchased a Subclass to Change account service may find that a character is now the lowest of over seven characters waiting to be merged. Because the merge process only examines the main class of each character, that lowest character will be deleted. This will only happen if there are already seven other characters of higher levels on the merging servers. The seven highest will be kept, regardless of past Subclass Change account service character level adjustments.

Name Changes After the Server Merge

If your character's name has been changed in the server merge due to a name conflict, you will have to change its name before entering the game. Successfully keeping an original name is still technically a name change because by doing so you will be getting rid of the number that was appended to the name to resolve the name conflict during the merge. Name conflicts are basically resolved by giving the desired name to the first player that requests it, but there are certain conditions. If multiple parties have the same name pre-merge whoever logs in will be able to first claim the name. However, if the other parties would like to also have a fair chance for the name as well, they can request the support team to investigate the character history on each parties respective server.

To keep or change your character name:

1. As you log in after the server merge, in the character selection screen, you may see that a character has a new number at the end of its name. This means that your character had a character name conflict. If you don't have a new number at the end of your character's name, you can log straight in to the game.
   
2. When you select a character that has a name conflict, a message box pops up explaining that there was a character name conflict. It says: "Please enter your desired name."
   
3. You can enter in your original character name. Entering your original character name lets you check to see if the name is still available.
   If you are the first person to request that name, you get it. You can now log in with that name.

If a character has already claimed the name that you are trying to assign to your character, you will not be able to use that name.

You will see the above popup message box. Enter a different character name in the message box. Repeat this process until you have successfully renamed your character. You can now log in with that new name.

There will be an appeals process for those players who lose a name due to griefing or name-stealing tactics. If you lose a name due to griefing, send a support ticket and we will investigate the issue. If you lose a name and you're not sure if it was through griefing or if it was a legitimate name-claim, send a support ticket so the GM team can investigate for you.

Clans

These are the general clan rules after the server merge:

• All alliances will be disbanded.
  
• The in-game clan community board will be reset.
  
• The clan crest will be reset.
  
• All clan wars will be ended.
  
• The following clan information will be transferred intact:
  
  • Clan Warehouse
    
  • Reputation points
    
  • Clan skills
    
  • Clan level
    
  • Clan rights
    
  • Clan leadership and ranks

Clan Name Conflicts

A clan name conflict is dealt with similar to a character name conflict. Each clan that shared the same name will find that its clan name now has a number appended to its clan name. These numbers correlate to the server a clan name originated from. Clan name conflicts are resolved by giving the desired name to the first clan that requests it.

To resolve a clan name conflict:

1. Speak to a High Priest NPC in any town, and select Clan from the chat list.
   
2. In the Clan list, select Change Clan Name.
   
3. You will see a popup message box that explains that your clan was among those with duplicate clan names, and you should change your clan's name.
   
4. You can enter your original clan name. Entering your original clan name lets you check to see if the name is still available
   
5. If your clan name request works, you will see a system message in your regular chat window that says: "A clan name change application has been submitted."
   
6. If your requested clan name has already been claimed by another clan, you will see a message explaining that the name already exists and requiring you to pick another one. Enter a different clan name in the message box. Repeat this process until you have successfully requested a new clan name.

Once you have successfully submitted a clan name change request, note that the change takes effect after the next server maintenance period.

Castles, Manors, and Clan Halls

• All castles and manors will be reset.
  
• All clans that own a castle or contestable Clan Hall prior to the merge will be reimbursed with clan reputation points later (date to be determined).
  
• All clans that own an auctionable Clan Hall will be reimbursed with Adena (equal to the winning bid amount) prior to the server merge. The reimbursed Adena will appear in the Clan Warehouse. Only clan halls purchased on or before September 29, 2010, will be reimbursed.
  
• All fortresses will be reset.

All auctionable Clan Halls will be locked down by NCsoft GMs as soon as the server merge is complete. They will remain locked down until the new Clan Hall distribution method is completed. We will post more about this distribution method in a new thread at a later date.

Olympiad

• Olympiad points will be reset.
  
• Hero status and associated hero weapons will be reset.
  
• Olympiad competitions will open to participation as soon as the merge is complete.

Important Post-Merge Dates

These are the first dates for the below events after the server merge.

Castle Siege

• Chronos (NA): The first Castle Siege will be on Sunday, October 10, 2010.
  
• Naia (EU): The first Castle Siege will be on Sunday, October 17, 2010.

Territory Wars

Since Territory Wars are based on castle occupancy, they will only begin after the first siege cycle.

• Chronos (NA): The first Territory Wars will be on Saturday, October 23, 2010.
  
• Naia (EU): The first Territory Wars will be on Saturday, October 30, 2010.

Seven Signs

The Seven Signs competition will begin after the first siege. Until then, the Catacombs and Necropolis areas will be open to hunting but will not drop Seal Stones.

• Chronos (NA): The first Seven Signs competition will begin on Monday, October 11, 2010.
  
• Naia (EU): The first Seven Signs competition will begin on Monday, October 18, 2010.

Contestable Clan Halls

Owning a contestable Clan Hall won't affect your ability to participate in the auctionable Clan Hall distribution. Contestable Clan Halls will be available as soon as the merge is complete and will follow their regular schedule:

• Chronos (NA) Rainbow Springs, Wild Beast Reserve, and Fortress of the Dead: Thursday, October 7
  
• Chronos (NA) Bandit Stronghold, Devastated Castle, and Fortress of Resistance: Friday, October 8
  
• Naia (EU) Rainbow Springs, Wild Beast Reserve, and Fortress of the Dead: Thursday, October 14
  
• Naia (EU) Bandit Stronghold, Devastated Castle, and Fortress of Resistance: Friday, October 15

If you have questions or wish to discuss the server merge with fellow Lineage II players, please visit the official forums.