Recently returned but having trouble getting into post 99 content, please advise ...

[Jin_Uzuki]

Well we're all kinda making assumptions here. We don't know if the shouter is allowing people to bring their own pops for example. It sure sounds to me like the shouter is providing pops or is making the group farm pops and is then claiming the first Grio as a reward for organizing the group.

Uh but anyway can we at least agree that Asura sounds great for some kinds of people but may not be ideal for everybody, even a returning player?

I'm not sure why you are talking about Asura like it's a living entity. There are tons of players on it with different people and ideas. It's no different with any other server other than the fact that the population is larger and therefor there are more stuff running at the same time.

And no, a new player is going to have easier time on populated servers with new players running around and doing old, catch up content than it's servers with 300-400 players.

[detlef]

I'm not sure why you are talking about Asura like it's a living entity. There are tons of players on it with different people and ideas. It's no different with any other server other than the fact that the population is larger and therefor there are more stuff running at the same time.

And no, a new player is going to have easier time on populated servers with new players running around and doing old, catch up content than it's servers with 300-400 players.

I don't get how I'm talking about Asura like it's a living entity. I mean, I've reread my post several times and I don't get it. Also I don't see how you can say absolutely that going to that server is the best solution for any and all returning players without allowing for exceptions. You're very defensive for some reason.

[Jin_Uzuki]

I don't get how I'm talking about Asura like it's a living entity. I mean, I've reread my post several times and I don't get it. Also I don't see how you can say absolutely that going to that server is the best solution for any and all returning players without allowing for exceptions. You're very defensive for some reason.

What a returning player has to gain from a server being low populated and nearly desert?

[detlef]

What a returning player has to gain from a server being low populated and nearly desert?

If I were a returning player I would personally prefer a quieter server. That may just be me but I'm sure there are players out there who would feel the same way. I mean, like I said Asura sounds great but why can't we say that some people might prefer a different server?

Also I'm still not sure how I described Asura as a living entity.

[Jin_Uzuki]

If I were a returning player I would personally prefer a quieter server. That may just be me but I'm sure there are players out there who would feel the same way. I mean, like I said Asura sounds great but why can't we say that some people might prefer a different server?

What are actually the advantages of "quieter" server, tho? For a new/returning player that actually needs to do content. How do less players and less people doing content and filling the AH with stuff help them? Or about less people to CP?

You can't solo Vagary and Delve as a new/returning player, or even Escha.

Also I'm still not sure how I described Asura as a living entity.

"Uh but anyway can we at least agree that Asura sounds great for some kinds of people but may not be ideal for everybody, even a returning player?"

Well, maybe not as a living entity, but as somehow it works differently for most servers?

Asura is like any other server. The only difference is that you got 1000 people walking around instead of 400. 1200 people aren't even much in MMORPG terms.

[Shiyo]

1200 people when doing anything in this game and another person/party exists trying to do that content as well makes it a living nightmare is bad.

This game is designed in a way that you never want to see another person around if you can help it. You want the entire dynamis zone to yourself, you want to not have to wait in ambu lines, you want to not have to wait in lines to do BC's(especially high tier battlefield ones aka the new ones), you want to not have to compete with people while leveling, you want to not have to compete with people at JP camps, you want to not have to compete with people being a bluemage at escha-zitah, etc etc.

[Jin_Uzuki]

1200 people when doing anything in this game and another person/party exists trying to do that content as well makes it a living nightmare is bad.

Sounds like you should play single player games. I heard FFXII is lovely and very similar to this. The remastered is coming out this years, go preorder it now!

[Diavolo]

If I were a returning player I would personally prefer a quieter server.

Why? There is literally no advantage to being on a quieter server unless your idea of a great environment is one that goes against the core concept of an MMORPG.

[detlef]

Why? There is literally no advantage to being on a quieter server unless your idea of a great environment is one that goes against the core concept of an MMORPG.

Then... That's okay? Is a player allowed to prefer what they prefer?

[Diavolo]

1200 people when doing anything in this game and another person/party exists trying to do that content as well makes it a living nightmare is bad.

If you think running into someone, anyone, that is attempting to do the same content you're tackling is the definition of a nightmare then what compels you to log into any MMORPG, let alone one that still has a $13/month subscription fee?

I don't know what the capacity of the servers is/was, but I do vividly remember seeing 8,000+ online during the WoTG days and we didn't just survive, we thrived. If we could pull it off with that many people back during the 75 cap days I'm sure you would be just fine with 1,200 today.

This game is designed in a way that you never want to see another person around if you can help it. You want the entire dynamis zone to yourself, you want to not have to wait in ambu lines, you want to not have to wait in lines to do BC's(especially high tier battlefield ones aka the new ones), you want to not have to compete with people while leveling, you want to not have to compete with people at JP camps, you want to not have to compete with people being a bluemage at escha-zitah, etc etc.

You have it all wrong. The game was/is designed to accommodate thousands. It's only certain players that feel the same way you do and, dare I say, they need to expand their view of the world, both literally and figuratively. If the first CP/JP camp is taken then use that as an opportunity to discover new camps, same with BCNMs/HTBFs. You have a point with Ambuscade, but that's clearly just poor game design as even the quietest of servers face wait times, sometimes longer than the ones on Asura as was pointed out on a FFXIAH thread a few months back (10 min waits on Sylph, I think it was, vs 2 mins on Asura one Friday night).

I remember how those arguing against server merges last year were saying how Asura was overcrowded, claiming Escha/Reis was always congested to the point where finding mobs to CP on or ??? pop locations was difficult, but Cerberus was a veritable ghost town unless you were online during JP prime time hours, so after some hesitation and lots of reluctance I transferred over. I am not exaggerating when I say I have not once in my 6+ months on Asura had a problem finding CP locations or ???'s to pop NMs and only a handful of times have I had to wait for HTBF entry, less than 2 mins each time. I waited more for Ambuscade entry on Cerberus than I did on Asura. Make of that what you will, but the proof is in the pudding and I've been swimming in that pudding long enough to know there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for me to ever want to go back to a smaller server. I don't see how a new/returning player would benefit from it either.