Are we getting a server merge soon?

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Originally Posted by Castanica

All Square had to do was limit how often you could enter because most of the issues are with a small number of hardcore people spamming it to death. 5 entries per day would of been more than adequate, I really don't get what they were thinking to make zero limitations.

Also I have to point out that doing a kill solo with trusts > going in with 6 random people.

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Sorry but i don't agree with this at all. Solo i was able to kill it on difficult in 15 mins with 5 random people it was dead on Very difficult in 2 minutes. Trusts are great if you can't get people but with everyone spamming this it isn't hard finding people to join. From all the conversation i have had about merging being an issue with the current game. The biggest issue really is trusts, I understand SE's logic behind trust because they were losing players and it was to help people who couldn't find parties.

They should of only made it possible to summon trust in the open world to level with. They should not have been allowed to be summoned in escha/reisinjima/HTBF/any relevant content so unless you were really good at actually soloing without the need of trust which only a small few actually areyou had to rely on finding people. With that THEN they should of merged servers together so we could have a bigger community and find people easier for stuff while still making it easy for people to level with trusts because that is probably something that would be most difficult to find people for unless you get power levelled by a friend which most don't have the luxury to do.

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Originally Posted by Aisu

Sorry but i don't agree with this at all. Solo i was able to kill it on difficult in 15 mins with 5 random people it was dead on Very difficult in 2 minutes. Trusts are great if you can't get people but with everyone spamming this it isn't hard finding people to join. From all the conversation i have had about merging being an issue with the current game. The biggest issue really is trusts, I understand SE's logic behind trust because they were losing players and it was to help people who couldn't find parties.

They should of only made it possible to summon trust in the open world to level with. They should not have been allowed to be summoned in escha/reisinjima/HTBF/any relevant content so unless you were really good at actually soloing without the need of trust which only a small few actually areyou had to rely on finding people. With that THEN they should of merged servers together so we could have a bigger community and find people easier for stuff while still making it easy for people to level with trusts because that is probably something that would be most difficult to find people for unless you get power levelled by a friend which most don't have the luxury to do.

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Trusts are the dumbest idea SE has ever implemented in this game. They have destroyed Linkshells and any Community we had. Sever merges wont help that because everyone wants a console game that's on the internet I guess.

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Originally Posted by Keido

Trusts are the dumbest idea SE has ever implemented in this game. They have destroyed Linkshells and any Community we had. Sever merges wont help that because everyone wants a console game that's on the internet I guess.

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1st post i possible couldn't agree any more with. Like i said though i could understand SE reasoning when people started to quit to help returning/new players to level up since finding a party for that would be impossible any more but that is where it should have ended. When SE allowed trusts into VW/Dynamis/Abyssea/Escha/Reisinjima/High Tier battlefields/Delve/even this new ambuscade event, they ruined as you say linkshells and communities and have made it hard for SE to go back on this now that so many people rely on trusts now.

I have been arguing not against merges per se but arguing at the fact that with the issues of the game as current merging would just make things worst and SE has to change the game to be more friendly in the issues i have stated in previous posts before they merge again. I would love to have a ton of people on a server again i honestly would love just merging all into a couple and get 1000's back on wanting to do stuff. It's just not beneficial for anyone when you can't even do some of the new relevant stuff due to congestion with just 300 people on the server.

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Originally Posted by Keido

Trusts are the dumbest idea SE has ever implemented in this game. They have destroyed Linkshells and any Community we had. Sever merges wont help that because everyone wants a console game that's on the internet I guess.

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Linkshells - the larger, event-driven ones you're probably talking about - took a beating long before Trusts came about. Though you're right in that everyone seems to want to play an easy game - look at how well campaigns are received. Curious to see how low server populations need to go before something is done about it.

Having tried Ambuscade on Asura ((no thanks))

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Originally Posted by Keido

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Excuse me, good sir, but my pop culture association twitched. The manner of which you are speaking invoked an image of a character in my mind.

http://i.imgur.com/6PUkBqr.jpg

(all in good humor, I hope you get the reference)

I am staunchly against redesigning any content intended to be soloed, or limiting or removing the Trust system in any way from its current form. Being able to play solo through as much content as I can is the reason they got me to A. Purchase SoA. B. Pay for a server transfer. C. Fork over a monthly subscription. They limit or change that now, they lose me.

As far as people who seem to have an antiquated idea of what an MMO should be, I can't blame you, as this is a thirteen year old game, for having such a perspective. But please bear in mind this is 2016, not 2006. MMOs are commonplace now, the base is diversified, and worse, heavily conflicted and segmented. Back where people were begging for any sort of company in terms of video games, and the fact that the rest of the world did not really catch up to the early adapters of the internet as a part of daily life, it was acceptable to think of a concept of a game that forced you to be social in an era where gamers had problems in that department.

Now, it's much different. People are online every day from social media to cloud based documentation, or even streaming/video based income - and sitting at the computer doesn't mean these days that you have nothing else to do but play an MMO. So waiting around for four hours and/or spending days preparing a class you don't enjoy just to get into a piece of content that drops gear for the job you originally wanted to play anyways doesn't fly as acceptable hobby habits. Especially when this MMO is already quite aged and there are multiple competitors who don't charge a regular subscription.

Given the context of this day and age of online gaming, I'd say your viewpoint would do more to hasten the end of this game's services, then catering to the soloists.

That's not to say every player does or should treat this as a single player game, though it does have a lot of success in the elements that imply that. Rather I submit that MMOs are slowly adapting a new definition. In which grouping isn't a requirement for advancement, so much as it is to tackle heavier challenges for faster progression. That's why this piece of content appeals to me. Not just as a soloist but as a player in general.

It's also why I'm still on the fence with Server merges, while pieces of popular content become overcrowded due to lack of foresight for the influx of soloists out there.

I agree that the more people party, the better it is for everyone. Sadly my play-style does not fit with the average pickup group and that's not a common option for me (even though the door is open for whomever will jut take me up for how I'll play). There should still be the option for outliers like me to have fun and enjoy the game while still pushing progression, and I'm glad they've accommodated.

As far as what it's doing to the community? Forced bonds often are severed when they are no longer absolutely necessary. Bonds made willingly, often last regardless of condition. Insted of making groups out of need, I'd recommend you do it out of desire. They tend to be better groups all around anyways.

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Originally Posted by Aisu

1st post i possible couldn't agree any more with. Like i said though i could understand SE reasoning when people started to quit to help returning/new players to level up since finding a party for that would be impossible any more but that is where it should have ended. When SE allowed trusts into VW/Dynamis/Abyssea/Escha/Reisinjima/High Tier battlefields/Delve/even this new ambuscade event, they ruined as you say linkshells and communities and have made it hard for SE to go back on this now that so many people rely on trusts now.

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Eh, Trusts are good for the game. Look, I stood at ambuscade and said "hey anyone want to take a scrub to reduce congestion?" no one did, so I held up an instance while soloing it on easy. If folks don't want to group up there is not much to be done. I am glad that at least I have the option to continue to play if I want to. Without trusts I'd just be hooped when no one wanted to help out a scrub.

Congestion is a pain but it could easily be solved by folks welcoming players to join them. Folks would rather "optimize" even if that means losing 10 minutes to spamming enter on a book. Go figure. It would totally be faster for everyone if folks were willing to group up without being overly picky... even with the bonus points for higher tiers the reduction in standing around time would probably make up for having to go down a difficulty notch... but people don't think sensibly.

Anyway the devs don't help the situation by rewarding higher tiers with so many extra points, since all that does is disincentivize helping players who don't already have awesome gear. *shrugs* so scrubs have to do the content 5 times as much, and it takes the good players 5 times as long to enter the content. Seems like lose-lose.

PS: Hyrist I'd be up for duoing with you anytime. I'm not the best player but I am an OK blu and a better bard than Joachim, at the very least ;)

@Olor.

Deal. I'll look for you when I get off work. We'll figure out a tactic that works best for us and whomever we gather. I'm ok with spamming lower difficulties if that's what it takes.

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Originally Posted by Hyrist

@Olor.

Deal. I'll look for you when I get off work. We'll figure out a tactic that works best for us and whomever we gather. I'm ok with spamming lower difficulties if that's what it takes.

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Sounds good. I am going to a show later (8 PST) but should be around off and on before then. I generally find that outside of the WHMs (which are very good at removing status debuffs, better than most players... bad at MP management tho) - trusts are, at best worth a 115 player. So I am willing to bet even mediocre players will have a better time of it than trusts.

I've found that at least, support wise, the right combination can wind up being a better overall result. For example, Kupipi, Selh'Teus, and Apururu make a highly sustainable support combination that can endure pretty much any long fight, so long as the Spike damage doesn't outright kill your tank.

And I can go on about different tanks that synergize with the healing Trio in different ways too. But usually, when I'm worried about sustain, those three are a go-to, as the demands lessen, I can drop one off. Selh if sustain isn't a huge issue, and Kupipi if I'm not worried about status effects being removed quickly.

What makes Kupipi good in that combo?

I don't have Apururu UC so I go with Yoran as my go to healer + Sel'theus for sustainability ; I'm still trying to find a 3rd. I usually fill that slot with a support like Koru or Arcelia II.

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Originally Posted by Dekusuta

What makes Kupipi good in that combo?

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Kupipi prioritizes debuff removal. In situations where Paralyze is highly frequent, as well as the Tank being cursed and petrified, having those debuffs removed asap can make sure critical skills and healing can go of when needed. She'll cast Stona and have its animation complete before the Dragon's skill that applies it at times.

That said, she's the first to be removed if I have someone who can manually remove debuffs.

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Originally Posted by Hyrist

Excuse me, good sir, but my pop culture association twitched. The manner of which you are speaking invoked an image of a character in my mind.

http://i.imgur.com/6PUkBqr.jpg

(all in good humor, I hope you get the reference)

I am staunchly against redesigning any content intended to be soloed, or limiting or removing the Trust system in any way from its current form. Being able to play solo through as much content as I can is the reason they got me to A. Purchase SoA. B. Pay for a server transfer. C. Fork over a monthly subscription. They limit or change that now, they lose me.

As far as people who seem to have an antiquated idea of what an MMO should be, I can't blame you, as this is a thirteen year old game, for having such a perspective. But please bear in mind this is 2016, not 2006. MMOs are commonplace now, the base is diversified, and worse, heavily conflicted and segmented. Back where people were begging for any sort of company in terms of video games, and the fact that the rest of the world did not really catch up to the early adapters of the internet as a part of daily life, it was acceptable to think of a concept of a game that forced you to be social in an era where gamers had problems in that department.

Now, it's much different. People are online every day from social media to cloud based documentation, or even streaming/video based income - and sitting at the computer doesn't mean these days that you have nothing else to do but play an MMO. So waiting around for four hours and/or spending days preparing a class you don't enjoy just to get into a piece of content that drops gear for the job you originally wanted to play anyways doesn't fly as acceptable hobby habits. Especially when this MMO is already quite aged and there are multiple competitors who don't charge a regular subscription.

Given the context of this day and age of online gaming, I'd say your viewpoint would do more to hasten the end of this game's services, then catering to the soloists.

That's not to say every player does or should treat this as a single player game, though it does have a lot of success in the elements that imply that. Rather I submit that MMOs are slowly adapting a new definition. In which grouping isn't a requirement for advancement, so much as it is to tackle heavier challenges for faster progression. That's why this piece of content appeals to me. Not just as a soloist but as a player in general.

It's also why I'm still on the fence with Server merges, while pieces of popular content become overcrowded due to lack of foresight for the influx of soloists out there.

I agree that the more people party, the better it is for everyone. Sadly my play-style does not fit with the average pickup group and that's not a common option for me (even though the door is open for whomever will jut take me up for how I'll play). There should still be the option for outliers like me to have fun and enjoy the game while still pushing progression, and I'm glad they've accommodated.

As far as what it's doing to the community? Forced bonds often are severed when they are no longer absolutely necessary. Bonds made willingly, often last regardless of condition. Insted of making groups out of need, I'd recommend you do it out of desire. They tend to be better groups all around anyways.

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No I really don't get your reference nor do I care. What I do care about is the community or what little of it is left anyway. I have a linkshell its a very good linkshell we party we gather we do events. There are people who actively refuse to group for whatever reason and I ask why play. Just go play ff7 if you want to play by yourself. It makes no sense and I don't think its completely unfair to require parties of 6 to do content. Its not hard to find people to do things if you look. You all keep making excuses that avoid whats the real crux of the issue you just want to play a solo game. That is completely fine. I have no issue with how people have their fun as long as it doesn't impact me and I assume you feel the same as long as I don't impact you.

I can only say what its like on Phoenix so your experience might be different. Most of the time we have 5 solo entrants and a duo. While those people are in there are 30 people waiting to get in. Is that poor design you bet it is. If say you were required to have 6 people enter and really you can do this content with any party make up of any competent players 1 person is left out not 30 spamming a book for 45 min to fight something that takes 2 min to kill. Its absolutely crazy. It isn't difficult to group up its purely that you don't want to.

So we can agree to disagree about the best way to solve where we are but allowing everything to be used by solo players goes farther to drive a death nail into the game than anything else. I am not advocating blocking people from content because that is not something I believe in but I am advocating that people stop being so selfish and find people to do things with the overall experience is better for everyone.

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Originally Posted by Keido

So we can agree to disagree about the best way to solve where we are but allowing everything to be used by solo players goes farther to drive a death nail into the game than anything else. I am not advocating blocking people from content because that is not something I believe in but I am advocating that people stop being so selfish and find people to do things with the overall experience is better for everyone.

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I think this is a problem that has increased since the ilvl changes to the game, and the plethora of augmented 119 gear which can vary in power quite a lot. On level 75, people would take you in groups if you had gear that was 70-75 and you had capped combat/magic skills and at least 50% of your merits. Also, in those days, people understood that they could have a "favourite job" but that if they wanted to get any nice gear, they needed a utility job, WHM or RDM or something that would be allowed into parties. And to have a decent basic gear / skill set for that utility job, and be proficient at playing it.

In those days I feel it was easier to just /poke somebody and ask to join on my WHM or something. Today, the sheer power of high-end weapons, Jobmaster powers, etc. have made people a bit nervous about asking to join. The increase in levels 75-->119 and the huge increase in gear power, has made some casual players a bit ashamed and nervous of their basic functional utility jobs, and reluctant to try and team up.

I think it is a great shame, when people don't ask to join, or are not allowed to join. Partying in FFXI often leads to more fun, more laughter, strong friendships, sometimes friendships that last a lifetime.

I think Square made this event how they did on purpose to shut people up about constantly complaining they want merges.

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Originally Posted by Stompa

I think this is a problem that has increased since the ilvl changes to the game, and the plethora of augmented 119 gear which can vary in power quite a lot. On level 75, people would take you in groups if you had gear that was 70-75 and you had capped combat/magic skills and at least 50% of your merits. Also, in those days, people understood that they could have a "favourite job" but that if they wanted to get any nice gear, they needed a utility job, WHM or RDM or something that would be allowed into parties. And to have a decent basic gear / skill set for that utility job, and be proficient at playing it.

In those days I feel it was easier to just /poke somebody and ask to join on my WHM or something. Today, the sheer power of high-end weapons, Jobmaster powers, etc. have made people a bit nervous about asking to join. The increase in levels 75-->119 and the huge increase in gear power, has made some casual players a bit ashamed and nervous of their basic functional utility jobs, and reluctant to try and team up.

I think it is a great shame, when people don't ask to join, or are not allowed to join. Partying in FFXI often leads to more fun, more laughter, strong friendships, sometimes friendships that last a lifetime.

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This is 100% right. People are not excluded as they once were because the talent pool is much smaller these days. There are still the occasional A-holes that ruin people and then they believe the only way to play is solo. Which means they are missing out on a TON of things. It just requires a little effort to approach people and ask for help. I will say that when you do approach players with stars above their names know what you want and how to get it and specifically what help you need. It really goes a long way.

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Originally Posted by Stompa

I think this is a problem that has increased since the ilvl changes to the game, and the plethora of augmented 119 gear which can vary in power quite a lot. On level 75, people would take you in groups if you had gear that was 70-75 and you had capped combat/magic skills and at least 50% of your merits. Also, in those days, people understood that they could have a "favourite job" but that if they wanted to get any nice gear, they needed a utility job, WHM or RDM or something that would be allowed into parties. And to have a decent basic gear / skill set for that utility job, and be proficient at playing it.

In those days I feel it was easier to just /poke somebody and ask to join on my WHM or something. Today, the sheer power of high-end weapons, Jobmaster powers, etc. have made people a bit nervous about asking to join. The increase in levels 75-->119 and the huge increase in gear power, has made some casual players a bit ashamed and nervous of their basic functional utility jobs, and reluctant to try and team up.

I think it is a great shame, when people don't ask to join, or are not allowed to join. Partying in FFXI often leads to more fun, more laughter, strong friendships, sometimes friendships that last a lifetime.

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You've got it right here. There has never been such a HUGE disparity in base power between players at endgame before. The sad fact is, despite spending millions on augments and doing my utmost to find every bit of ACC gear I can reasonably find, I can't even TOUCH a lot of content. I am not going to lie to get into groups or pretend I am a better player than I am.

As for support, I have a bard but it is in 109 empy gear. I don't really prioritize gearing it anymore because it doesn't net me invites anymore. I used to play support all the time to gear my other jobs but now there is a huge abyss between scrubs like me and players doing higher tier content. And since bard doesn't help me get gear anymore, I've been focussing on my solo jobs because they are how I get gear. Maybe my bard would be fine, I don't know, folks don't seem to be looking for bards anymore, and I don't feel like leveling GEO now that it's the flavour of the month.

Word to the wise: GEO isn't flavor of the month. It's flavor of the rest of the game's life.

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Originally Posted by detlef

Word to the wise: GEO isn't flavor of the month. It's flavor of the rest of the game's life.

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Touche. Well regardless, while I may be (and probably will be) into leveling it up later and gearing it, that's not really a very good solution to my right now problems. And I wouldn't really be able to gear it anyway :/

Besides, with my luck as soon as I had it leveled and not completely awful SE would nerf it.

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Originally Posted by Keido

What I do care about is the community or what little of it is left anyway.

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No you don't. You only care about what you perceive as the community. It has to stay the way you want it or it's bad.

What I see? Are the loads of people coming back to the game because they can finish their bucket list solo, who are excited about new content without dealing with old problems like the high-level,high-gear elitism that still mires a lot of groups. They're jumping into linkshells with open recruitment and talking, socializing, asking for help, be it information and presence, and getting it DONE because they don't need a full party, but they do need/want a bit of company.

The community isn't falling apart. It's growing, taking new shape. Threads on Reddit are still being speckled with people who are new or returning and asking for advice. And I for one did not join simply to be antisocial. But I'm not going to wait around for an hour to find that one rare party that is ok with my playstyle, when I can get three normals done bringing along one to two people of my own, or even going solo, it just a hair bit more time.

So, yes, I staunchly disagree. Solo players are doing more to keep this game on life support than the die-hard linkshells that won't accept them, and there are plenty of players in-between. Creating content that appeals on all levels of it, does more to maintain the health of the game than appealing to one or the other. That's what Ambuscade does in its ideal. They just needed to cut down the congestion issue.

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Originally Posted by Hyrist

The community isn't falling apart. It's growing, taking new shape.

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Taking new shape, yes, but growing? No, the FFXI community as a whole isn't growing at all, nor are the server-specific communities. I assume you're playing on Asura which might explain why you might have such an opinion, but many of those returning players aren't sticking around very long and there is good reason for it.

I don't have anything against the more solo-friendly environment the development team has bred with FFXI over the last two or three years, but at its heart this will always be a massively multiplayer online RPG that rewards players for coming together and it would be nice if the new director kept that in mind going forward. It would also be nice if, after all was said and done, this game could be laid to rest without having sacrificed that which made it so appealing in the first place.

Again, the 'traditional' idea of a massive multiplayer game is dated and, frankly obselte.

Masively Multiplayer really just means multiplayer at this point when you have games series such as Halo, Call of Duty, League of Legends, DOTA 2, etc, pulling numbers that flat out dwarf anything even MMO's golden child, WoW did in its hayday.

Put bluntly, the 'traditional MMO' is dying a slow death and it's being spotted in everything from the inability to reproduce WoW's one-off successes and the continual change of even modern MMOs into a more laze fare style. Games that pitted on the idea of a hardcore multiplayer mindset, switched its model quickly (Wildstar) or never even got to finish taking shape (EQ Next, VtM MMO). Most of the old guard that are sticking around have adapted or are adapting more accessible playstyles to match the changing gaming environment. Simply, MMOs are no longer competing with just MMOs anymore, but with the entire Multiplayer market.

Meanwhile more and more 'single player' games (with a few exceptions) continually adapt more multiplayer elements. The pull is to find that happy medium that encompasses many players of differing styles, and it's rubbing a subsection of gamers on both sides of the plate the wrong way. But it's happening, it's been happening and it's wise of game developers everywhere to find their place in the wake of it all. That's not to say completely solo content, but things like Ambuscale? That's about where it's at - more effective with a group, but comparable to do solo if desired or necessary. The idea of a mandatory party, especially one manually made, is becoming more and more unappealing by the playerbase.

So no, the heart has changed. Time to get with the beat.

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Originally Posted by Diavolo

Taking new shape, yes, but growing? No, the FFXI community as a whole isn't growing at all

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Do you even play other mmorpg titles? These games do not grow, this is as odd as saying you aren't a year younger today than you were last year. No kidding!

There is no mmorpg that is bigger a year later, it does not happen. I think this odd idea is possibly comng from companies releasing registered player numbers? It doesn't happen.

There is nothing anyone can do to make this game grow, it's not about growing it's about retention. Keeping most players longer than would normally happen, I can guarantee you that if this game was anti solo they would have massive losses in a very short amount of time now.

Also it's funny how the people who are so concerned about the community are almost always the ones that have very little to do with it, they just play with their linkshell friends.

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Originally Posted by Pixela

There is nothing anyone can do to make this game grow, it's not about growing it's about retention. Keeping most players longer than would normally happen, I can guarantee you that if this game was anti solo they would have massive losses in a very short amount of time now.

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Well, there is your mistake, assuming I have any interest in making this game "anti solo." The argument here isn't to remove options, it's to foster a healthy environment that can keep both the hardcore and the casual players happy. It's not difficult, but it does require a bare minimum of effort which, as this Ambuscade ordeal is showing us, may indeed be asking for too much.

https://i.imgur.com/vg7MEx1.jpg

<_<

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Originally Posted by Hyrist

What I see? Are the loads of people coming back to the game because they can finish their bucket list solo, who are excited about new content without dealing with old problems like the high-level,high-gear elitism that still mires a lot of groups.

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I just reactivated after a year and a half away. Just one of many breaks since launch. My first day back there were less than 300 players online. If there is one thing I've struggled with, it's coming to terms with the fact that this game will never be what it once was. Then again, I don't have the time for it to be what it once was, so I think that's a good change. I'm back this time with the goal of finishing what I started either with my husband or alone. My LS is gone. My friend list is empty. I'm hoping my new attitude helps me to enjoy what's left solo.

The landscape of MMOs, and even all gaming in general, is changing. People have to accept that what once was won't ever be again. We can look back to the good ol' days fondly, but we can't get them back even though we all want to. As much as all of us have loved this game for years and years, times change and today's gamers for the most part aren't looking for a game that will bust their balls. As was noted by another poster, any other game that has attempted to bring back the ultra hardcore style has failed miserably- there just isn't a large enough audience for it anymore. It's adapt or die in this world.

I'm sure that we'll never see another popular MMO with a grind like Relics, let alone Mythics or Ergon.

That said, I refuse to believe that group-centric MMOs have to be failing so miserably. I genuinely believe that it's how these games are handling grouping that is the problem.

When I played FFXIV 1.x, groups would pull a pack of mobs, claim them all and the an outside person would aoe them down, at no penalty to experience. Noone learned a thing about their class play in a party.

In 2.0, people would FATE grind to level cap and then be tossed into endgame where grouping was a must with again, no idea how to play their class (Example, as an Arcanist/Summoner/Scholar I equipped AOE-flash for fast claiming in fates, because that was the key to success in fates). I'd run into tanks that never figured out that that game's flash was centered on the caster rather than the target, so they'd just be spamming flash til dry on MP and it's doing nothing. I'd find tanks and DPS spamming their single hardest-hitting ability, without the buildup combo doing severely gimped damage.

The random dungeon finder had such a long wait period for damage dealers, and you couldn't use it while in a group (fates) unless everyone in the group wanted to. You couldn't use it while soloing with your chocobo out (an adventuring fellow/trust basically). So if you wanted to use it, you had to be doing something solo. Further, FATE'ing was far and away the faster experience.

There were training leves, both for your class and general game mechanics but they didn't teach anything. The level 10 one could be tanked by a DD just fine and so they did. I get it, wanna get in and get it over with, but nobody learned anything. You might be laughing "Yeah, that's just level 10", but the first dungeon was level 15.

There were class/job quests that kind-of had you perform your role via clunky interfaces. As a healer, you'd heal/-na others, but you had to tab-target to each person. There was no party-interface for the NPCs in these quests. I always kept my baby-tank in current gear and I found the bosses in some of the quests overly punishing if I did taunt off my NPC big brother.

The tank quests often teach nothing about enmity/hate/threat/whatever. You either melee away like a weak DD or you taunt and the NPC tank never really tries to get it back. And since most of the tank quests don't have an NPC healer or DPS, you never get the chance to learn anything about aoe-tanking.

I strive to be a strong tank in every MMO I play, so watch things like enmity and aoe tools closely but not every player gets it and so they get to level cap, are suddenly thrust into groups that way-outgear them, and they're helpless. Some of these games make the first fights you experience at level cap intense DPS races, which causes a lot of strife in the new community. Players that have never been taught how to DPS must DPS like a pro (hi Tonberry King, Demon Wall).

Another thing. Dungeon finders are poorly conceived. They often launch with the basic bonus (finding a dungeon from anywhere in the world) with few of the necessary protections or benefits. People being able to Need gear they can't use, being unable to blacklist/kick rude troublemakers, being unable for form cross-server friendships and most irritating of all: When I would find a good cross-server group, I couldn't go again with the same group. We had to disband and all go at it again. The next healer may be trying to heal in DPS-mode (Like XI's Light Arts/Dark Arts) because it's what his overgeared buddies at level-cap can do. The next DPS may pay no attention to markings or party chat.

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I agree that the world of MMO players is changing but I 100% believe the reason party-centric multiplayer games are failing is because of how the game as a whole is designed. You start out and they throw you in a canoe on a calm river. You get to level-cap and you're given freight ship to command. "What? It's basically the same thing, it floats and keeps you dry.".

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Once the group-centric MMO is gone, <3 XI, I feel like the best communities are gone. Games where you don't need any help for 90% of activities seem to have awful communities. It sucks.

Stompa, I concede that the majority of MMO players want instant gratification and soloability any time they desire. The majority of FFXI vets, no matter how much they loved it, would admit that seeking for hours sucked, because there was little you could by yourself aside from crafting.

Still, every game seems to be flocking to a model that ELEVENTY MILLION PEOPLE tried. SE is not the only company that moved on from previous working models (FFXI) to follow something closer to Warcraft's, and it's all for the allure of more players. Other games' successors or sequels (not saying 14 is an 11 sequel) have also done this.

I feel like every modern MMO is a student of WoW's lessons and not their own lessons. It makes sense, they're businesses and want a slice of the big pie, disregarding the pie they had all to themselves.

https://ez9b2q-ch3302.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

Cerberus' online population at 6:00pm pacific time tonight, a large portion of those being AFK bazaars. How low must a server's population go before those running the game do something about it?

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Originally Posted by Diavolo

https://ez9b2q-ch3302.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

Cerberus' online population at 6:00pm pacific time tonight, a large portion of those being AFK bazaars. How low must a server's population go before those running the game do something about it?

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People like you baffle me.

It's like your sitting in a bath full of freezing cold water, complaining how cold it is and you refuse to pay a guy $12 to turn the heat up. Sure it would be nice if they did a free merge for you but the game is built around low man and higher server loads now. If it really bothers you so much and you put a ton of hours a week into the game, just server jump? or not I guess....maybe you like complaining more.

It might sound like I'm bashing you but I'm not, I'm just being a realist here.
It's obvious they aren't going to do it after all this time, this is the millionth topic post about it and they are all ignored.

He's not refusing to pay anything. The game is not free. He paid for the game and the monthly cost.

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Originally Posted by Jin_Uzuki

He's not refusing to pay anything. The game is not free. He paid for the game and the monthly cost.

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This. We are already paying for that...so why should we be forced to move because they refuse to merge servers? It is not about being cheap/poor, I could EASILY transfer right now..but guess what, there is still quite a few of my friends on Lakshmi, despite the super low population. People need to stop being apologists and just realize a server merge should have happened ages ago.

I am paying to play a MMORPG..massive..multiplayer...not 300 people RPG lol come on.

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Originally Posted by Jin_Uzuki

He's not refusing to pay anything. The game is not free. He paid for the game and the monthly cost.

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You pay for access to the servers, nothing else.

Again as I said, do I think a merge is a good idea? Sure but are they going to do them? No obviously not, they are needed here and on ffxiv on some servers but they refuse to do them. This has been the case for what....4-5 years now? and people still ask for it when the threads are ignored completely. What does that tell you?

So with that knowledge at your disposal do you complain and log in every day angry or do you spend $12 to rectify the situation yourself and enjoy the game more from that point on? This is just common sense really, I paid for a server merge and I'm really happy I did because the game was far more fun after doing it. It was well worth it, I would of preferred a merge but I'm happier playing the game now so if it's a choice between paying $12 or banging your head on a wall...Ill pay the $12. You know how often I do a /sea all now? Almost never, guess how often on my old server? Every day.

If you can't afford it then I can at least understand that but to be able to afford it and not do so out of principle, ruining your own playing experience is cutting your nose off to spite your face. Makes no sense to me at all.

I'll use an analogy for you :D if you are sitting next to someone and they let off a giant smelly fart would you sit there and complain about how smelly they are while not moving, or should you expend some energy to get up to move away? That's what you're doing, sitting in it and complaining.

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Originally Posted by Cesil

This. We are already paying for that...so why should we be forced to move because they refuse to merge servers? It is not about being cheap/poor, I could EASILY transfer right now..but guess what, there is still quite a few of my friends on Lakshmi, despite the super low population. People need to stop being apologists and just realize a server merge should have happened ages ago.

I am paying to play a MMORPG..massive..multiplayer...not 300 people RPG lol come on.

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It's not being an apologist, it's that they aren't going to merge them are they?

I was in your position, I moved and I am much happier for doing it. Just giving some advice, maybe you think endlessly complaining and playing a game with a tinge of sadness is better than spending $12...if so then by all means, rock on.

Funny thing is that frienships are the key reason some people play.
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I too feel like I could go to Asura or Odin, but I lose my friends. They won't come for the sake of their friends, etc.

This is more like a landlord whose had the heat go out in an entire apartment building and telling the tenants each must call a gas guy themselves.

I don't care how much you love solo/lowman, lowlowpop sucks when you need help in a fight or need a crafter.

Yes, people like having linited competition to ???s, crabs, Ambuscade, HTBF, etc but SE could fix a few easily, like more good apex camps, more pages for escha regions, not having agroing mobs on top of ???s. More copies of HTBF instances.

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Originally Posted by Pixela

You pay for access to the servers

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I pay for having a functional product and play a massive MMORPG. There is no "MMO" without "Players".

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, nothing else.

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Oh I see. Then let's close the forum. Since SE can do anything they want to the game and we shouldn't complain, right?

The game doesn't even have to work, as long I can log into the servers!

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So with that knowledge at your disposal do you complain and log in every day angry or do you spend $12 to rectify the situation yourself and enjoy the game more from that point on? This is just common sense really, I paid for a server merge and I'm really happy I did because the game was far more fun after doing it. It was well worth it, I would of preferred a merge but I'm happier playing the game now so if it's a choice between paying $12 or banging your head on a wall...Ill pay the $12. You know how often I do a /sea all now? Almost never, guess how often on my old server? Every day.

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There is also a choice "don't play, don't pay until they merge the server". I do not support poisonous practices (It's the same reason I don't buy day-one DLC or used the awful cash-shop in XIV), SE is offering an infective service, and a lot of people have the right to complain.

I have to say, I had never seen the "you pay to access the servers, nothing more" argument in FFXI before. I saw it plenty in the XIV forums, usually by people who were desperate to throw cash at SE for things that could be in the game. Funny thing about XI is, it's an older MMO, which has plenty of disadvantages, but one thing that it offers is quality service in exchange for fee. Now I don't know if they'll merge servers, but let's not start giving them an excuse to do nothing based on the fact that "we just offer you servers! Our work here is done", hmmm?

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Originally Posted by Deirdre

I saw it plenty in the XIV forums, usually by people who were desperate to throw cash at SE for things that could be in the game.?

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Ooooh. I KNEW it sounded familiar, you are absolutely right.

Funny how FFXIV fans are stuck paying 5-6€ per old item that used to available for free, meanwhile we get basically ALL the old items from past events from a single NPC at every repeat.. :D

FFXI Sadly need a new DEV team with fresh ideas and can understand the needs of a modern player in 2016.

First Major change this game needs. Instanced Content Only - Drop Open World Content Model.

Like ambuscade they are going in the Right direction with this.

Supreme Ambuscade 8 - 12 Players. Drops items to augment ambuscade Montly set, can drop Sulevia +1, Hizamari +1 pieces. Similar Escha/Skirmish you can add 3 augments to Sulevia/Hizamari sets. 20, 20, 10.

Another adjustments.

Uncap the Currency we can get montly. So you can farm M/E/R weapons in the process.

Escha/Reisenjima "important" battles, can be accessed via Book in Selbina. 6 - 12 Players Limit.

Unity Top Tier battles can be accessed via Book in Nashmau. 6 - 12 players Limit.

The New Dev team will go search in ffxiah, BG wiki the Top players in each job to balance the game, they will calculate with maths, spreadsheets the damage of all the jobs and all DPS jobs will have a damage difference not more than 5%. So instead of Get bad beta testers, dev team will bring "Masters" from each Job.

Ajustments to make the game modern

The amount of instances will be increased, buying New powerfull Hardware Specs.

Ambuscade will allow 300 instances same time
Escha/Reinsejima will allow 300 instances same time
Unity Top Tier Monsters will allow 300 instances same time.

Implementantion of Auto Party Finder.

Supreme ambuscade, Escha/Rei, Top Tier Unity NM. 2 Tanks - 2 Healers - 8 DPS/Support Jobs
Intense - Regular ambuscade. 1 Tank, 1 Healer, 4 DPS/Support.

Only during the instanced battles listed here this jobs stances will be avaliable.

Tank Stance Increase HP 50% - Effect Cure received II +50%, regen +20
DPS Physical jobs. Increase Accuracy/Ra Accuracy 30% - Increase Attack/Ra Attack 30%
Magical Jobs. Increase MA accuracy/Ma Attack 30%.
Healer Jobs. Increase Cure Potency Effect II 50%, Adds refresh +5, Increase MP 50%.

Most of the jobs similar WoW will have DPS-Tank-Healer Stances. So depending how you feel you can pick your role before queue.

Before queue you will have comply some requeriments on Attack, Accuracy etc depending your Job. If you can't reach the Min parameters necessary you will be unable to queue.

After all this doing Server merges in ratio 1 - 3. Merge 3 Servers into One.

Every month New ambuscade set, rotating Neck, Cape, ear1, ear 2, ring 1, ring 2 for augment 20/20/10.

Battle Adjustments.

In High Level Cop, Zilart, ToAU, WotG, Abbysea, Vanilla FFXI. Apex Mobs will be added, they will not agroo but they will Link, Monsters Very Tough ILV119 will be added in those zones as well.

In addition the repop rate of the monsters in Escha, SoA, Reinsejima and this Zones will be increased x3. To aleaviate the server Merge. So in crawler nest, in ro meave, Grauberg S, miseraux coast, Wajaom you will find Very Tough and apex Mobs for example.

Probably with ajustments like this. The game can bring back all the horde of players moved FF14. Its not as easy as a server merge.

1.- People dont make groups anymore, the shout in jeuno 5 hours its over.

2.- People dont want wait in the line for appear their mobs they want press one button and put the queue for a machine find you a group

3.- People want play their favorite job, not the job imposed for the comunity to clear a content, with this ajustement you can play PUP, MNK or the job you want after Experts balance that for us.