The current state of FFXI... are there better servers?

As I posted in another thread, I just returned to the game after literally about 10 years. So far it's been a little depressing... everyone is gone, towns are basically empty. If I do a search of any area I'm in there's like 2-5 people (often times 0) in them and they're all level 99 and just standing somewhere, silently. Anywhere you'd go in the old days people would be shouting for parties and teleports, but now in any town -- if you're lucky -- you hear maybe 1 or 2 guys shouting about trying to sell "(M. Silverpiece) (L. Jadeshell) (100 Byne Bill)," which I have no idea what they are. I actually whooped with excitement when I saw a name I recognized (though it took me a minute to remember where and how, exactly)... it was Akiresu. I greeted and waved at him and all but it was just silence back... then I remembered. He wasn't a friend, it was a Chinese gil seller I used to report 10 years ago but they never did anything about.

Are any servers better than this? I'm on Valefor still.

Hi NeoDevilbane,

Welcome back. According to ffxiah, "active players" by server are as below:

Asura: 19,792
Odin: 13,013
Bahamut: 10,752
Fenrir: 6,858
Shiva: 6,820
Phoenix: 6,635
Ragnarok: 6,614
Carbuncle: 6,315
Bismarck: 5,907
Others: less
Valefor: 4,980


Many people tout Asura as a good NA server and Odin for JP, plus and minuses with moving to such a populated server as well of course. Before moving, maybe do some shouts or check some linkshell concierge for any pearls of shells active on your server and see if you get along with them.

Personally, I began on Quetz (4,789), but the AH was so slow moving, I have settled for Bahamut as a healthy medium.

Yeah, let me outta here (Valefor). Asura seems like a much better fit, then. What's the procedure for world moving nowadays?

Please see below.

https://support.na.square-enix.com/f...&c=2&sc=0&so=0

From what I hear, Asura is good if you like a server active with a lot of people, high competition. However, that does have its drawbacks, including groups demanding top gear for pick-up groups, a large amount of 'mercenary services', and the number of bots is said to be high on Asura.

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Originally Posted by Vonima2

Hi NeoDevilbane,

Welcome back. According to ffxiah, "active players" by server are as below:

Asura: 19,792
Odin: 13,013
Bahamut: 10,752
Fenrir: 6,858
Shiva: 6,820
Phoenix: 6,635
Ragnarok: 6,614
Carbuncle: 6,315
Bismarck: 5,907
Others: less
Valefor: 4,980


Many people tout Asura as a good NA server and Odin for JP, plus and minuses with moving to such a populated server as well of course. Before moving, maybe do some shouts or check some linkshell concierge for any pearls of shells active on your server and see if you get along with them.

Personally, I began on Quetz (4,789), but the AH was so slow moving, I have settled for Bahamut as a healthy medium.

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Who came up with these numbers and how did they determine what constitutes an "acitve player?"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NeoDevilbane

Yeah, let me outta here (Valefor). Asura seems like a much better fit, then. What's the procedure for world moving nowadays?

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I would caution against moving to Asura. You may look at those numbers and go "ooh, asura has the most people, I should go there!"

The game was not designed for Asura's population, which has caused a number of issues, some even resulted in special fixes (i.e. to ambuscade and other layer areas) that no other server except possibly Odin would have needed. Botting and cheating is more rampant on Asura than any other, and lag in certain contents (though a problem everywhere) is likely worse.

There is more to the game than how fast AH sales occur. The more mid-popped servers are in a good spot and you can find people to do things with. More people is only good up to a point.

Dogpiling to one or two servers causes far more problems than it solves. I would agree with the notion that Bahamut is a good candidate.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alhanelem

Who came up with these numbers and how did they determine what constitutes an "acitve player?"

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FFXIAH and characters who use the AH.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Catmato

FFXIAH and characters who use the AH.

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Not everyone uses the AH on a regular basis. these days I'm not on it that often. But I still play.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NeoDevilbane

So far it's been a little depressing... everyone is gone, towns are basically empty. If I do a search of any area I'm in there's like 2-5 people (often times 0) in them and they're all level 99 and just standing somewhere, silently. Anywhere you'd go in the old days people would be shouting for parties and teleports, but now in any town -- if you're lucky -- you hear maybe 1 or 2 guys shouting about trying to sell "(M. Silverpiece) (L. Jadeshell) (100 Byne Bill)," which I have no idea what they are.

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Then Asura could be the one for you if you want to enjoy the variety of communities where you will be seeing people actually talk and look to find random people to play with. Most of time, they still buy a run and you will have to find a linkshell (just like free companies in FFXIV) if you are tired of seeing them selling runs. The AH always has everything you need (you can thank bots for that). It's understandable that FFXI is almost 19 year old now and more people are coming to Asura. I can guarantee you it won't feel depressing. You will have a different opinion view here. Yes, Asura is basically a NA server. Good luck!

In the PVE MMO world, unity is the key.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alhanelem

Not everyone uses the AH on a regular basis. these days I'm not on it that often. But I still play.

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That's great, but I was just answering your question.