Returning player looking for direction

[Avin]

I haven't played in a very long time and I was surprised to find that the admin staff was able to recover my account. I have a character on Lakshmi and I'm finding the zones I used to hang out in are now ghost towns. The auction house is almost empty and I'm worried that maybe this isn't a server I should be on if I want to do anything with other players.

Should I look at moving to a more populated server or in general are all the servers fairly empty these days? Are there any guilds on Lakshmi or any other server that play casually that would like to have a new player join?

[Zehira]

Hello. Firstly, welcome back!

Asura is still opened to anyone as it is the busiest server where you will not feel lonely in Vana'diel! There are a plenty of linkshells with different preferences. Good luck!

Keep in mind, there are bots, RMTs, and Mercs running around and almost no one cares anymore so it's up to you.

[Avin]

Back in the day I deleted my main to join some friends who I thought were going to stick around. Of course they didn't so my current character only has a few quests done such as the sub quest a few ranks into the nation quests and most of my jobs are 20 and under. Is starting over the best thing to do at this point?

[Avin]

Oh, and what faction should I choose?

[Rolodex]

Oh, and what faction should I choose?

Honestly, I would go with Bastok since you are a Hume. You get a Bastokian Ring since Humes and Galka are native to Bastok. Also remember that you can switch nations at a certain point so you can do each storyline mission. If you start in Windurst or Sandy you won't get that unique ring. Though I just jumped back into the game after a decade long break (WotG was such a bummer when it was released) so they might have changed it by letting you get the ring of your nation when you switch nations.

[Dragoy]

Welcome back!

Back in the day I deleted my main to join some friends who I thought were going to stick around. Of course they didn't so my current character only has a few quests done such as the sub quest a few ranks into the nation quests and most of my jobs are 20 and under. Is starting over the best thing to do at this point?

In case you do choose to play on a different server, I would say yes, it would make more sense to create a new character if you have no strong connection to, nor much done with the current one (it's not exactly cheap to transfer from one server to another).

Not sure what you mean by factions. Nations? I can't think of any reason why you should choose one over the other, aside from personal preference. :]

[Alphie]

Hello. Firstly, welcome back!

Asura is still opened to anyone as it is the busiest server where you will not feel lonely in Vana'diel! There are a plenty of linkshells with different preferences. Good luck!

Keep in mind, there are bots, RMTs, and Mercs running around and almost no one cares anymore so it's up to you.

I reccomend against transferring to Asura. It's overcrowded and there is disporportionately more cheating/mercing/gilbuying there. While the intent was good, I think things have gotten out of hand and you're better off without the corruption.

So, I'd like to address these two points.

My husband and I chose Asura for our server when we came back over an 11 or so year hiatus from the game. Looking up guides and other info, pretty much every one of them suggested Asura as the server to go to for activity/population.

As soon as I got into the game, I turned off /yell (I believe that is the channel that is used) and have not seen one gil/RMT seller since, nor has it affected our gaming experience.

Second, I had to look up what "mercs" are, and essentially they are what boxers are in EverQuest, one person buying multiple accounts to play at once. So what? Things like that have been going on for AGES, it's just now that programs and hardware make it easier to do now.

For the OP, figure out the main play times you see yourself playing and gauge where to go from there. If the server you are on now feels "dead" to you during those times, then come to Asura, or any other server you find that is active.

Remember, in the end, it is what you want to do that matters.

[Alhanelem]

So, I'd like to address these two points.

My husband and I chose Asura for our server when we came back over an 11 or so year hiatus from the game. Looking up guides and other info, pretty much every one of them suggested Asura as the server to go to for activity/population.

As soon as I got into the game, I turned off /yell (I believe that is the channel that is used) and have not seen one gil/RMT seller since, nor has it affected our gaming experience.

The problem is /yell is where people look for members and stuff. You can turn it off to blanket ignore RMT, but you'll also have a harder time knowing when people are looking for groups for stuff If you're on another server, most of the /yell activity you do see will be actual players rather than RMT as well. Second, there's more to a server than "activity/population." For one, Asura is actually overcrowded, and sometimes there can be a wait to get into certain things (though that has been improved with updates). It also means the game can be laggier sometimes. Also, other servers may have a smaller population, but it tends to be a higher quality population that does more to help each other out with fewer cheaters and RMT. Sheer player numbers is not a good metric to pick a server by. You couldn't pay me to move to Asura. I have friends here and most people help each other and tend to be far more friendly.

Second, I had to look up what "mercs" are, and essentially they are what boxers are in EverQuest, one person buying multiple accounts to play at once. So what? Things like that have been going on for AGES, it's just now that programs and hardware make it easier to do now.

Mercs are people who sell drops or content clears for gil so that people who don't want to do content can pay other people to do it for them. Multi-boxers are not necessarily mercs, nor are mercs necessairly multi-boxers. Mercs can be a party of actual people.

I can play with people on Shiva any time of the day even with a fraction of Asura's numbers. As a percentage I don't feel any other server's population is less "active" than Asura's. every one of them has their share of multibox accounts and bots., in fact Asura most likely has a larger porportion.

[Divinas]

My husband and I chose Asura for our server when we came back over an 11 or so year hiatus from the game. Looking up guides and other info, pretty much every one of them suggested Asura as the server to go to for activity/population..

No you been there based of Blue Gartr which has been always a more elitist group. They provide information but that is the only existing place that actually recommend Asura. Clopedia, ZAM, even Reddit don't do such thing.

I got baited into that and if you wish to really play the game and enjoy it, it is a mistake. RMT everywhere, bots in every zones farming endless and killing everything on sight. Competition in every zones, rude people doing mob stealing. Never any party invite unless you REMA, if it's for a quest, you still on your own unless you hire because Asura is a merc culture based server, either it players or RMT.

People who recommend Asura don't even do themselves a favor by constantly recommending it, FFXI is JUST not designed to have this much character in one place. Even in prime days it never had this many players by server. And above all, end up ruining the game for actual new players who may have legitimate question or are in need of real help.

[Alhanelem]

I haven't played in a very long time and I was surprised to find that the admin staff was able to recover my account. I have a character on Lakshmi and I'm finding the zones I used to hang out in are now ghost towns. The auction house is almost empty and I'm worried that maybe this isn't a server I should be on if I want to do anything with other players.

Should I look at moving to a more populated server or in general are all the servers fairly empty these days? Are there any guilds on Lakshmi or any other server that play casually that would like to have a new player join?

I don't really reccomend transferring. In the main cities, you will find NPCs called Linkshell Concierges. LSes looking for members can have these NPCs give out pearls and it can help you connect with playters on your server who do stuff.

I reccomend against transferring to Asura. It's overcrowded and there is disporportionately more cheating/mercing/gilbuying there. While the intent was good, I think things have gotten out of hand and you're better off without the corruption.

While it can be tricky to find what you need to buy, in many cases people on your server can help you find what you need and clear the content you want to do. By staying where you are, you'll be contributing to the experience of everyone who is there.

Also, regardless of server, most people are hanging out in jeuno or mhaura these days, and not the main cities.