Mass Server Transfers...Consideration for Database-wide PF/Linkshells?

To get to the point quickly, a good number of servers have gotten mass transfers over the past few months, particularly due to the nature of Alexander Savage breaking statics and causing people to leave for a "better raiding scene" (usually Greg or Balmung).

This isn't something you can fix by designing future content to be more appealing for players, since they aren't there anymore in that server. Speaking on my perspective, my PF never has more than 10 listings at any time, and it's nigh impossible to find, let alone start your own static due to the absence of a raiding scene.

That being said, I think a database-wide PF should be taken into consideration. It allows players to draw from a larger pool when it comes to party/static formation. While it seems a lot to implement, I honestly feel that this is something that needs to be pushed for, lest we have dead servers leading to players dropping the game entirely if they don't want to transfer due to circumstances.

Two reasons:

1. Server limitations. The amount of server stress a server experiences increases exponentially with the number of requests it has to handle. That is, doubling the number of requests to a server more than doubles the server stress. That's the whole reason we're on separate worlds in the first place and not on one giant mega server. Could SE address that issue with an infrastructure upgrade? Of course, you can solve any IT problem if you throw enough money at it. But that's probably an investment they don't want to make in light of #2, which is:

2. They're making a TON of money off it. $200,000 in November alone. Why "fix" something when it's clear that players are perfectly willing to throw cash at them to get around the limitations?

Also, I bet you half the folks who transferred over to Balmung did so for role play and not for endgame raiding, and expanding Party Finder to the data center does nothing for them.

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Originally Posted by Catwho

1. Server limitations. The amount of server stress a server experiences increases exponentially with the number of requests it has to handle. That is, doubling the number of requests to a server more than doubles the server stress. That's the whole reason we're on separate worlds in the first place and not on one giant mega server. Could SE address that issue with an infrastructure upgrade? Of course, you can

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There comes a point in time where they have to upgrade their infrastructure if they want to hit new milestones with the game, especially in regards to new content and new expansion.

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Originally Posted by Catwho

2. They're making a TON of money off it. $200,000 in November alone. Why "fix" something when it's clear that players are perfectly willing to throw cash at them to get around the limitations?

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The alternative are the players who are not going to transfer due to the workings behind it, or leaving out their social networking would straight up cancel their sub. The retention of players is far more profitable than essentially making them transfer off to a bigger server, which then leads to the lower servers becoming cost inefficent if it's housing a minimal population, espesically if said transfer doesn't actually resolve anything on the players who actually did the transfer (grass is greener on the other side, they're in for a rude awakening if they xferred servers to find people to clear content but still can't do so)

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Originally Posted by Catwho

Also, I bet you half the folks who transferred over to Balmung did so for role play and not for endgame raiding, and expanding Party Finder to the data center does nothing for them.

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Balmung is so big, RP is only an aspect of it, at least from the word of the players who are both in balmung and have transferred to it. And even then, it's not just balmung, but greg and even leviathan for some people. The problem re gardless of which server it is that the big servers are getting bigger, while the small ones dwindle and suffer when it comes to content accessibility or player enjoyment.

While they're at it, cross-server blacklists, PvP spam from people in other servers is horrendous.