Question about Balmung.

Long story short I would like to know if theirs been any type of info about Balmung being open back up. Its very frustrating not being able to play fully with friends (in the overworld). I hope it opens soon or at least SE does something other than just hope the people leave which isn't working.

Well, it will never reopen unless people leave, maybe ask your friends to move to your world or another world together?

That really wouldn't work they have an fc a house friends etc.

Unless the active population goes down, there is no way it is going to be unlocked. It is still the de facto #1 server in active server population. As far as when it'll be unlocked, there has been no mention of it so far that I know of.

Oh no...not this again...

OP, I can see you've recently joined the forums, so you might've missed it, but yeah, it will not open back up until the population there goes down by a huge amount. Hopefully, this doesn't spill into yet another huge debate...just had a few of these threads about a month ago and they finally died.

Its just a question not a debate really like I could say I dont think square cares and isnt putting enough money and effort but im not going for a debate(im not trust me) im just gonna be blunt its bs that I cant play with my friends in the overworld. Never in any mmo have i've not been able to do so. I just want some info something so that I can learn if I can sometime soon I don't believe they should be forced to leave their server they like.

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

I just want some info

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You got your info. The answer is no. We're still the most overcrowded server by a large margin and that puts not only our own server but our entire datacenter at risk

Just saying no isnt an answer. Wheres the info coming from SE? Its super frustrating.

There's no other answer. There has been no info. SE will decide when it's safe to open it. And judging by its current trend, it won't be any time soon.

Mateus and Omega are open as of the time of this post, I believe. They both boast a large community of role-players if that is part of what draws you to Balmung.

Balmung has been consistently overpopulated and the population isn't likely to shrink anytime soon as when people leave it is only a handful at a time and we're looking at a situation where there are thousands of players above the limit that Square Enix has established as the norm.

It may sound harsh, but you should also consider how much you invest in the idea that you will get to play with your friends on the same server. You may very well never get the chance to do so. Cross server features are gradually being added, though - and it sounds like you're making use of them already unless I'm missing something?

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

Just saying no isnt an answer. Wheres the info coming from SE? Its super frustrating.

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https://ffxivcensus.com/

This information isn't the most accurate as it relies on an in game achievement to determine active members, but currently Balmung has about 1k more active players than the next largest server which is Leviathan. A month ago when more people were still online that number was closer to 9k more, and it fluctuates depending on patch lulls and so on. Point being Balmung isn't the /only/ overcrowded server, but it's definitely the most crowded server of any data-center in terms of active users. (Though the amount of characters actually on the server is one of the lowest of all Aether realms, but I'm /fairly/ sure inactive characters don't stress the server all that hard.)

Roleplaying isnt a thing for me personally however they have their friends and their fc and was capable of getting a house in which is very hard to do. I don't want them to leave all that for me one person but I also want to be in the overworld with them. I do cross-world everything but it just isn't fun as much as being in the overworld together. Ive lacked a reason to sub but was hoping a miracle if SE for whatever reason opened on christmas. As much as an ass of a response this is and i'm sure will get tons of hate I dont really care about the server overload or anything like that I just want to play with my friends lol. Again this isnt trying to be a debate but 6months and nothing I mean...how do you run a business like that? People clearly wanna be in Balmung make the effort to improve the Aether server and Balmungs capacity and stop trying to hope the community does what the company should be doing. Again I apologize for what sounds like I want a debate again I don't I just would really enjoy them opening up Balmung or at least make an effort to improve it rather than hope the community fixes the issue so others and myself can play with friends.

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

Just saying no isnt an answer. Wheres the info coming from SE? Its super frustrating.

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*sigh*
Okay, I guess we are doing this. Right now, it's not going to happen because the server is way too overcrowded. And what do you mean never in an MMO - other MMOs, WoW being the most popular example have locked servers before due to full servers. That's just how it is. Gilgamesh was the most recent server unlocked because their population has dropped. That's the only way that Balmung is going to get unlocked. There...the most basic answer I could give you. Only way around it is to utilize cross-world PF for instances, or they need to transfer off. Might have to accept that Balmung will never be unlocked.

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

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Might as well comment on this too. Basically what I'm getting from this is, "it's unfair to me, Square needs to cater to my needs. Other worlds are finally starting to become populated because of Balmung being locked. One server locked is not going to make or break FFXIV, and people need to understand that

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

People clearly wanna be in Balmung make the effort to improve the Aether server and Balmungs capacity and stop trying to hope the community does what the company should be doing.

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Balmung is full, get over it. Why improve the capacity when the rpers will just flood back in, pushing that capacity out the window yet again, leaving the other servers to suffer with less players.. again. Keeping it locked helps a number of different things. Our response in a way was other locked servers opening back up, showing that when the server has dropped off enough they will open. Clearly we are still far too high in numbers.

I mean, if they wanted to, they could split the server in half and shove half the members into a new server. Opening it back up now could very well force them to take that action.

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

how do you run a business like that?

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By ensuring the hardware stability of the framework they have which has limits that won't change no matter how many people say they want to play on Balmung. I agree it's SE's fault because the lockdown should've happened a lot sooner before it got this ridiculous. Maybe if they had done it prior, the amount of people who left would've been enough to get it reopened by now. But they kept lining their pockets with the transfer fees.

The bottom line is that we've seen servers open up. It's not something SE refuses to do, it's just something Balmung isn't ripe for. And with framework limitations being what they are (it's v. easy to say 'improve the server!' when people likely have no idea what that actually entails if it's even possible in the first place) the only alternative SE has is a forced split of the server... and nobody wants that

Its not just my needs theirs been others who want it open for the same reason. Not being to able to play with friends 100% is something I dont think is right, and regarding the mmo statement it was mmos i've played I've had no problems of the like I havent played wow.

I'm not saying it is or isn't right, however, you and others before you wanted it open, but nobody is willing to leave the server for that to happen. Opening it up now is definitely going to crash our datacentre. Maybe those other mmos that you reference don't have population problems like bigger ones like ffxiv and wow

Okay so heres my next question if nobody wants to leave which clearly is the answer at this time then what happens? We just allow it to be locked? Dont get me wrong when I say this but I feel as if they can fix it increase the servers etc because it's been done in the past by this game and other mmos question is do they not wanna spend money?

I generally asked this without sounding like an ass. More people are knowledgeable on this topic and rather than just the simple no responses people have basically gave I was hoping that maybe somewhere something was talked about like in those letters or some outside sources from SE.

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

Okay so heres my next question if nobody wants to leave which clearly is the answer at this time then what happens? We just allow it to be locked? Dont get me wrong when I say this but I feel as if they can fix it increase the servers etc because it's been done in the past by this game and other mmos question is do they not wanna spend money?

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It will remain locked, yes. Eventually it will drop down, there is no question about it, but it could be years. Balmung alone is not spending more money on SE than every other server, so I don't see your point there. You can still play with your friends, so at least you still have something.

Edit: Seems I misread. SE has a small team working on XIV and the budget isn't that great compared to other MMOs, with most of what they have going towards content. As I said before, even if they spent to increase server capacities, Balmung is far too popular among RPers that this issue will be caused again within a day, if not hours of reopening, and then a forced server split will be required. Stop trying to Odin our server.

Balmung was left unfettered and it started bringing down not only the server itself but the entire datacentre. Locking down Balmung has led to every other server getting a boost in player population, which is far more important than allowing anyone and everybody to gather on one or two bloated servers. I left it myself for various reasons, though some of the most prominent reasons are that the ping became worse for European players and each time a new patch or seasonal event went life the amount of players swarming an area became insane.

For one, Balmung and Gilgamesh being locked actually helped because other servers gained players. We need more active worlds, not a few active servers and majority of completely dead servers. Two, maybe they don't want to spend the money. Or maybe it's a lot more difficult to increase server capacity. We're going into infrastructure now and I'm quite sure it requires a lot of time and money. I'm guessing the current engine wouldn't support it.

Understandable but if one server wants more attention than others and other servers are "dead" why not just merge the "dead" servers into one to increase the population with that it can help the servers people want to be in i.e balmung but also with the increased population of the new merged world people will actually join it because theirs a population. It solves that "dead" issue and can add more attention to Balmumg a server which people wanna be in supply and demand type of idea?

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

We just allow it to be locked?

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"Allow" it... yes, we do. Because the only thing we can do is have enough people move out of Balmung until it reopens, and just like how you want to get in, most of us don't want to move out.

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increase the servers etc

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They added several new servers for SB and we're still where we are. And they're not going to invest all that time money and effort into Balmung because it's not like it's the one single locked server.

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

Understandable but if one server wants more attention than others and other servers are "dead" why not just merge the "dead" servers into one

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IIRC they did that with Balmung and that's a huge part of why we're in this mess in the first place

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

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Because again, Balmung is overcrowded. It's been stated multiple times - there are simply way too many players on Balmung and that will not change until the population goes down. At the end of the day, this is why it will not be unlocked.

There is really no good answer, it should have been outright locked when it's problematic nature was first apparent instead of just the restricted character creation times.

If they increase server sizes. People would transfer to balmung getting it locked again almost immediately while making several other servers a little smaller
if they just unlock it people would go to it en mass and make it unstable and the way servers are linked all of Aether would become unstable along with it
if they actually did server merges, it would be a nightmare due to housing districts and balmung being over full already would not be a candidate for a merge(keep in mind even the "dead" servers sold out all of their housing in minutes just like the congested ones)

Just don't count on it ever being unlocked because it probably never will be.

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

Understandable but if one server wants more attention than others and other servers are "dead" why not just merge the "dead" servers into one to increase the population with that it can help the servers people want to be in i.e balmung but also with the increased population of the new merged world people will actually join it because theirs a population. It solves that "dead" issue and can add more attention to Balmumg a server which people wanna be in supply and demand type of idea?

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There are no "dead" servers. There used to be some low-population servers, but they have filled up.
Server merges are inherently very problematic for many reasons, so they are usually used only as a last resort.

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

I generally asked this without sounding like an ass. More people are knowledgeable on this topic and rather than just the simple no responses people have basically gave I was hoping that maybe somewhere something was talked about like in those letters or some outside sources from SE.

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I feel like you're building yourself a wall of denial.

https://www.dualshockers.com/final-f...naoki-yoshida/

Here's what I want you to look at: (from that interview)

G: How is the population balance between servers looking like at the moment? Did the incentives provided with the release of Stormblood manage to alleviate the issues in large servers like Balmung, or there is more work to be done?

NY: Following our initiatives to address the imbalance in realm populations, it looks like we are starting to see a great deal of active players spread out through each world. While we feel these initiatives may have caused inconvenience to some players, on a wider scale they have been very effective—this is thanks to the cooperation of you, the players.

We still are analyzing not only the concurrent number of users in each world but also the number of players per level, in addition to daily average users. As we continue monitoring the situation, we will also consider changing the designations for congested worlds and preferred worlds in the future.


There was another interview that also addressed the same issue in regards to the now unlocked Gilgamesh and Yoshida had brought up that their methods were working. To sum this all up, they're going to keep using this method until Balmung's no longer overcrowded.


You can stop fishing for "hopeful" answers--they will lead you with false hope to nowhere.

At least Balmung locked and the offered fresh start bonuses carrot to get people to spread to other servers is helping the situation along. I remember it being bad enough that posts of Balmung and Greg crashing the entire Aether data center for this and that was pretty common in the report forums for a while. It'll eventually unlock, just not any time soon.

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

Understandable but if one server wants more attention than others and other servers are "dead" why not just merge the "dead" servers into one to increase the population with that it can help the servers people want to be in i.e balmung but also with the increased population of the new merged world people will actually join it because theirs a population. It solves that "dead" issue and can add more attention to Balmumg a server which people wanna be in supply and demand type of idea?

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The dead server issue was already solved by closing big servers so merges are not needed. And it doesn't matter if one server wants attention, funds and people poured into it. They are not special just because of the server they play on, for crying out loud. Almost anything in the game is better to spend money on than Balmung. Like cross world stuff that would benefit every server.

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Originally Posted by SorrowsEnd

That really wouldn't work they have an fc a house friends etc.

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And this is why it will stay locked.

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Originally Posted by BillyKaplan

IIRC they did that with Balmung and that's a huge part of why we're in this mess in the first place

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Most 1.0 servers got merged for the launch of ARR. Quick search pulled up the following:

Selbina = Ridill
Wutai + Gyashl = Masamune
Rabanastra + Cornelia = Durandal
Melmond + Figaro = Aegis
Istory + Mysidia = Gungnir
Saronia + Lindblum = Sargatanas
Fabul + Besaid = Balmung
Trabia + Kashuan = Hyperion
Karnak + Palamecia =Excalibur

I was part of the Balmung merge. Weeeee~

I think the best solution to all of these posts, give Balmung their own datacenter(of course not as large a portion as one that houses multiple servers), open the flood gates, and watch it burn to the ground when people don't stop flooding it.

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Originally Posted by Skivvy

Most 1.0 servers got merged for the launch of ARR. Quick search pulled up the following:

Selbina = Ridill
Wutai + Gyashl = Masamune
Rabanastra + Cornelia = Durandal
Melmond + Figaro = Aegis
Istory + Mysidia = Gungnir
Saronia + Lindblum = Sargatanas
Fabul + Besaid = Balmung
Trabia + Kashuan = Hyperion
Karnak + Palamecia =Excalibur

I was part of the Balmung merge. Weeeee~

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They were merged long before 2.0 launched.

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Originally Posted by Valkyrie_Lenneth

They were merged long before 2.0 launched.

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Ahhh, had I checked dates on that article, I probably would have pieced that together. lol. I had quit looong before the end of 1.23, so I just "awakened" on Balmung ;)


But anyway, to the OP, for better or worse, Balmung is probably staying locked for a rather long time. It is unfortunate that people can't join with friends and family to play with, but it is what it is :/ I do hope things stabilize enough for it to be reopened, but I'm not holding my breath on that being any time soon.

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Originally Posted by Avatre

I think the best solution to all of these posts, give Balmung their own datacenter(of course not as large a portion as one that houses multiple servers), open the flood gates, and watch it burn to the ground when people don't stop flooding it.

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What SE should've done (edited) is just make a server for RPers. Half of Balmung pop is RPers. If you were to make a server (like WoW has) and tag for RP, I have no doubt a good chuck of Balmung would move to that server. Since 1.0 fail people asked SE to make a dedicated RP server. SE didn't want to listen. Players took it upon themselves to say, "Balmung the official RP server." and thus, now we have an overcrowd server.

Though honestly I do like that Balmung has a mix of everything from RPers to the hardcore raiders and content farmers (mounts, minions, etc).

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Originally Posted by Cylla

If you were to make a server (like WoW has) and tag for RP, I have no doubt a good chuck of Balmung would move to that server.

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The ones who don't own houses, sure. But what's keeping a lot of us there is the real-estate.

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Since 1.0 fail people asked SE to make a dedicated RP server. SE didn't want to listen. Players took it upon themselves to say, "Balmung the official RP server." and thus, now we have an overcrowd server.

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You make it sound like had SE been the one to brand it an RP server we wouldn't have been in this situation when that has nothing to do with it.

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Originally Posted by Cylla

What SE should do is just make a server for RPers. Half of Balmung pop is RPers. If you were to make a server (like WoW has) and tag for RP, I have no doubt a good chuck of Balmung would move to that server. Since 1.0 fail people asked SE to make a dedicated RP server. SE didn't want to listen. Players took it upon themselves to say, "Balmung the official RP server." and thus, now we have an overcrowd server.

Though honestly I do like that Balmung has a mix of everything from RPers to the hardcore raiders and content farmers (mounts, minions, etc).

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A label isn't going to fix that pack mentality going on there. Which is the real issue at hand. RP isn't the majority there as some like to believe. Never has been. It's just a hot bed for it is all. Nor should it be catered to just to appease the loudest (read whiniest) voices.

This is really all a matter of priorities. It is your friend's choice of whether to transfer to a server you both can play on. If you guys want to play together that much, they can transfer to your server. However, they would rather not do that, and stay on a locked server for their own reasons. Nothing wrong with that, but it isn't SE's fault that your friend has different priorities than you.