Suggestion: Turn Balmung into an Official RP Server

[Abriael]

It's already the RP server. Everyone on there knows it's the RP server. Why would labeling it the RP server make them want to leave?

I believe you overestimate the public visibility of a decision taken unilaterally by the RP community, and never acknowledged in any shape or form by Square Enix. I know a ton of people currently playing on Balmung who don't have the slightest idea that Balmung has any specific status, albeit unofficial. Even more had no idea when they joined, and even those who know have absolutely no reason to leave, simply because the server is not a sanctioned RP server.

Lots of roleplayers know, because they're part of the community to begin with, or they searched for like-minded people before they joined. But non-roleplayers joining the game have absolutely no reason to know unless they went out of their way to do some research.

The more realistic option is to make a new server and make it an official RP server.

There really is no reason for Square Enix to attempt to displace the entire RP community. It wouldn't even work. Some would move, some would not, with the sole result of fragmenting the community.

No thanks. Even as a role-player myself I have no interest on playing on a server where role-play is encouraged above all else. I enjoy the game as a whole and want to see people encouraged to commit to the PvE and PvP side of things if they so desire - so making it less desirable for people who don't role-play is very, very dubious and a slippery slope.

I'm not sure where you got this idea that roleplayers don't commit to PvE and PvP. Of course they do. I don't know a single MMORPG that has RP servers in which those two aspects are neglected in any relevant way.