Transfer Restrictions and Roleplayers

[Lexia]

So wait...why not move the NON-RPers to one of the existing servers and just name Balmung the RP one since everyone is already there? Why re-create the wheel?

Is SE going to transfer my house with me, otherwise no deal.

[Marluxia]

Is SE going to transfer my house with me, otherwise no deal.

Making a brand-new server and opening to transfers-only for a period of, say, 48 hours would also make the housing transfer better, as it would guarantee people keeping their plots if they wanted to do so.

People would be way more willing to move if their choice of housing plot was guaranteed. For example, people aren't transferring to Mateus because Mateus' Mist is already full, so anyone who owned or wanted a house in the Mist isn't going to transfer to Mateus any time soon.

[Zohnax]

RPers tend to forget that even after the merger, they chose to stay where they were and they were merged with non-RPers. Blaming and excepting non-RPers to bear the burden of sacrifices is pretty unjust when the developers let Balmung explode into the biggest population server beyond the means of supporting all the players created on it.

[Zumi]

The E3 live letter said they didn't want to label Balmung a RP server because people picked that sever since the start of ARR and had no intention of role playing and so they didn't want to create a toxic environment where people would say if you not going to roleplay then get off our server. Said they would do a survey about making a RP server.

Sounds like if they ever did make a RP server it would have to be a new server.

[Marluxia]

The playerbase is not at fault for this, neither RPers or non-RPers. RPers have been asking for a designated server since at least 2011, and Square Enix was more than willing to milk transfer money off of people who wanted to play with their friends or like-minded communities. The players aren't improving the situation at all, certainly, but we're not the ones who let the problem get as bad as it is now.

Again, in the interest of moving forward a solution, it'd be ideal if neither community had to be forced one way or the other. Having a way for Free Companies to transfer and guaranteeing housing would be a great step forward.

[Mazora_Espeon]

^ This is my whole mindset over people trying to create some massive rper exodus.
Such a lower risk for non-rpers to transfer and find their communities than for an rper to do so.

I repeat my previous post on page 37...

[Mazora_Espeon]

That is a really good point and one of the main points of people who want Balmung to be RP-designated. I think that that's why non-RPers are harder to make move, though; they get the same stuff no matter where they go, so the only thing they're really getting from transferring is a smaller economy and smaller queues, and for a lot of people that's not enough.

Both sides of the coin--RPers and non-RPers--are pretty obstinate for various valid reasons, but in the interest of forward-thinking of a solution, I still think it is marginally easier to incentivise RPers to move.

Realistically, designating Balmung as the RP server would probably just make both sides turn against each other in an effort to chase the "other side" out, moreso than what already happens. I have trouble seeing its viability as a long-term solution.

I repeat my post on page 37 as a counter argument. Also, I would like to point out that those people who stay is a way of weeding out the types of mentality you have in your player base.

[Roda]

No ons is going to be forced to move because is the perfect way to make a lot of people mad. But if SE could get away with it be sure that they just outright kill Balmung and scatter their community with a long transfer lockdown plus measures to prevent a Balmung 2.0.

Sorry should've clarified, this was in reference to the idea of an unofficial exodus. Not exatly the type they were talking about

[Marluxia]

I repeat my post on page 37 as a counter argument. Also, I would like to point out that those people who stay is a way of weeding out the types of mentality you have in your player base.

Ah, somehow I missed your post. I think the thread advanced really rapidly to page 38 so I was just responding to the latest stuff I could see on 39.

Anyway, I think if I had to, I could make an arguable case that roleplaying can be considered a "main" gameplay element, or at the very least a significant enough element that it's not a waste of resources. Many people on Balmung who play this game don't play for the "main" content of PvE, PvP, or anything else; they're here for roleplay.

I could make a reasonable assumption--though I lack the data, and it's worth noting that Square Enix is also (very reasonably) asking for data--that at least a third of Balmung's population consists of roleplayers. If we assume that the census is correct and Balmung is estimated to be around ~26k active connections at any one time, then Balmung's RPer population alone is more than other servers.

[Oaken]

I hope if SE observes any measure of reasonable customer service, they will review the posts in this thread carefully and designate an official RP server. There is currently a 2,700 queue to log into Balmung on a Tuesday evening at 7:30 PM PST. Balmung is the only server impacted by queues of this magnitude. This is because Balmung houses a large legacy PVE population /and/ the game's RP population. Unlike Gilgamesh, where queue times have plummeted, roleplayers on Balmung are extremely unlikely to transfer because they value having a centralized community and depend on having access to individuals who roleplay. Without a centralized place, roleplay is not sustainable and results in subscriber loss.

The only viable long term solution to the Balmung congestion issue is the designation of an official RP server. It is critical that SE understands that RPers are valuable consumers with specific needs. RPers have requested an official RP server for years, and there is no valid reason to deny RPers an official RP server. Official RP servers are commonplace in western MMO's for a good reason: the RP community needs a centralized hub of like-minded individuals who value roleplay. The RP population is not so large that it would unduly burden a server. It is speculation and conjecture (offered by people who have no understanding of roleplay or the community) to argue the opposite.

Designating a new official RP server (ideally a new server or existing under-populated server) is the /only/ immediate solution to Balmung's population problem. If an official RP server is not designated 30+ minute login queues will likely persist for another 1-2 months to the detriment of all players. It is past time SE takes the simple, cost-effective step to meet the demands of thousands of subscribers: the designation of an official RP server.