Datacenters: A Plea For Community Building, Not Fracturing

[xbahax92]

And Balmung wouldn't have become so congested if Square Enix didn't happily pocket $18 per transfer for the better part of four years.

No offense but, didnt they close transfers and the creation of new characters on Balmung for a good amount of time during the release of Stormblood?
And was it not like that playeres here started qq'ing, whining, offending, flaming, stopping their subs (showing it off here), and even started a petition to reopen the "gates"? Or was that all just a illusion?
I mean, ok they might be open right now, but that is cause the population dropped during the last patches. But what to do after people see the next news about upcoming expac and rejoin the game again?

[Sheriyana]

No offense but, didnt they close transfers and the creation of new characters on Balmung for a good amount of time during the release of Stormblood?
And was it not like that playeres here started qq'ing, whining, offending, flaming, stopping their subs (showing it off here), and even started a petition to reopen the "gates"? Or was that all just a illusion?
I mean, ok they might be open right now, but that is cause the population dropped during the last patches. But what to do after people see the next news about upcoming expac and rejoin the game again?

Balmung was open for transfers until that point, letting the server get as bloated as it got was absolutely SE's fault. And of course players complained about closing it, Balmung was established as the RP server at that point with no alternatives, until the community turned Mateus into one. Balmung has been closed for a little while again too.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

No offense but, didnt they close transfers and the creation of new characters on Balmung for a good amount of time during the release of Stormblood?
And was it not like that playeres here started qq'ing, whining, offending, flaming, stopping their subs (showing it off here), and even started a petition to reopen the "gates"? Or was that all just a illusion?
I mean, ok they might be open right now, but that is cause the population dropped during the last patches. But what to do after people see the next news about upcoming expac and rejoin the game again?

Why would I take offense?

Regardless, yes, they closed Balmung prior to Stormblood's launch. That occurred precisely because they allowed Balmung to balloon in the first place. In essence, SE proved reactionary once again—waiting until the problem slapped them in the face before actually doing anything to prevent it. Did people complain? Some did, but nowhere near as much as people are complaining now.

As for what they'll do when people return? Unlike other servers, Balmung doesn't see nearly the same drop off during droughts. Therefore, little will change from now and June 2019. In fact, it will likely be smaller than Stormblood's launch because there's a second RP server, thus splitting up Balmung's population. For reference sake, Mateus—at the time of Stormblood's launch—had a paltry 5,300 active characters according to Lucky Bancho. It currently boasts roughly three times that number. Funny how when they finally locked Balmung, the problem stopped. Whether you agree with their decision regarding Crystal is another matter entirely. Blaming the playerbase for congestion issues that could have been mitigated ages ago simply comes across disingenuous. This was a SE created problem, not a Balmung one.