OP what decline? Balmung is no where near decline. Every zone I visit has lots of players. Especially the cities. Some questing. Some crafting. Some RPing. But declining? Not on my server. It's hard to find a zone that ISN'T overcrowded. There's a few, which I am able to do fates on. But overall, the game seems to be doing a hell of a lot better than say... World of Warcraft.