Ever getting server merge?

[PFM]

Don't merge. Lock Chocobo, Gilgamesh, Balmung etc. Let the other ones fill up.

[Serilda]

I don't want a merge either. My server is tiny - I'm very often the only player I see online in Idyllshire, Limsa Lominsa and the like and party finder is literally empty most of the day - and it is frustrating if you aren't playing at prime time. You really have to start your own PF groups, at which point people suddenly start surfacing from their solo activities and assemble to take down a hunt or participate in some other task together.

However, a server merge would be a huge amount of unnecessary upheaval for something which might well be a temporary issue. I don't want to lose my house and airship progress just because my server is quiet. If new players were landing on the quieter servers instead of queueing up en masse to join Balmung, Gilgamesh and the like, there would be no problem to begin with.

It's ludicrous that there are endless threads about housing shortages and queues when everyone is still piling onto the same handful of servers. You can just walk into The Goblet on my server right now and buy a house without any competition. They're at the lowest prices and have been for ages because there aren't enough players on the server who want housing to purchase all of the land available. I don't think I have ever seen a queue longer than 5 people when logging on, and that was the very first day of Heavensward. I've never seen these legendary instanced areas that the development team has to implement to prevent overcrowding when new content is released. Free transfers from the overcrowded servers to the empty ones would be the most logical first step in any rebalancing strategy. Block all transfers and character creation on the overcrowded servers, but let existing players invite friends or alts (alts in particular) if needed - this is how it worked in FFXI and it's far less frustrating than the current 'hang around until a specific time of day and sneak onto the server' workaround.

I also don't really think that merges will help the real problems. I sat in a queue for PVP for 7 hours a couple of days ago, and 4 hours last night. That's not server-specific, that's happening because they just dumped a whole load of new instanced content into the game and Diadem is a more attractive prospect than PVP for esoteric farming, gear etc. If an entire data centre can't scrape together enough people for an 8v8v8 Seal Rock outside of peak times then no amount of server merges is going to help; they need to improve queueing and incentivise all different kinds of activities first.

(One other thing to add; the language settings are still important in Duty Finder even if the worlds are split by data centre now. There are French-speakers in North American time zones and Australian English-speakers on Japanese servers!)

[AnaviAnael]

I agree that they should do free server transfers from high pop servers to low pop servers.

[Natashio]

I agree that they should do free server transfers from high pop servers to low pop servers.

And how is giving free transfers from high pop. servers to low population servers going to get people to move out. When players are already paying and flocking out of the low pop. ones to the high population servers.

[AnaviAnael]

And how is giving free transfers from high pop. servers to low population servers going to get people to move out. When players are already paying and flocking out of the low pop. ones to the high population servers.

I know quite a few people who want to get off Balmung, but won't do it because some of their FC members can't afford the cost. In XI, there were whole linkshells that would transfer to different servers when the option was available.

[Catwho]

I know quite a few people who want to get off Balmung, but won't do it because some of their FC members can't afford the cost. In XI, there were whole linkshells that would transfer to different servers when the option was available.

Yep - a large FC on Balmung with no house and few ties to the server outside of the FC would jump at the opportunity to switch to one of the few low population servers with housing available. But for a 100+ member FC, the cost of switching is at a minimum $1800 collectively. Too much for some individuals, too complex for a single whale, of which I doubt there are many on the RP server. (The XI linkshell jumps usually happened because a whale would pay 20 other people to jump ship with him. That was chump change compared to the $3000 NASA bot a few of them shelled out for.)

[Altera]

They have done server merges in the past, as in 1.0. I remember my original server Saronia merged with another large one and became Sargatanas.

[Gilraen]

They have done server merges in the past, as in 1.0. I remember my original server Saronia merged with another large one and became Sargatanas.

Yes, I remember that, too. I was there for it though all my server got was a name change... (Selbina to Ridill) I also remember that when it happened 1.0 was undeniably on it's way out. There was no future for 1.0 at that point so they decided to cut costs and merge the low population servers. XI has done the same, and I was there for that, too! It wasn't long after Wings launched, if I remember correctly. Maybe around Abyssea's peak... But by then XI had 10-11 years under it's belt and was showing it's age with slowly dwindling subscriptions and thinning player base. Again, cutting costs. Server merges are rarely if ever about improving communities.

[MilesSaintboroguh]

What I tried to say was with Square constantly saying how they can't add this or do that because of sever limitations. I feel they'd just give that excuse again when it comes to your idea. I want better server infrastructures.

[Kosmos992k]

Something something data limitations, something something server limitations.

What I tried to say was with Square constantly saying how they can't add this or do that because of sever limitations. I feel they'd just give that excuse again when it comes to your idea. I want better server infrastructures.

Completely agree.