Thread: Decline of Servers?

Hey, new to this forum - don't know if I'm posting this in the wrong place!

So anyway, I came back to this game after like... almost 2 years. Needless to say, I love this game, and it's my favorite MMO right now. I've been playing it quite a lot.

But -

Now that I'm back, I've noticed my server (Goblin) is extremely dead. There's pretty much no one anywhere except for Idyllshire and Quarrymill, and even those two areas are very often sparse.

I'm wondering if it's that much better in other servers? Is the world dead in every server, even Balmung and Gilgamesh? I would like to actually - sometimes - be able to do FATEs with others and actually experience the world instead of just doing ques for POTD, alexander content and dungeons/roulettes. At least while I'm leveling new classes, it'd be nice, lol.

As for the active servers - is it even possible to get into the super active ones, like Balmung?

Thanks, guys!

Oh, no. Every server is far from dead. Balmung ranges from 25-30k pretty consistently and Gilgamesh is only slightly behind that. Unfortunately, the only way to get onto these servers is by transferring, which costs $18 USD. You can try making a new character in the every early morning as they sometimes open, but it's rare. With Christmas, New Years and the 3.5 close though, you might get lucky since not as many people will be around. I know a lot of people who jumped from quiet servers onto Balmung and they said it felt like a different game.

Something to keep in mind. Gilgamesh is considered the unofficial raid server. If you have any Savage aspirations, it may be better there. Balmung does have a growing raid scene, but it more casual focused. It's also considered the unofficial roleplay server. So you'll generally see people hanging around most major cities.

Originally Posted by Bourne_Endeavor

I know a lot of people who jumped from quiet servers onto Balmung and they said it felt like a different game.

Can confirm, I transferred from Malboro to Balmung back in September and I've never looked back. It does feel like a different game; however, with the addition of cross-server party finders, there's less reason to pack up and move servers. Still, if you like being around a bunch of people in the over world, leaving a small server for a bigger one will be refreshing at the very least. I know a lot of players advise against this because they're trying to preserve these smaller servers, but what's the point? I'm for more players coming together, that's why I play a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Square Enix might have to address the number of servers in the future, maybe, if it's even possible to merge servers with housing and what-not.

Out of all the servers, all 60 something of them across all data centers, I'm pretty sure Goblin is in like the bottom five in terms of active population. It is in no way representative of other servers.

@Hyo -

thanks for the information! <3
I think I'd probably just transfer; making a new char wouldn't be worth it.

@Bourne -
Really helpful info, honestly. I wouldn't mind the RP aspect of Balmung; I often do lit-adv.lit RP on forums, so it could be something I could get into. Honestly, I'm most enamored by the idea of transferring to Balmung moreso than the other servers.

I have a question for you, if you don't mind! Do you ever have login ques for Balmung? If so, how often? That was one of the things that concerned me about transferring there. ><

Thanks, love!

@Juneri
Yeah, that's what it feels like. It's depressingly dead. I began in Adamantoise (well, Coeurl in the beta but w/e) and I remember it being booming in comparison to Goblin at pretty much any point in the day, in any area. I wonder if they'd ever consider consolidating the dead servers.

Originally Posted by Lothian

@Bourne -
Really helpful info, honestly. I wouldn't mind the RP aspect of Balmung; I often do lit-adv.lit RP on forums, so it could be something I could get into. Honestly, I'm most enamored by the idea of transferring to Balmung moreso than the other servers.

I have a question for you, if you don't mind! Do you ever have login ques for Balmung? If so, how often? That was one of the things that concerned me about transferring there. ><

Thanks, love!

Yes, though you can cheese those. Whenever you get a queue, just cancel and requeue. For whatever reason, it'll immediately load you into the game. This only doesn't work after maintenance when a ton of people try to log-in at once. So it's never an issue. ^^

If you're looking to get into the RP community. Check out both RPC and FFXIV Tumblr. Good way to get some networking and meet people.

Originally Posted by Bourne_Endeavor

Yes, though you can cheese those. Whenever you get a queue, just cancel and requeue. For whatever reason, it'll immediately load you into the game. This only doesn't work after maintenance when a ton of people try to log-in at once. So it's never an issue. ^^

If you're looking to get into the RP community. Check out both RPC and FFXIV Tumblr. Good way to get some networking and meet people.

Thanks very much! You've been really helpful.
Definitely considering Balmung at the top of my list right now!

It's really quiet right now with the holiday's, FFXV and other games. I would suggest you wait for the debut of 3.5 in mid January to see how much the activity picks up. I suspect it'll be quite a lot.

Originally Posted by LaylaTsarra

It's really quiet right now with the holiday's, FFXV and other games. I would suggest you wait for the debut of 3.5 in mid January to see how much the activity picks up. I suspect it'll be quite a lot.

True that! I guess I didn't think of that. ><