Decline of Servers?

[Bourne_Endeavor]

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.

[Amnesiac]

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.