Resolving the Balmung Population Issue at Minimal Cost to the Benefit of All Players

[Oaken]

Balmung is currently impacted by larger queues than any other server, making the game virtually inaccessible for large segments of players who log in during NA primetime (after standard work day hours). The existing server transfer bonuses have proven ineffective to alleviate the congestion on Balmung. This is because the server hosts a large legacy player PVE population and the FFXIV roleplay community. MMORPGs are social games, and players are justified in desiring to retain their communities, especially when players form communities around specific interests (roleplaying) that depend on having a central hub.

Roleplayers have no incentive or desire to transfer when one of their primary aspects of gameplay (roleplay) depends entirely on having access to the roleplay community and like-minded individuals. The overwhelming majority of roleplayers will always want to play on the server populated with the most other roleplayers, as it sustains a vibrant and healthy RP community. It is unreasonable to expect like-minded players to split communities and friendships built over months and years. This is why current population control measures on Balmung have not worked and will not work.

There is only one viable solution to resolving the population issue on Balmung: the creation of an official roleplay server and offering existing transfer bonuses to that server. This would cost SE virtually nothing to implement and would benefit all players. Roleplayers are a heavily ostracized, small (but sizable) community that have specific needs in terms of how their community is structured. For roleplay to exist and prove sustainable over time, roleplayers need access to a centralized place where they can find other roleplayers. Because roleplay varies so much in terms of style and content, it is critical for roleplayers to have a centralized server. This allows them to find others who are interested in roleplay and protect themselves from individuals who mock or troll roleplay. A substantial number of roleplayers (if not most of the entire roleplay community) would likely transfer to the new RP server within days of its release, alleviating the population issue on Balmung. Non-roleplayers would benefit because the congestion on Balmung would be substantially reduced, and some non-roleplayers do not desire to be on the same server as roleplayers for personal (often unreasonable) reasons.

There are no valid arguments for why an official roleplay server should not be designated. It will cost virtually nothing to implement and meet the demands of the vast majority of the player base. SE's concern that a RP server would be a "toxic" environment is rooted in speculation, conjecture, and unfamiliarity with the western RP community. The overwhelming majority of the roleplay community (99%+) is generally mature and enjoys the same PVE content experienced by other players. As a community frequently trolled and harassed by others, roleplayers are empathetic and unlikely to treat other players in the very way they are often treated in many settings. Most roleplay is done in private settings between RPers who consent to roleplay. RPers do not force roleplay on others or look down upon players who are not interested in roleplay.

SE risks nothing to lose by designating an official RP server, and it would alleviate the population issue on Balmung at minimal cost to the benefit of all players.

[MistakeNot]

Roleplayers are a minority even on Balmung. Even if every single roleplayer on Balmung moved to some other server, Balmung would still be overpopulated and one of the largest servers.
RPers are not the only cause of Balmung's overpopulation - plenty of non-RPers have moved there precisely because it is the largest server, or because it has been the unofficial RP server.

[Oaken]

Roleplayers are a minority even on Balmung. Even if every single roleplayer on Balmung moved to some other server, Balmung would still be overpopulated and one of the largest servers.
RPers are not the only cause of Balmung's overpopulation - plenty of non-RPers have moved there precisely because it is the largest server, or because it has been the unofficial RP server.

I agree that roleplayers are a minority on Balmung, but they are a sizable minority (perhaps 20%-49% of the player base). Reducing the RP player base on Balmung may not eliminate queues completely, but it would substantially and dramatically reduce the congestion issue on the server. One thing is certain: it would certainly not increase or harm the congestion issue on the server.

[SinisterJoints]

they are offering FREE SERVER TRANSFER's -- take you and your friends and transfer. tired of these threads, you guys have been offered a solution. Dont like it? Deal with the que times. It's that simple

[Inuk9]

Another "My server is full, I wanna people to leave but don't wanna leave myself"

there is already enough motivation for you and your friends to move but nobody does expecting other people to leave.

[Elodie-kitteh]

I personally moved to the new EU server. I figured that at the end of the day, the servers are what we make them. I mean can't rp if I can't log in, so at least I can try and make an rp fc where I am now. Even if no one is interested, I can at least log in the game XD

[NorthernLadMSP]

they are offering FREE SERVER TRANSFER's -- take you and your friends and transfer. tired of these threads, you guys have been offered a solution. Dont like it? Deal with the que times. It's that simple

Exactly. Not only free transfers, but also chocobo feathers and millions of free gil.

[Marluxia]

Everyone keeps pointing to "gil" and "chocobo feathers" as proper incentives, and they're not.

Square Enix needs to offer incentives for entire communities to transfer, not just individuals.

An RP designation is one such incentive that would encourage an entire community to transfer.

MMOs are social games. They are built and sustained around communities. The idea that gil and chocobo feathers and less queue times are enough incentive fails to acknowledge this fact. If you're an individual or solo player, then hell yeah, those incentives are great! But for anything more than an individual player or a player with a small group of friends, they're wholly inadequate.

[DPZ2]

Um, except for the 'official roleplay server' bit, the suggestions of the OP are already in place. There hasn't been a rush to move. The OP appears to remain on Balmung despite the free transfers and other incentives.

He might just as well have yelled "Hey you kids, get off my lawn!" -- to similar effect.

[Theodric]

Creating an official role-playing server won't solve the issue at all, though. Many role-players - myself included - enjoy playing on a server that has a healthy amount of players who are focused primarily on the PvE and PvP side of the game. I role-play, yes, but that's something I do on the side and during dry periods.

Furthermore, there's already established role-play communities elsewhere outside of Balmung. Omega has a decent amount of European role-players. Mateus has become the 'secondary Balmung'. If people want role-play in FFXIV they're not starved for options. We don't need an official server for role-play to happen. We also don't need a server purely created for role-play as that doesn't make for a healthy server community.