Maintenance Times

[Barraind]

Someone is going to have to deal with a patch/maint happening at a time they would usually play, even if they managed to do it at a time when the fewest amount would be on across the world.

Which is why you would ideally patch by server cluster unless its a major content release, especially if its a primarily backend update.

I've experienced both ways of doing it. We decided doing it locally at 2 or 3 am is the best way (its also the time most mobile games and other MMO studios do it if they have different versions), squeenix does it so it ends before its too late JP time and does every cluster simultaneously.

[Dyvid]

I know this subject has been posted before but I feel like I must ask once again. Why does SE keep planning maintenance times during prime play time for most of the US? I understand alternating the times so it's not always during prime time for everyone, but the last 3-4 or more major patches have ALL fallen from 6pm PST to the following morning. Why don't they alternate patch times so US servers are not always down right after most of us get home from work?? why can't they alternate it??

Because it's always prime time in some part of the world....