"At the end of the day...we aren't really playing Star Wars"... At the end of the day, Star Wars isn't real either, it's a film. It is what you make it.

From experience of previous games requiring transfers and mergers at some stage, the game lacking these options from launch has been a huge oversight and one that MMO developers need to take note of. For this game in particular it has become one of the main reasons for the severe decline in numbers. No one likes to play an MMO without other players. Appreciate that the game suffered from the largest launch interest in MMO history, but they still should have transfers and mergers available at the start of the game. In fact the best system that I have ever seen has been Runescape. Your character can log into any server at any time thus enabling a fluid system of server closing and opening depending upon demand. That game has never suffered from player populations as you always have servers that are full, down to moderate in player numbers. Why other games force you to play and stay on one server is totally beyond me. Online games are supposed to be fun, not a chore, and the reason I stopped playing was exactly this.

Agree, and the key point is that based on the knowledge of other games of this genre, knowing that server mergers/character transfers/cross server options were always going to be vital, this technology should have been available at the start of the game. It's a huge oversight and one that's costing Bioware alot of money.

For me it's not really a debate. Irrelevant of what people would prefer, the fact that players are un-subscribing at an alarming rate, mainly due to the majority of servers being severely unpopulated, have to make Bioware do something quickly. Cross server warzones/character transfers/server mergers have to happen, and should have been available at the start of the game. A massive oversight and one that other companies need to take note of when they take on a similar project as this one. Not having this technology and it being 6 months after launch and still not having this technology is simply pathetic.

Put as simply as possible - If they don't do something very quickly to increase server populations or allow others to play against each other whenever they log on, then there will be very few players left on the majority of servers. All other game issues should be put on hold and cross server warzones and/or character transfers and/or server mergers need to be absolute top priority.

Bioware know the numbers, Bioware get the feedback once players un-sub. Bioware know that more players are unsubscribing becuase of the lack of action on servers, translated into a very poor playing experience, expecially when it comes to warzones. I un-subbed 2 days ago, the reason is that the server is dead and warzones are currently in a pathetic situation. If they don't bring in cross server warzones, character transfers or server mergers I won't be coming back. In all honesty, as the days go on I become less inclined to want to come back even if these steps are implemented. Bottom line, Bioware have been very naive to not have cross server warzones, character transfers or server mergers in place before the game went live. I don't know the stats but I would guess that low activity servers and the above reasons account for a larger % of players unsubscribing than any other variable.

I completely agree. Typical scenario - I log on and queue for a warzone. I wait for 30 mins and enter a warzone. The team gets annihilated. I queue for another warzone, enter and find out its the same team that have just annililated us. I requeue and find out that actually that one team pretty much sums up the population of players that I will be playing against that evening. I realise I will never get my daily done, lose interest in spending 30 mins to queue and turn the game off. This won't continue for much longer. I will give it one more subscription month then I'm done.

The majority that 'xxdragonragexx' says is correct. Playing MMO's is a lifestyle choice. A game that has a daily grind, something that keeps your mind focussed on an end goal, is what draws people into continual playing. Let's not forget - Even if I never achieve a full set of the best gear I won't mind becuase the majority of others won't either. Factor in the necessity and urgent need for cross server warzones - something that Bioware have acknowledged - will take away the arguements surrounding unballanced starting games. In fact gear grinding is much lower priority than developing a system to allow warzone matches to start on an equal footing (or at least 8v8) everytime. This thread sorts itself out once the above issue is addressed.

Quite simply put to make this as succinct as possible: Low server populations will result in more people quitting the game than any other currently available variable. Server mergers, cross server warzones or some way of repopulating servers have to be the number 1, biggest priority for SWTOR at this time. A personal story and one that no doubt alot of others will share: I stand on the fleet and queue for a warzone. Warzones to me are currently my most favourite thing to do on SWTOR. I feel like I have a routine with warzones. I both enjoy it and see some benefits through better armour and ranking. Unfortunately, I stand on the fleet and queue for a warzone for 30 minutes, so decide to browse the internet, occasionally flicking back to see if my time is ready. 40 minutes after queueing I enter a warzone. I see that our team has 5 players. The warzone starts and I realise the opposing team has 8 players. Needless to say, after some arguements from team players, with the word 'noob' occasionally being said, we lose the match and I re-queue. After the 3rd or 4th time that evening of the same senario, my browsing of the internet wins over SWTOR, I lose interest and turn the client off. The above senario has now occured for well over a month - In those times I have started a few new characters, I have taken the odd break. I'm now getting bored of redoing quests on all the usual worlds. I would like to play warzones. Warzones are currently not working, due to the lack of population on my server. I'm getting tired of continually losing warzones. Not due to lack of skill or team mate skill, but due to unequal starting numbers in a warzone. How much longer will this go on for. I play online games to have fun and relax. I'm close to no longer having fun. Something needs to change and fast.

Quite simply put to make this as succinct as possible: Low server populations will result in more people quitting the game than any other currently available variable. Server mergers, cross server warzones or some way of repopulating servers have to be the number 1, biggest priority for SWTOR at this time.

Quite simply put to make this as succinct as possible: Low server populations will result in more people quitting the game than any other currently available variable. Server mergers, cross server warzones or some way of repopulating servers have to be the number 1, biggest priority for SWTOR at this time.

Quite simply put to make this as succinct as possible: Low server populations will result in more people quitting the game than any other currently available variable. Server mergers, cross server warzones or some way of repopulating servers have to be the number 1, biggest priority for SWTOR at this time.

Irrelevant of the time it takes to get a full set of gear, if I have to continue to spend longer queueing for warzones than to actually play them, then my time in the game and subsequent money is running on limited time. The absolute priority is to make queues no more than 5 minutes a time and to try as hard as they can to start matches 8v8. How they achieve this is open to argument - cross server warzones and server mergers being two of those options. In fact I'd go as far as to suggest that I should never obtain a full set of the best gear or reach the highest possible achievement to keep me playing the game. (If I get close to achieving this it probably suggests a new update is needed to keep me striving for the next best set) I'll play warzones all day if i have something to work toward becuase a) it's fun and b) I like to work toward something.

I currently think the biggest issue is to merge servers, or to get cross server options working. I'm currently almost at the end of my patience with having to queue 20 mins for a game for it to be 5v8 or similar, almost every game. Warzones are the most popular part of SWTOR currently (and the most enjoyable for me). It is absolutely imperative that they do whatever they can to ensure two things: 1. Matches start 8v8 every time, and if not every time then 95% of it. 2. Queueing for warzones need to be no longer than 5 minutes at the absolute most. I can not stress enough that these issues are the number 1, absolute top priority. Why? Because if they don't sort this out then they will quickly find they will have a very small player base left. Every online game needs a daily grind to make players come back and make it a lifestyle. There are only so many times one can level a character through the same worlds doing the same quests. Currently the daily lifestyle for alot of players are warzones and flashpoints. They desparately need to get warzones as populated as they possibly can.

I think ranked warzones will work very well when there are cross server options available. I currently think the biggest issue is to merge servers, or to get cross server options working. I'm currently almost at the end of my patience with having to queue 20 mins for a game for it to be 5v8 or similar, almost every game. Please sort the above issue out as soon as possible. Please. As for ranked warzones, whether they are here today or in a month, if they don't sort out the lack of players to play against first then no matter how good it is, it will be terrible for warzones as a whole. Once again, please merge servers or allow cross server warzones, and make it the absolute top priority.