When will there be a SERVER MERGE?

[EfHaji]

When will there be a merge? Too late, that's when. I'm sick of paying a monthly fee for a single player game. I swore after swg I wouldn't come here but I did anyway and I see how they used the brand star wars to basically sell off a pile of junk. Cross server BZ should of happened a long time ago and server transfers/merges should of happened as soon as the servers started dying in the first place.

 

90% dead servers, loads of bugs and glitches, pathetic space combat (space in general even if you want to call it that), horrific crafting system, broken classes and or trees. The planets are hallways and the entire game in general feels like one giant corridor.

 

The only things I am liking is the companions and the story, outside of that the entire thing was a big mistake.

 

Also, not all of us drink the kool aid. I know dumbing things down is the trend these days but I'm not playing building blocks. Unless I see major changes (which should come naturally with all the downtime we have to deal with) I'm out after this month. I'd take starwars over d3, but this game doesn't just dance on the proverbial starwars grave it throws up on it.

[Master-Nala]

STRATEGIES TO DEAL WITH THE WAIT FOR SERVER TRANSFERS/GROUP FINDER/MORE ENDGAME/ETC.

 

Too long; Didn’t read version

 

1) It’s OK to play MMORPGs a lot (hardcore), folks telling you to ‘get a life’ are wrong;

2) Sign up for a Freemium game to play on the side;

3) The real joy of playing alts is that you don’t have to grind...SO DON’T!

4) You don’t have to stay subbed continuously. It’s OK to unsub then return when the game is up to your standards.

 

 

DON’T ‘GET A LIFE’, YOU HAVE A LIFE AND MMORPGs ARE AN IMPORTANT PART

 

First, I want to start by giving you a break. A lot of time when someone posts here that they are bored or frustrated many folks will suggest that they do something besides play MMORPGs. It’s usually something along the lines of, “Go outside, read a book, etc.” Well, I’m not going to do that. It’s entirely OK to consider video games your primary source of entertainment.

 

For example, I don’t really watch television. A couple of shows, but I may watch 1 hour of TV a week. I play MMOs probably 20+ hours a week. I do go outside. I do have a life (Wife, two boys, house, dog, car, profession). I enjoy movies and books and sex and food and all the other things that others talk about. That is entirely besides the point. You have a right to make MMORPGs an important part of your life. Everyone needs a hobby is how the saying goes, and there’s nothing wrong with making MMORPGs one of them.

 

That said, you have to have some balance and perspective. Ultimately, this is just a hobby and a form of entertainment. And it has to be seen in that light. It’s OK to be a rabid fan, it’s really not OK to let MMORPGs take over your life. If you find that the forums, or the game are making you really feel sad or angry or depressed, then it’s time to log off. And if the feelings are still there, talk to someone about it.

 

CHEAT ON SWTOR!

 

As any MMO enthusiast knows, a number of AAA games have went F2P or more accurately ‘Freemium’ in the last couple of years. This is absolutely wonderful for the bored gamer. There are tons of choices out there for games to play and enjoy in a number of settings and catering to a number of playstyles. I have never been one to sub to only one game. For the vast majority of my MMORPG playing career, I have played City of Heroes and Everquest II. I also have accounts (with serious characters) in WoW, DCUO, and FreeRealms. I also have played a number of other games lightly like LOTRO, DDO, Conan, Everquest, EQOA, and others.

 

I must tell you that there is nothing that breaks boredom than going to another game for a week or two. I still have an active subscription to City of Heroes and I took a long break when SWTOR came out. After I got my main to level 50, I went back to CoH for a couple of weeks and worked on a new character and did some of the content that launched after I took my break. When I came back to SWTOR to start on my Marauder, I was refreshed and SWTOR felt new and I had a blast. Playing the Empire faction for the first time (my first character was a Sage), was a wonder and it didn’t feel grindy at all.

 

My point here is that with all the Freemium games, you don’t have to spend much, if any, money to go out there and get some new experiences. This will give SWTOR the time to grow into the game you probably are looking for, but don’t feel it is now. And you don’t have to spend money on SWTOR in the meantime (more on that later.)

 

ALTING FOR SMARTIES!!

 

Playing an alt can be a real joy in a MMORPG. Seeing new mechanics, stories, and perspectives in the same game can give the whole experience a richer feel. Or alting can be a painful grind. Which one it is, is wholly up to you.

 

I’ve found that the first thing that a player needs to do when starting an alt is, “Take your time.” There’s nothing but a short gear grind waiting for you at 50, so what’s the rush? Don’t want to do the same side-quests for the second (or third or fourth) time? Don’t then. Believe it or not, even in the same faction, you can craft a completely different experience than your main. For example, I didn’t do space missions or PvP on my Sage at all. Nor on my Marauder because he was doing completely different side-quests. Then my Assassin, I gained a large amount of exp, doing both. And I also made an effort to do all the heroics on each planet. Now to be fair, I’m on Harbinger where grouping is a lot more available. My fourth alt, my Scoundrel healer has done a fair number of flashpoints for exp, along with Republic heroics. He’s 42 now, and I’m in no rush to get him to 50. I have a lowbie Powertech I’m enjoying quite a bit.

 

The key to alting is: 1) Don’t get caught up in the grind to 50 (there nothing there anyway); 2) Craft a different experience at all costs (even if that takes longer than grinding sidequests you’ve done before); 3) If the alt is not fun, stop, reroll something that is.

 

YOU CAN COME BACK YOU KNOW?

 

Lastly, the way many folks talk, it seems like if you leave SWTOR you are forevermore precluded from returning. That’s just plain nonsense (that’s the harshest I will be in this guide). There’s nothing wrong with taking a break. In fact, I encourage it for anyone who isn’t having fun.

 

I was reading a post by a player who had 5 level 50 characters. He was saying he wasn’t having fun. I was a bit amazed because it seems he just had a LOT of fun, playing those 5 alts. I think that poster really does like SWTOR, but he was tired and looking for something else. I think someone in that state would do well with a few months off. Maybe even a year. Let the devs add all the things that people, quite reasonably, feel should be added to the game like a LFG tool, server transfers and the like. Then try again.

 

CONCLUSION

 

Well, I hope someone takes what I’m saying to heart. I know that the majority of people who have read this far will have something snarky to say. I understand, it’s the internet. But I hope someone will try the things I’ve written and I hope it helps them enjoy the game.

 

Thanks for reading!

Edited May 17, 2012 by Master-Nala

[OmegaMayhem]

Something really puzzles me.

 

They said they are NOT going to do server merges. They are just going to do transfers.

 

So why do you people keep asking for mergers? They aren't going to happen.

 

Be happy with the transfers.

[Irenicus_Jon]

Something really puzzles me.

 

They said they are NOT going to do server merges. They are just going to do transfers.

 

So why do you people keep asking for mergers? They aren't going to happen.

 

Be happy with the transfers.

 

Because there are server with populations that don't actually justify having a server. Or rather, if they were to allow free server transfer right now, there are servers that would have 0 population after the dust cleared.

[spinaltaprocks]

Well I dont think this is news to anyone but im adding my name to the list of people crying out for a server merge. at peak ours last night there were less than 100 people on. my server was a literal ghost town. i have 2 50s and multiple alst all above lvl 25 on my server and if I have to start over... well i won't. Ill jst leave like everyone else. I love this game, but its really hard to do raids by yourself. :(

[Jawstheshark]

I do hope BW/EA will listen and do mergers along with free transfer options.

 

 

This problem will just get worse until they do.

[Hmille]

Bioware isn't listening. I just posted my first forum post about how dead the Cho Mai server is. They immediately close it. Only 1.3 million play this game, down from 2 million. Time to move on people:)

[Declaire]

Hello everyone,

 

This thread has been recreated because the previous version has exceeded our post threshold of 1,000 posts. Please continue to use this thread for any discussion related to whether or not there will be Server Merges.

 

A reminder that regardless of the topic, it is part of our Rules of Conduct that:

 

• Never insult another member of the community.
  
• Respect other community members, whether they agree with you or not.
  
• Flag, don't fight. Use the "flag" feature to report posts to our Community Team if you see someone breaking the rules – don't respond to them!
  
• Don't make spam posts like "first," "in before the lock," or "bump."
  
• Make constructive, on-topic posts that add to the discussion.
  

 

For related discussions, please see the following threads:

 

• Daniel Erickson on Server Population.
  
• FREE Character Transfers are Coming!
  
• Free transfers in the future?
  
• Server population is dropping...
  

 

Please also see Dallas Dickinson's reply to the April 27th Community Q&A:

 

 

Thank you for understanding.

 

gee thats great but this does NOT answer the question about if and/or when there will be a merge in servers, merge NOT transfer

[Sylvannah]

I really, really like this game! There are some great ideas I will definitely miss.

 

I'm sad they messed this up so bad.

[Sammm]

Bioware isn't listening. I just posted my first forum post about how dead the Cho Mai server is. They immediately close it. Only 1.3 million play this game, down from 2 million. Time to move on people:)

 

I'll have to explain again... the reason they close it is because there's already a main thread about dead servers. They close AND redirect your post because it isn't a new subject. It's all explained in the Forum Guidelines.

 

Are they aware about the dead servers? Of course, they know about it! No one else beside them have the exact statistics about every server populations. Of course they can see that many servers have a very low population.

 

Personally, I decided to reroll while I wait for the free transfers. I know some players irl who decided to unsub THEN come back to SWTOR eventually. If you decide to leave and never come back, well, I hope you'll find some enjoyment in other games.

[Dext]

gee thats great but this does NOT answer the question about if and/or when there will be a merge in servers, merge NOT transfer

 

It did more then you think. They do not know.

[dronepilot]

Something really puzzles me.

 

They said they are NOT going to do server merges. They are just going to do transfers.

 

So why do you people keep asking for mergers? They aren't going to happen.

 

Be happy with the transfers.

 

oh dear, Transfers are not good enough. What will happen to the servers that are then empty ? they become 'redundant'. They waist MONEY, money you and I pay each time we subscribe. Additionally, if your transferring, will they allow you to transfer ALL your toons over to another server, or just one ? If you have a legacy that will then be 'broken'.

 

Transfers just simply doesn't solve the problems of low pop servers,. As when people transfer to another server, their previous server they were on could be left even more empty, while numbers on other servers may become a little higher, but probably wont be high enough even still to support a healthy player base, to justify these servers existing. Personally, I would take all of the members who have toons on all light servers, and merge them into one or two servers, depending on how many there are, and how many can be accommodated.

 

I am not going to ask for a transfer, knowing I am leaving a server even worse off, (considering many other 50's have left the server or the game entirely) and plus there is that 'Legacy' thing too.

[Hermod]

The big problem with shuting down servers is that it look bag to the investers, so a lot of games keep holding on, alas more gamers end up leaving the game, and you end up with a smaller player base.

 

All MMO are the same, they get a large amount of player, which they know a good amount will leave in the first few months, so why the hell don't they pre-empt it and start moving peaple guilds as soon as peaple start to leave, they will end up with a greater player base and less server just wasting cast keeping them running for only a hand full of peaple.

[HeatGuyX]

I honestly want my money back for the last month... At this very moment there is only two people on fleet in my server and one is me. I haven't been able to do my PVP dailies at all since the queue never pops.... Waiting for BW to do something is just Zzzz. If there was actually an option to close my account midway into a month and get some of my money back I would do so right away

[Rufcat]

The big problem with shuting down servers is that it look bag to the investers, so a lot of games keep holding on, alas more gamers end up leaving the game, and you end up with a smaller player base.

 

This is something I just don't understand. Yes, shutting down servers will make them look bad to investors, but I would rather look bad for a month or so than look even worse in the long run when no one's playing the game anymore. Just seems like not merging servers is a bad business move.

 

Server transfers may be a temporary fix to the population issue, but what about new players that roll on dead servers? They may see that the server is dead and possibly quit playing as a result, thus the cycle of losing subscriptions will continue.

 

They should do merges now and once server populations start overflowing, start opening more servers up every few months. THEN start with the transfers of people who want to move to a less heavily populated server.

[havenasp]

Everyone just go join "The Fatman" server, it's the only one with a decent population now.

[havenasp]

Was just on "The Fatman" and there was almost 200 people on the fleet.

[Andryah]

This is something I just don't understand. Yes, shutting down servers will make them look bad to investors, but I would rather look bad for a month or so than look even worse in the long run when no one's playing the game anymore. Just seems like not merging servers is a bad business move.

 

Server transfers may be a temporary fix to the population issue, but what about new players that roll on dead servers? They may see that the server is dead and possibly quit playing as a result, thus the cycle of losing subscriptions will continue.

 

They should do merges now and once server populations start overflowing, start opening more servers up every few months. THEN start with the transfers of people who want to move to a less heavily populated server.

 

You actually have it backwards.

 

Did you ever play Rift??

 

If you did, you would understand two things immediately:

 

1) why server transfers are superior to server merges

 

2) why server transfers work on a continuous basis to manage server populations to target numbers. Rift has been using it for year now and it works wonderfully. Whereas merges are one-off temporary fixes.

Edited May 18, 2012 by Andryah

[dryyn]

ok so im not the only guy who wants server merges, good

[Riho]

Everyone just go join "The Fatman" server, it's the only one with a decent population now.

 

'Join' as in re-roll yes this of coarse is possible but don't fool yourself if you think that Bioware will allow server transfers to The Fatman server once those begin. It will be off limits to prevent overcrowding.

[Zarozanya]

all i see is the death of star wars galaxies all over again. is it no wonder , i mean anyone that was involved in SWG should never be allowed near a computer ever again!!! let alone given top position in this game. i mean seriously?? why would you hire someone from the biggest FAIL of a game in the history of gaming? this sound familiar " we will just ignore them and do what we think they will want us to do. aaw wheres everyone going? oh well we will reinvent the wheel and get new players. hmm bad press not good for people buying the game at $60 drop it to $20 hmm still no players put it on steam and make it for consoles. still no players ... ok make a new game. you guys must be made of money or to make a game must be really cheep these days its getting to the point where im almost thinking of not playing any mmorpgs. adjust your actions to respect our wishes or we will not be part of your online gaming experience... there's always a bigger fish. as Quygon said. and this fish is looking really small atm.

[jtallee]

Bioware doesn't want to start closing servers because they are stil hopeful that the game will bring in more players. However, I, like the THOUSAND or so other people who have responded here, are willing to give up the game altogether simply out of frustration. I understand that it would be much more difficult to open new servers if the game ever gets that big. I read an interview the other day that stated Bioware was hesitant to merge servers because there would be a que just to log into the game. I for one am completely ok with waiting 20 - 30 mins (which is the longest que i've seen in an MMO) to log on to start playing. On my server I am typically the ONLY person on a planet. At peek hours of the day, there are 10-15 people on the fleet. Maybe 3 of them are lvl 50.

 

I think Bioware has turned a blind eye to the first M in MMO. 15 people does not massive make.

 

Bottom line, fix this issue, and soon. Or risk losing billions when people start quiting.

[SabreMonkey]

I've been keeping up on the forums for awhile just to get a sense of how people feel (even trolls) about how things are going. My server (Hedarr Soongh) recently nosedived after clinging to some life for a bit.

 

Seriously. No pops. Ever. I jokingly contacted a CSR to see if I might get some reassurance, but after a couple token responses they closed my ticket.

 

I'm not asking for change or fixes or anything by tomorrow OR ELSE I UNSUB OMG.

 

I just want information. Tell me something. Tell me there will be some server merges, or cross server queues, or something to bring players back.

 

I do enjoy this game. I like my characters. i enjoy it when it goes well and has people to play with.

 

As it is, it's a solo game. And a majority of the content is currently locked to me due to sheer lack of numbers.

[-Dench]

My server, Ven Zallow, has seen a 44.9% decrease in logged in toons at 9PM EST in a two week span from May 4th to May 18th.

 

Thats insane.

[Xrayll]

I've been keeping up on the forums for awhile just to get a sense of how people feel (even trolls) about how things are going. My server (Hedarr Soongh) recently nosedived after clinging to some life for a bit.

 

Seriously. No pops. Ever. I jokingly contacted a CSR to see if I might get some reassurance, but after a couple token responses they closed my ticket.

 

I'm not asking for change or fixes or anything by tomorrow OR ELSE I UNSUB OMG.

 

I just want information. Tell me something. Tell me there will be some server merges, or cross server queues, or something to bring players back.

 

I do enjoy this game. I like my characters. i enjoy it when it goes well and has people to play with.

 

As it is, it's a solo game. And a majority of the content is currently locked to me due to sheer lack of numbers.

 

Don't worry you don't need other people for you to roll alts. There is nothing to do at endgame anyway.