Server Merge Discussion Thread

[casirabit]

< also didn't have a fond server merge experience; lost everything in the Guild banks, among other things. My guilds take server merging optimists with a bag of salt.

 

My guilds' Ships and Strongholds are loaded palaces, decorations-wise, so yeah, that would be a gamebreaker to lose all our guilds decos.

 

This. I have already stated this in the past but yet it seems to be if you had a problem with the way the mergers went people just push your complaints to the side. We even empty our bank and did exactly what was told and we still had a bad experience.

[Ratajack]

This. I have already stated this in the past but yet it seems to be if you had a problem with the way the mergers went people just push your complaints to the side. We even empty our bank and did exactly what was told and we still had a bad experience.

 

I notice also that two of the posters for whom the previous mergers "went smoothly" (one even went so far as to practically claim to have had a personal CS rep who was with them through the whole process) are also two of the biggest and loudest advocates for new server merges.

 

Coincidence?

[fushnchips]

Are you willing to personally compensate every player who loses outfit tabs, character names, guild names, stronghold unlocks, legacy bank tabs, guild bank tabs, guild strongholds, flagships, flagship expansions, and all guild donated decorations if server merges happen? Both in credits AND the real world money spent on these items? If not, stop pushing for it until EAWare can guarantee character and guild assets will be 100% absolutely guaranteed no exceptions transferred. Give that amount of consideration to your fellow players (and EAWare's paying customers).

 

I went through the server merges too. None of the guilds I was in at the time EVER got compensation for the guild bank tabs they purchased. They were told they would, and then EAWare stopped responding to the guild leaders about it. And this was back before we had so much to lose in terms of guild assets! So maybe you had a good experience, but other people had bad ones. Don't discount all the people who had bad experiences just because you had a good one.

 

No player owns anything in this game paid with credits or real money we all signed it away and I know if something goes wrong Bioware will try and fix it but remember you don't own anything and have no right to ask for anything.

[Ratajack]

No player owns anything in this game paid with credits or real money we all signed it away and I know if something goes wrong Bioware will try and fix it but remember you don't own anything and have no right to ask for anything.

 

That does not stop people from "asking" BW to negatively impact other players because they think they might get more LFG fodder if BW caters to them, even though, in your own words, players "have no right to ask for anything" , does it?

Edited June 10, 2017 by Ratajack

[AscendingSky]

No player owns anything in this game paid with credits or real money we all signed it away and I know if something goes wrong Bioware will try and fix it but remember you don't own anything and have no right to ask for anything.

 

No player is owed queue pops less than 1 minute apart in this game either, but that doesn't stop a bunch of people from crying to EAWare that they should trash other people's accounts, guilds, and toons to try to give them those pops.

 

When it comes right down to it, if mass server merges happen without protection of character and guild assets, I will quit, and a lot of people I know will do so as well. That won't help EAWare's population problems one bit. What will fix said population problems would be a combination of cross-server queues AND regularly released new content worth playing for all types of players.

Edited June 10, 2017 by AscendingSky

[Icestar]

I am happy aslong as TRE stays the way it is. It has a active community.

 

I understand though that some other servers needs to be dealt with, some way or another.

[mykhaila]

I am of two minds on this issue.

 

First, I love The Bastion server and have been on it for years but it seems to have died a miserable death for those of us that enjoyed the pvp queue for warzones. It was the server where I first capped a character, where my guild was formed and where most of my friends/community was built. Because I am not one of those hardcore gamers that knows all the ins and outs of economy nor did I typically have large quantities of cartel coins to grab packs regularly to sell things it took me and a few members some time to get our guild flagship but we still stuck to it. In a manner of speaking we invested our time and our hearts into what we built.

 

The idea that we might lose all that we built over years is one that fills many of us with trepidation. In fact, when many of the undesirables left to go to Harbinger many of us were overjoyed because we could do more without feeling constantly harassed.

 

Second, I have noted many have said that cross-server would not be able to work because of character names. Now, I know that Blizzard and EA work differently but there is a very good system for cross-server queue's that work with WoW where an account tag is added to the character name or a server name is attached. If something like that were implemented on warzone, operations, starfighter, and flashpoint queue's then making a cross-server queue available would not be as problematic and would allow those of us that don't want to lose all the years of work on whatever server we are devoted to the opportunity to do the things we still enjoy.

 

Third, I have noted the many conversations regarding RP servers and while I can honestly say I have done little in game RP I am an Rper in other avenues and I completely understand that building a community and then being forced to watch it go up in smoke by forced server merges would suck. It is hard enough on normal servers to deal with trolls but if you are seriously into role-playing your character and have to worry about constant trolling it makes a person lose interest. Forcing those who are comfortable with their community to merge elsewhere could very well lose a player base that has been loyal for years.

 

Fourth,

 

Some prefer a more respectful and responsible community than one will find on Harbinger, the highest population server and also the server with the highest percentage (and number) of players who display "less than desirable" behavior. Some do not even want to think about being forcibly merged into the cesspool that is Harbinger.

I couldn't have said this better myself.

 

Fifth,

Any merger of server MUST protect the monetary and credit investments players have already made into Strongholds and Flagships.

 

A new naming system should also be added that would allow multiple users to have the same name (such as a hidden prefix based on account name), this is possible, ESO does it.

I completely agree, we don't just put our time in to build things up, some have been known to spend cartel coins just to get the things they could sell in order to get the credits to unlock flagships/strongholds and unlock all the rooms. For those guilds and individuals if a merge is done and all those things are lost it is like telling these subs who have remained loyal to the game that what they have done is pointless and worthless.

 

Same with the naming, sometimes it takes hours to decide on a name that suits the kind of character I make (and I am not alone in this) then even more time to find a way to have that name because others have taken it. If something were done in this manner with naming it would give us a chance to have the name we want without having to make it look entirely screwed up.

 

Sixth,

There is an easier, more effective solution than merging servers. Cross server group que. This will fix two issues common with MMO's.

1. A single server never dies and a single server will not get too overloaded, as the game will spread players out to less populated server when one gets too full. There is always group content available through the que's. While east coast servers are going to bed for the night, West coast servers are hitting prime time. By the time the West coast server players are calling it a night, the early morning East coast players are getting online. There would be no more, "this server is better for PVP, or that server is better for OPS. All SWTOR servers would be good for ALL group content.

2. It eliminates players bashing each other, in general chat, like they tend to do after a bad OPS run or PVP match. It would be pointless to player bash someone from Harbinger in Shadowland's general chat, they are not going to see your rude comments, and the other players reading it will have no idea who the player being bashed is.

I would think this would be a cheaper option than server mergers or buying two mega servers for East and West coasts. .

Perfectly stated in my opinion.

 

 

And yes before it is mentioned as it has been many times, I am aware that this is an MMO that doesn't mean that people who want a smaller community that they have grown accustomed to should be forced to be merged into a larger one just for the sake of those who are more social. Quite frankly I am more social in games than in real life due to an anxiety disorder but I can guarantee if I am forced to merge to Harbinger where several players who previously were on other servers I have played on (as Bastion may be my main server but I did make characters on other servers to check things out) ended up going after they sexually harassed me and nothing was done by EA/Bioware mods, I will quit. I have been a six month sub regularly for several years, since I first started playing I have not gone without sub. I almost quit before those who sexually harassed me in game and through TS severs from the game transferred to Harbinger. I sure as hell will not remain if forced to once again deal with those that triggered other things.

 

People seem to forget that being in a game isn't always just about being ultra social, it is an escape for many of us from what real life offers us. A chance for students or working folk to unwind and get away from every day stresses. For those people that deal with invisible illnesses such as depression, anxiety, or chronic pain disorders to have somewhere they can let go and not be held down. For people who have survived something traumatic it is a place to find like minded individuals that shouldn't judge them and should feel like a safe haven. Just because the game they choose is an MMO doesn't mean that the draw to the game was because it's multi-player, it could very well be the story, fandom, mechanics, etc that drew them.

 

The wonderful thing about a game like SWTOR is that you don't have to conform to the play style of others, you can choose your own.

 

So, forcing a merger for those that are comfortable where they are takes that freedom of choice from them.

[DWho]

How about we open up server movement by offering free character transfers for a period of time to allow people who are "trapped" on low population servers to move to higher population servers and allow those that want to move to low population servers do so (or even give them 1 free transfer per character - or a legacy transfer depending on how complicated that is to code for those who "return to the game later"). Then everyone is in the server population they want (high vs low). Following that transfer period, all new players creating characters in a region must be created on the highest population server (to make the game look "populated" - some accommodation for the RP server might be required as it is currently the largest server in the east coast region). They would receive 1 free transfer per account so that if they do not like their current server they get a chance to move before they are too invested in it. After that transfer, all further transfers of newly created characters have the standard cost (90 CC or whatever)

 

This requires no server merges, risks no guild or character assets, and is a mechanism (character transfer) that already exists.

 

Running 3 or 9 game servers likely has little incremental cost since regional servers are all probably virtual servers on the same server stack.

[NomadFifteen]

Ok, this merge topic is getting out of control. There are now people on the Shadowlands server talking about how many are on Harb, how this server is dead, and needs to be merged into Harb.

 

Discussing this on the forums is one thing. Going onto other servers and deriding people on them with your opinion that the server needs to be shut down is another. Putting the gold spammers on ignore is bad enough, now having to ignore those going out of their way to make toons on a server to complain about that server is another.

 

If your opinion is that a merge needs to be done, fine. Just don't go creating toons to make other players gaming time your soapbox.

[Ratajack]

Ok, this merge topic is getting out of control. There are now people on the Shadowlands server talking about how many are on Harb, how this server is dead, and needs to be merged into Harb.

 

Discussing this on the forums is one thing. Going onto other servers and deriding people on them with your opinion that the server needs to be shut down is another. Putting the gold spammers on ignore is bad enough, now having to ignore those going out of their way to make toons on a server to complain about that server is another.

 

If your opinion is that a merge needs to be done, fine. Just don't go creating toons to make other players gaming time your soapbox.

 

The friendless and guildless players who rely upon the LFG tool are getting desperate, it seems.

 

The next tactic used by the "Merge servers NOW!!!!! I NEED more LFG fodder!!!!!" crowd may very well be to offer to give away massive amounts of credits and items to random people chosen from those who come to the forums to support server merges, but with the caveat that the giveaway will ONLY happen if BW actually merges servers, possibly with the additional stipulation that servers must be merged by "X" date thrown in.

Edited June 10, 2017 by Ratajack

[Savej]

Are you willing to personally compensate every player who loses outfit tabs, character names, guild names, stronghold unlocks, legacy bank tabs, guild bank tabs, guild strongholds, flagships, flagship expansions, and all guild donated decorations if server merges happen? Both in credits AND the real world money spent on these items? If not, stop pushing for it until EAWare can guarantee character and guild assets will be 100% absolutely guaranteed no exceptions transferred. Give that amount of consideration to your fellow players (and EAWare's paying customers).

 

I went through the server merges too. None of the guilds I was in at the time EVER got compensation for the guild bank tabs they purchased. They were told they would, and then EAWare stopped responding to the guild leaders about it. And this was back before we had so much to lose in terms of guild assets! So maybe you had a good experience, but other people had bad ones. Don't discount all the people who had bad experiences just because you had a good one.

 

Read my previous post from today. Obviously merges shouldn't destroy anything and if they do cause losses to cc assets they shouldn't happen.

 

I've already posted about guild tabs and the previous merges; you were warned and had several weeks to clear them. It was a small and unfortunate loss but not a crime against humanity unless you just like drama. And many people did get tabs restored.

 

As for names I already have my favorite rpg names stuck on multiple servers that are now dead. Merges are my only hope of being able to use them again. But I assure you forced transfers are causing people to lose names now and ppl that care about them are sticking it out on dead servers or they are not playing anymore.

Edited June 10, 2017 by Savej

[casirabit]

Ok, this merge topic is getting out of control. There are now people on the Shadowlands server talking about how many are on Harb, how this server is dead, and needs to be merged into Harb.

 

Discussing this on the forums is one thing. Going onto other servers and deriding people on them with your opinion that the server needs to be shut down is another. Putting the gold spammers on ignore is bad enough, now having to ignore those going out of their way to make toons on a server to complain about that server is another.

 

If your opinion is that a merge needs to be done, fine. Just don't go creating toons to make other players gaming time your soapbox.

 

That tried to happen this afternoon on Ebon but they didn't do it like that. They tried to say there was no raiding guilds on Ebon Hawk. They were shot down and told to stop spreading lies and then given a few of them and told to go to the fleet.

Edited June 10, 2017 by casirabit

[Ratajack]

Read my previous post from today. Obviously merges shouldn't destroy anything and if they do cause losses to cc assets they shouldn't happen.

 

I've already posted about guild tabs and the previous merges; you were warned and had several weeks to clear them. It was a small and unfortunate loss but not a crime against humanity unless you just like drama. And many people did get tabs restored.

 

As for names I already have my favorite rpg names stuck on multiple servers that are now dead. Merges are my only hope of being able to use them again. But I assure you forced transfers are causing people to lose names now and ppl that care about them are sticking it out on dead servers or they are not playing anymore.

 

While it may not have been a "crime against humanity", it was not a "small and unfortunate" loss.

[DreadtechSavant]

 

As for names I already have my favorite rpg names stuck on multiple servers that are now dead. Merges are my only hope of being able to use them again. But I assure you forced transfers are causing people to lose names now and ppl that care about them are sticking it out on dead servers or they are not playing anymore.

 

That makes no sense at all. Transfer them to the server you want. If you are here saying you would have to rename your character if you transferred servers, then you would still have to rename in a server merge. Also on one hand you are complaining that you lost names because they are stuck on dead servers but are more than willing to let hundreds if not more other players have them same issue? As this is what you are saying, not really feeling all that sorry for you at this point.

Ok, this merge topic is getting out of control. There are now people on the Shadowlands server talking about how many are on Harb, how this server is dead, and needs to be merged into Harb.

 

Discussing this on the forums is one thing. Going onto other servers and deriding people on them with your opinion that the server needs to be shut down is another. Putting the gold spammers on ignore is bad enough, now having to ignore those going out of their way to make toons on a server to complain about that server is another.

 

If your opinion is that a merge needs to be done, fine. Just don't go creating toons to make other players gaming time your soapbox.

 

Same happened two days ago on ToFN. Not seen it today though. Guess its the same few players moving from server to server.

 

That does not stop people from "asking" BW to negatively impact other players because they think they might get more LFG fodder if BW caters to them, even though, in your own words, players "have no right to ask for anything" , does it?

 

Yes the double standards of pro server merge group is outstanding. Anyone disagree they are trolling or just repeating the same rubbish, which is of cause the same thing they are doing. Trolling and repeating. Two can play that game.

 

 

How did I know you would chime in and regurgitate stuff you have already posted 120398120938012983 times in this thread?

My point is if they fix those issues, what would be other issues... did you even read it?

 

 

 

Constantly crying about what the issue(s) were in a previous merger when someone has already stated that *if* said item is fixed is redundant and ridicules.

 

As in if those complaints of yours are resolved, you have no reason to constantly complain about them.

 

Probably the same way as we knew you would chime in and regurgitate stuff you have already posted 120398120938012983 times

 

BTW BW have not stated anywhere problems that were encountered during the last server merges have been fixed. So it seems you saying "IF" makes it all go away. So if we say well "IF" will you stop crying??? as you are accusing others of doing! or is belittling the best you can do. Those problems with the other two merges are just some of the reasons but not all of them why I don't want merges. As many other reasons have been said. You just chose in ignore them, belittle them. Or say its not even an issue. Well clearly not an issue for you. However I am not you and its an issue for me.

 

 

I would say they are closer to mergers and the ability to do that. I would say that because they have done it 2 times in the past, it is much farther along (in code) then cross server queues and if we would like a cleaner merger, we should let them know what needs to be fixed (if at all possible) before doing another..

 

You can say that as much as you like, does not make it true. Anymore than me saying BW could never improve on past merges. Hearsay means nothing without proof. Still I don't mind your opinion on that you have the right to believe it. Not seen any indication from BW on it, so it still just your opinion but not based on fact. Unfortunately until a merge happens non of us either for or against will know.

Edited June 11, 2017 by DreadtechSavant

[FerkWork]

That tried to happen this afternoon on Ebon but they didn't do it like that. They tried to say there was no raiding guilds on Ebon Hawk. They were shot down and told to stop spreading lies and then given a few of them and told to go to the fleet.

 

So what MM raiding guilds are on EH?

Edited June 11, 2017 by FerkWork

[DWho]

That makes no sense at all. Transfer them to the server you want. If you are here saying you would have to rename your character if you transferred servers, then you would still have to rename in a server merge. Also on one hand you are complaining that you lost names because they are stuck on dead servers but are more than willing to let hundreds if not more other players have them same issue? As this is what you are saying, not really feeling all that sorry for you at this point.

.

 

What he is saying is that if he transfers his character he will automatically lose his names because in a character transfer the name already on the destination server take precedence. In a merge, whoever had the name first would get to keep it. Not a lot of compromise there.

[Savej]

What he is saying is that if he transfers his character he will automatically lose his names because in a character transfer the name already on the destination server take precedence. In a merge, whoever had the name first would get to keep it. Not a lot of compromise there.

 

In the last merge there were actually supposedly a couple things that factored into who kept the name (character level, seniority, etc - this was at a time when leveling wasn't trivially quick). I kept several of my favorite names when merged to the destination servers and I assure you the names were taken beforehand.

[Ratajack]

What he is saying is that if he transfers his character he will automatically lose his names because in a character transfer the name already on the destination server take precedence. In a merge, whoever had the name first would get to keep it. Not a lot of compromise there.

 

That is not necessarily true.

 

If I remember correctly, the first round of mergers had "origin servers" that got merged into "destination servers". In this first round of mergers, in the event of a naming conflict, characters lucky enough to be on the "destination server" got to keep their name and players from the "origin server" had to rename their characters. It made no difference if the character from the "origin server" had been created first or was a higher level.

 

In the second round of mergers, all servers were "origin servers". The "destination servers" were all brand new, higher capacity servers. In this case, it was not possible to resolve naming conflicts in the same way as they were resolved in the previous merge.

 

BW set in place many criteria to determine who got to keep the name and who had to rename their characters. I do not remember all the criteria, nor the hierarchy of those criteria. They included, but were not limited to: creation date/time of characters, level of characters and whether either character had to be renamed in the previous merge.

 

I have no way to say for certain, but I would guess that if server mergers took place, how those mergers were done would determine the "rules" for resolving any naming conflicts.

 

For example, if Harbinger was designated an "origin server" and was merged INTO "destination server" The Bastion, then I would expect that players on The Bastion would get to keep their names and those from Harbinger would have to find new names, in the event of a naming conflict.

 

If, on the other hand, all the servers were replaced with new servers, then I would expect a "rule set" similar to the one used in the second merge.

 

I'd be willing to bet folding money that this is one of the reasons why some posters have basically said "I'd support merging servers "X" and "Y", but ONLY if server "X" was merged INTO server "Y". Server "Y" players would not only likely get to keep their names in the event of a naming conflict, but they also would not have to worry about losing any guild or personal assets.

[BlackSilverRoar]

No player is owed queue pops less than 1 minute apart in this game either, but that doesn't stop a bunch of people from crying to EAWare that they should trash other people's accounts, guilds, and toons to try to give them those pops.

 

When it comes right down to it, if mass server merges happen without protection of character and guild assets, I will quit, and a lot of people I know will do so as well. That won't help EAWare's population problems one bit. What will fix said population problems would be a combination of cross-server queues AND regularly released new content worth playing for all types of players.

 

^OMG, I know really. I totally agree and feel the same way.

Edited June 11, 2017 by Willjb

[Savej]

That is not necessarily true.

 

If I remember correctly, the first round of mergers had "origin servers" that got merged into "destination servers". In this first round of mergers, in the event of a naming conflict, characters lucky enough to be on the "destination server" got to keep their name and players from the "origin server" had to rename their characters. It made no difference if the character from the "origin server" had been created first or was a higher level.

...

 

The first merges were prefaced with voluntary transfers. I don't count those as merges but in that case you lost your name.

[DWho]

The first merges were prefaced with voluntary transfers. I don't count those as merges but in that case you lost your name.

 

I guess I am confused by your statement then. Are you saying that you have characters on dead servers that you want to transfer but can't because they would lose their names and that is why you are advocating a merger instead. I'm not understanding, I guess, what a forced transfer is. I would have thought that a merger was a forced transfer.

Edited June 11, 2017 by DWho

[BlackSilverRoar]

That does not stop people from "asking" BW to negatively impact other players because they think they might get more LFG fodder if BW caters to them, even though, in your own words, players "have no right to ask for anything" , does it?

 

^Ratajack nailed it.

[merovejec]

1 Mega server West Coast

1 Mega server East Coast

1 Mega server EU English

1 Mega server EU French

1 Mega server EU German

[Nightblazer]

1 Mega server West Coast

1 Mega server East Coast

1 Mega server EU English

1 Mega server EU French

1 Mega server EU German

 

No. RP players should stay on their own server. Stop trying to push them onto a server with non RPers. List should be doubled at least. 1 server for RPers on the west, east, EU English, EU french and EU German. Total of 10 down from the current 17.

Edited June 11, 2017 by Nightblazer

[Nightblazer]

So I looked up some of the issues that a merge would cause. If BW were to do a server merge which personally is up to BW there are the potential issues that exist that even character transfers experience

 

Article I read is here

 

So let's go over each.

 

1. Character Name loss

 

- Just like the last merge more then likely BW would pick a destination server that players would be moved to. Just like a transfer as per the article:

 

If your character name is already taken by another player on your new server, you will need to rename your character.

 

So just like a transfer if Harbinger for example is the destination that other players are moved to, they will need to rename their characters just like the last merge where those that had it already on the destination server would keep theirs.

 

 

2. Legacy Unlocks, achievements and collection unlocks

 

- All of your Legacy unlocks, Achievements earned, and triggered Collections will be waiting for you.

 

So that should not be an issue.

 

 

3. Strongholds

 

- Your Stronghold remains on your original server, as it belongs to your Legacy there. If you purchased your Stronghold with Credits, you will need to repurchase it on your new server. If you purchased it with Cartel Coins, you will not need to repurchase it, but you will still need to redecorate it.

 

For some a minor inconvenience but for others a pain especially if they have multiple unlocked strongholds and decorated then a specific way, it's a big problem of having to do it all again.

 

 

4. Legacy Storage

 

- The contents of your Legacy Stronghold Storage do not transfer with your character. Move anything your character will need at their new home into their Personal Cargo Hold before transferring your character.

 

So guess what if your legacy storage is full and your unable to put it all across all your toons personal storage, well kiss it all goodbye when the merge happens. If you can because you have enough toons, cool but then you gotta go back and restore it all.

 

- Additional Legacy Stronghold Storage Bays that were purchased with Credits will not transfer along with your character, as these are tied to your Legacy on your Origin server. Bays that you purchased with Cartel Coins are account wide, and so will be available to you on your new server.

 

 

5. Outfit Designer

 

- Your stamped outfits in Outfit designer will be reset. You'll need to set these up again on your new server.

 

I don't use it myself but if you use credits to unlock more outfits will probably have to purchase those again to. If it's Cartel Coins then probably not.

 

 

6. Item Stash

 

- Cartel Pack items from your Item Stash will not transfer. The Item Stash is tied to your Legacy on your current server. We recommend that you withdraw any items you'd like to bring with you and move them into your character's personal inventory or cargo hold.

 

 

7. Command Tokens

 

- Command Tokens are also tied to your Legacy on your current server, these will not transfer with your character.

 

 

8. Items not transferred

 

- As per this article here the following are also not transferred:

 

 

• GTN listings
  
• Friends List
  
• Ignore List
  
• Items in Mailbox
  

 

 

Also don't forget that guilds aren't transferred either so they would have to be reset, rebuilt, flagships repurchased again and unlock all the rooms, redecorated.

 

So there you have it. If these issues affect a normal character transfer I can't imagine what a server merge would do.

 

Personally unless BW can guarantee none of this would happen, I wouldn't want a server merge but that's just my opinion. I understand that servers have small population on them but I guess if you don't mind all of the above sure go for a merge.

 

If BW feels a merge is needed so be it. I'm just pointing out the possible issues that can arise and I've posted recommendations on how many servers to go down to of 10 from 17 instead of just one or two but those are my thoughts.