I don't know about the other servers but the population of Sieghardt is dropping like the proverbial stone. I think we have to accept that new players are not choosing L2 in any huge numbers (probably because they don't know that it exists), that CT1 has not been the saviour that many people hoped it would be and that the game is likely to lose more players if the current trend continues.
So, do NCNA have any plans to consolidate, or have they even considered consolidating, the existing servers. Unfortunately I think that paid server transfers have been delayed too long and many people will not be willing to stump up additional cash and risk finding that their new server is exactly the same ghost town as the one they left (Bartz and Euro servers excluded). I think the ball is firmly in NCNA's court to do something for their customer base.
As a fellow sieghardt player, I love the idea of servers merging. More parties, more people to talk to, and bigger clan diversity. Probably better sieges too. Something would have to be done about clans that already have castles though, i like the idea of a complete reset where they have to be retaken.
It seems like a no-brainer at this point for server mergers. The hardcore L2 fans will also begin to leave if they have no fellow players to either interact or compete with. I think the number of servers should be cut in half for starters and this move should be made BEFORE account services is brought out in order to see if the improvements would entice disenchanted players from relocating in the first place. This is a hard decision for the devs for it signals the realization that their product is no longer ahead of the curve in gaming yet I believe it is a responsible decision for themselves and their loyal customers.
I agree it's time for the company to put aside worry over clans complaining over lost castles and clan halls, simple return money spent on clan hall auctions (or not..ouch) and return all castles to NPC control and merge servers.
Believe me the people who start playing again or start playing new will far out benefit the community and the game than the people who whine or quit because they lost there multiple castles and there entire hero roster because they reign supreme on a dead server.
I can tell you it's really a great and healthy feeling when you open the party matching window on a korean server and see 2-3 pages of parties LF members and no sell advertisements, lets bring some more community to the NA servers and admit that the player base does not warrant the current server list.
Problem will always be clan halls names clans and clan names
You also have to disband clans and alliances. Tell a level 8 or 9 clan they have to start over from level 1 again.
What about clans who have held their clan halls for over 2 years or more they just lose it overnight?
And why do you think server mergers will work? Server mergers cause more people to quit the game then stay or come back, show one game which has become more successful after server mergers.
If NCsoft NA would get on the ball and get the transfers started, merges would be unnecessary as players would choose to leave the dead servers and the people who hold clan halls and castles can stay where they are if they so choose.
And IMO, instead of removing servers, they need to convert some servers into EU servers. This game is at least 50% EU/RUS now. The way I would do it is announce way ahead of time how the transfers were going to work (in extreme gross detail so there are no freaking questions about it) and then announce which servers were going to be converted to EU.
Then everyone has weeks to get their gear in order and organize with their clan or friends which server they should go to.
1-5 should be NA time. 6-10 should be EU (or at least 7-10).
New EU people join the other servers cause Teon and Franz are so heavily populated. I hear two different reasons: (1) lag or (2) "I want a less populated server"
#2 is obviously a choice, but if it's #1, I think that's a legit concern.
And why do you think server mergers will work? Server mergers cause more people to quit the game then stay or come back, show one game which has become more successful after server mergers.
The joke is you think this game is successful now.
Not that I approve either way or care anymore of server merges, but to be successful, sometimes drastic change is needed.. or watch your product die a slow, painful, death.
I agree that server mergers are needed and would be a good thing for most people (once all the clan hall stuff was worked out). However, realistically - even if NCNA said today that they were going to start working on server mergers, we all know it would be about 3-4 years before they'd ever become a reality. By that time this game would probably be ready to shut down completely.
Seriously, I'd be less surprised to see a pig flying around my head than to see NCNA announce and get server mergers done in less than 2 years.
If NCsoft NA would get on the ball and get the transfers started, merges would be unnecessary as players would choose to leave the dead servers and the people who hold clan halls and castles can stay where they are if they so choose.
And IMO, instead of removing servers, they need to convert some servers into EU servers. This game is at least 50% EU/RUS now. The way I would do it is announce way ahead of time how the transfers were going to work (in extreme gross detail so there are no freaking questions about it) and then announce which servers were going to be converted to EU.
Then everyone has weeks to get their gear in order and organize with their clan or friends which server they should go to.
1-5 should be NA time. 6-10 should be EU (or at least 7-10).
+1, I would agree to a plan like this and I believe it would bring new life into the game.
How are you going to pay for a merge? You can't force one server into another just because YOU want it. If NCsoft wants it, fine, you don't have a choice with a MERGE.
A transfer at least gives you a choice. Are you saying you'd be fine with throwing 2 servers together like it or not?
To me, merges are the beginning of the end. I'd rather not see that.
Great post, but by the time server mergers happen, we'll all have moved on in life.
Server transfers are the work around that they've chosen to go with. If you were holding your breath when they first announced that we'd get server transfers, then you're already dead from asphyxia. Imagine what you'd be by the time server mergers became a reality.
I think the bottom line is that something has to be done. Seriously the world of lineage 2, is WAY WAY bigger than what the population of one single server is. The only towns you see with people in it are Dion/Giran and the less populated Aden. Something has to be done and with careful planning NCNA can do the merge while upsetting the selected few and making this a healthier game enviroment.
The end will justify the means. And the end here is making this wonderful game more enjoyable so it will last longer.
Anyone who played lineage 1 knows that after the dark elve got introduced lineage 1 just went dead, why? Because that was the biggest expansion up to that date and world just got huge in size people felt alone in their hunting areas, could have merged the two main servers for its survival, well there was 3 servers but aden's game style was different.
I think the bottom line is that something has to be done. Seriously the world of lineage 2, is WAY WAY bigger than what the population of one single server is. The only towns you see with people in it are Dion/Giran and the less populated Aden.
How will server merges help with that? You will just have MORE people in those same towns, but server merges won't magically make Gludio and Gludin super populated towns again. You will just have more people in the same places, and nobody will be able to get any xping done.
As anything else, the subjected idea has many pros and contras and so there are ppl which relate themselves into certain side. Actually, pros are something like that (but not limited):
- it brings up alot of various active players
- it brings up alot of deals on castles/forts/clan halls etc
- it brings up alot of inter-clan drama, wars and alliances
- it enlivens economy and provides healthy game-play
Otherwise some contras are (not limited also):
- servers can become overcrowded
- it cancels any right on castles/forts/CH's etc for old clans who won it on series of fair siege wars. this is heartless regarding players of a server where another players moved to.
- new levels of inter-clan dramas etc are funny but this forces ppl to drop clans or fill hordes of care-bearish clans. don't ask why, it's just common rule: only most strong and sturdy can survive.
- on healthy economics it's harder to gather tons of Adena from few sales. on other hand is the fact on frozen economy you probably will sell something for ages.
Actually, we have alot of facts that can say NCNA plant server mergers. Why does steady game with sharp rules like lineage2 need some new thing like server transfers and name changes? It's simple, it's just because of natural things like ppl go to severs with their national speaking players, go to servers where play friend and, yes, re-roll that servers. It's better to be with friends that alone lol. After some point of migrations, some servers have steady community (like bartz, devianne, franz and maybe hindemith, but the last one loses notable amount of players this times... it's dying). Teon, the 1st euro server, attracts alot of new euro players because of it's age and maturity and franz looks 'unripe'. So some servers are overloaded and some are empty now. That is why server mergers are needed.
Server mergers/transfers can bring up alot of problems like identical toon names, clan/alliance names etc. This can be solved by forced rename of players that are moved some server. Surely it makes those platers sad, it's ugly to see you're NAMECHANGE8453156 now. Also players can be unsatisfied with updated community and they'll be happy to move somewhere else. That is why server mergers/transfers cannot take place before services of rename/transfers become available.
So... If NCNA plans launch of those servers it's great indicator of their will. It's not a secret if I say sieghard is dead server. It's good idea to move its player to some unsettled server like lionna. They can use the hardware for another euro sever as teon and franz are overloaded.
The game don't needs paid services if no mergers/transfer planned.
server becoming overcrowed+ecnomy is plu side not contra.
how many top xp spots r empty most day in hindemith?
if a server is overcrowed ppl r forced to move less used xp spots.
that will make farmers harder time to control economy,decreasing all that stuff associated.
instead having few necro/cata run only by bots u would have live players there
Merged servers is what will save the game. Leaving the 3 big servers alone and merging the other 7 into 3,maybe even into 2 servers. That means more live players , easier to get parties , olympiad closer to what Korea devs thought it , more competition.
Of course the major problem is common names and clanhalls.About names the active acount , which has also the most payed months get to keep their original names and the other can namechange.
About ch. I can tell you in Gustin almost 20% of ch are inactive clans , that even if they never return again their ch will be kept till L2 dies completely. Adding a few more ch , during server mergers , will not solve the problem entirely. But it would a step to the right direction. Clan will be forced to merge as well and as far as I am concerned thats what the devs try to do(OL buff nerf for example, clans lvl 10)
To me, merges are the beginning of the end. I'd rather not see that.
L2 Korea closed two servers on the 2nd quarter 2007.
It didn't prevent them to open a new one after.
L2 China had up to 23 servers (March 2006), went down to 12 (June 2007) and up to 13 in September 2007.
L2 Thailand had 10 servers in September 2005, 4 in March 2006 and 6 in September 2007.
So... the end? Not really. Just adaptation to the susbcription numbers. Closing server is not related to the end.
server becoming overcrowed is plu side not contra.
It's definitely contra.
how many top xp spots r empty most day in hindemith?
every valuable spot here is filled with players 24/7.
if a server is overcrowed ppl r forced to move less used xp spots.
you have no idea. if players forced to use trash spots, they just turn botters because leveling over 76 is really painful especially if you miss a valuable spot. if it's fun for you hunting monsters for an hour and get 0.1% of exp on 76, you're crazy case. if you miss this obvious thing you're just someone from avadon army and never bothered real f...ing spirit of the l2 grinding.
that will make farmers harder time to control economy,decreasing all that stuff associated.
wrong again. this will make recent legit players go other ways. and the stuff you're whining for just will take more place on market. but no one will buy it beside base materials just because everyone will have subsistence farming... there will be tons of inflationary adena and the prices will sky rock. only items exchange will be a business... hey, you have a mind. try to use it!
instead having few necro/cata run only by bots u would have live players there
u would not. 90% of bots I can see around catas are mere afk farmers. if you remove 90%, the rest is only 10% so you will have unsettled catas at all. :) maybe 4-5 rooms players will use same time at each catas but even this is a question.
i mean IT have 1 party there?maybe 2?very rarely have 3 partys there?
or pagan rooms before anteroom is never used?or chapel very rarely?
or aoe fog that is very rarely there?
or dino is 99% of time empty?
more population,more partys,more mats dropping in hands of normal players,less space for farmers,more competition,better siege castles,more chance for other ppl to get epic instead of powerhouse,more xp spots used,cheaper mats/equipment,better economy
i doutbt that is many ppl with same name on servers.
about CH is a problem but is enough ways that ncsoft can make that(if korez/china/thailand did then NA can also).
castles get a reset before next siege cycle,making everything even.
for the players that reached end game and have no competition(majority of servers) because low population dont have much thing to do either quit.
sadly many ppl think that more ppl in server mean they will not be able to pve which is lol idea.
dont worry soon u will have few server complety deserts where those ppl can pve all they want.
i know alot of ppl that r quitting/waiting on transfer on hindemith simply because they r bored.
i waiting for server transfer to decide if i quit or not.
i guess only when servers complety die out will ppl realize that maybe merges wouldnt be bad idea
Merges will be the only option once they put in Transfers and 2-3 servers lose a majority of their population, it is only a matter of time
QFT.
People just don't get it.
The amount of cluelessness in this thread is astonishing.
Servers are dead. What people will do is this.
/Move to mostly the same server.
Basically, it's a server merge, with the effect that more dead servers are created. You don't actually think people will transfer "to" a dead server in factorable numbers, no? I guess we'll see when they finally get it set up (the transfers).
At the moment, the transfers just seem to be something they are implementing to shut up the large number of whiners in the community. It will only be a temporary fix and some servers will get to the point where the only way to actually enjoy this game is to pay to transfer to ahigher population server (not like it isn't already like that on some).
Will server merges really cure L2? Short term yes but it may just cause more people to get disillusioned. What is really the cause of people leaving and staying gone? Answer those questions and it may fix the declining population.
For example, what will a newbie do if told you need to play about 2 years before you can really pvp with the elites? Drop the game. Many people answer gripes on the boards with "go play WoW." Well, guess what. Many have done that.
CT1 was supposed to bring more people in but CT1.5 will run people off with the increased grind to level 85.
I could keep going but there are a lot of eye candy with L2. There are many features but for many they are unattainable. And this isn't touching the problem unmentionables.
Many people answer gripes on the boards with "go play WoW." Well, guess what. Many have done that. [...]
There are a lot of eye candy with L2. There are many features but for many they are unattainable.
I couldnt have said it better...
But yes, i think NCNA will first implement Server Transfer, so that we will actually pay to switch servers, and when half of the servers are dead then they'll implement Server Merge...
I can't see them merging servers...I can see them tellin us they will, then making us wait for 3 years before it happens...then make a big deal of it on the forums and in emails, then make us wait a few more months and all the while not say a word about it.
because is coming out 3 games that r generating alot of expectation of players.alot of players r just waiting for that games to come out to leave L2
L2 exist for 4 years,is old game and servers r reaching to a point that is simply boring(1 side servers)
ppl r tired of lack of good content.only thing we getting is grind content.as servers have most 1 dominant ally and no content can change that,allys on top lose members everyday.
server transfer will only delay stuff for a bit.some ppl r simply waiting for transfer to decide if is worth to continue.
but having 10 servers=more farmers account.
if they cut servers they will lose plenty of that money
because is coming out 3 games that r generating alot of expectation of players.alot of players r just waiting for that games to come out to leave L2
L2 exist for 4 years,is old game and servers r reaching to a point that is simply boring(1 side servers)
ppl r tired of lack of good content.only thing we getting is grind content.as servers have most 1 dominant ally and no content can change that,allys on top lose members everyday.
server transfer will only delay stuff for a bit.some ppl r simply waiting for transfer to decide if is worth to continue.
but having 10 servers=more farmers account.
if they cut servers they will lose plenty of that money
I think you are right. There are several games that, if they can actually deliver the promised gameplay experience, will most likely take players from L2.
because is coming out 3 games that r generating alot of expectation of players.alot of players r just waiting for that games to come out to leave L2
L2 exist for 4 years,is old game and servers r reaching to a point that is simply boring(1 side servers)
ppl r tired of lack of good content.only thing we getting is grind content.as servers have most 1 dominant ally and no content can change that,allys on top lose members everyday.
server transfer will only delay stuff for a bit.some ppl r simply waiting for transfer to decide if is worth to continue.
but having 10 servers=more farmers account.
if they cut servers they will lose plenty of that money
I think you are right. There are several games that, if they can actually deliver the promised gameplay experience, will most likely take players from L2.
I agree with both of you, I suppose the key is "IF they deliever" the thing that baffles me beyond comprehension is the fact that they could make the game more fun, they could have offered tranfers a while ago, they could have merged servers but nope they have allowed the servers to almost all go one sided, and they allow the mind blowing amount of botting and farming to further there own financial side.
So in my mind, they either are incompetent at there jobs OR they want this game to die in NA/EU markets enough so that they can ask NC Korea to pull the plug.
An extremely sad state of affairs for the people that play here.
because is coming out 3 games that r generating alot of expectation of players.alot of players r just waiting for that games to come out to leave L2
L2 exist for 4 years,is old game and servers r reaching to a point that is simply boring(1 side servers)
ppl r tired of lack of good content.only thing we getting is grind content.as servers have most 1 dominant ally and no content can change that,allys on top lose members everyday.
server transfer will only delay stuff for a bit.some ppl r simply waiting for transfer to decide if is worth to continue.
but having 10 servers=more farmers account.
if they cut servers they will lose plenty of that money
I think you are right. There are several games that, if they can actually deliver the promised gameplay experience, will most likely take players from L2.
I agree with both of you, I suppose the key is "IF they deliever" the thing that baffles me beyond comprehension is the fact that they could make the game more fun, they could have offered tranfers a while ago, they could have merged servers but nope they have allowed the servers to almost all go one sided, and they allow the mind blowing amount of botting and farming to further there own financial side.
So in my mind, they either are incompetent at there jobs OR they want this game to die in NA/EU markets enough so that they can ask NC Korea to pull the plug.
An extremely sad state of affairs for the people that play here.
I actually think that NC Korea is arrogant. I feel that they have a belief of "this is how we do it, this is what we want" and that's it.
There is so much more they could have done with this game given the time they have had.
There is so much more they could have done with this game given the time they have had.
QFT.
If only they'd followed some of my "Fun at low levels" and "What this game needs to be a real MMORPG" suggestions :p
And yes, i'm surely one of those ppl who will leave for WAR the second that it's realeased !
Alyra, we're discussing the imminent death of L2 here, come cheer us up a bit and tell us that there's plenty of new accessible stuff planned ! :p
The joke is you think this game is successful now.
Not that I approve either way or care anymore of server merges, but to be successful, sometimes drastic change is needed.. or watch your product die a slow, painful, death.
It's amazing that you devote as much time as you do to such a horrible, unsupported dying game.
korea L2 is totally diferent from NA L2.
L2 NA dont have population and is farmers depended in everything.
applying strategys of korea to NA is simply stupid.
well many ppl will not go to other NCsoft game simply because L2 is bad run in terms of farmers,etc
hope that is other branch that will contro EU servers of aion
Maybe NCSoft NA needs to pump some money into marketing...if it had not been for a friend playing I would never have known about L2. I moved from warcraft to L2 and love L2 in comparision. Of course everyone knows about warcraft though......lots of marketing.
i never heard of Lineage untill i had played Lineage II for a year. and its only because i played another little known game that got cancled (Earth and Beyond) that i ever found a Link to Lineage II.... was just looking for an OMMRPG that wasnt EverCrack.
<- pro mergers and the code to do so has been in the game for awhile as they have done this in Korea and Thailand before so it's really not that difficult for them.. well besides having to translate their admin manuals on the "How to Execute Server Merger scripts" to english maybe lol
here are some system msges that exist in the current code:
-The server has been integrated, and your Clan name, $s1, has been overlapped with another name. Please enter the Clan name to be changed.
-The server has been integrated, and your character, $s1, has been overlapped with another name. Please enter a new name for your character
-This account was converted into an integrated account and as a result may not access Lineage II.\nPlease try again with the integrated account.
The thing that gives me anxiety about server merges is hunting area density. There are some areas like Catas, Death Pass, VoS and Forsaken Plains that are highly populated (for good reason) and other areas nobody hunts in because the grind just isn't worth the time invested.
To spread things out more, perhaps some tweaking of the mobs to either make the intense areas less attractive (lower spawn rate, more resistances) or the under-populated places more attractive (raise XP, add drops/spoils) - then I agree combining servers would be wonderful!
But I don't relish heading into VoS and seeing more toons than splendors :/
I really do NOT want server mergers. I really like the society which has developed on my server (Erica). Even though it is not a heavy server like Bart's, there are plenty of people at different levels and a steady stream of new players.
I can only speak from my perspective, but I do not see a need for any mergers.
If someone wants to play on a more populated server than the one they are on, they will soon be able to transfer. Please leave the rest of us alone, thanks!
The joke is you think this game is successful now.
Not that I approve either way or care anymore of server merges, but to be successful, sometimes drastic change is needed.. or watch your product die a slow, painful, death.
It's amazing that you devote as much time as you do to such a horrible, unsupported dying game.
The game itself is far from horrible. In fact its probably one of the best I've played frankly. Sure its got the Korean grind in there, but some of us love that.
The support your dead on about though. I know if it dies, odds are I can go over to the southeast asian servers and have a far better time, so whatever :P