SOE Merge some Servers!!!!!

[Phardash]

Please? Its getting really lonely out here in Eq2land

[Ji]

I would like to see what happens in the next 3 months. With release of EoF and tons and tons of WoW customers converting, I think we will be good in due time. Newbs are running thru the levels right now give them time.

I vote against a server merge right now but maybe reserve the right to change my mind in 3 months.  : )

[Ildarus]

What Server and where are you located? What times do you play? I am guessing part of your challenge has to do with the time you play and the server you are on.

 I have several alts at varying levels and there are plenty of people on to group with and QH always seems to have a lot of people in it. In fact on my level 34 Dirge I had to turn on my Auto deny group invites because I got tired of turning them down when I couldn't group.

[Bloodfa]

The majority of the Fae newbies I see are going to be betrayers, so that Assassins will drop out of the nearly invisible Fae form and bushwhack you.  I don't understand the rationale behind them still being allowed to use all of the abilities once they betray, as it's going to make for even more two-shot deaths from Assassins, but then that's just me preferring the role of underdog.

There have been quite a few WoW converts of late, though.....

[Spyderbite]

Phardash wrote:

Please? Its getting really lonely out here in Eq2land

I still don't get it. No problems finding groups here at any hour of the day or night. Where are these people sitting waiting for groups to form? The top of Mistmoore Castle?!

[KBern]

Phardash wrote:

Please? Its getting really lonely out here in Eq2land

SOE please do not merge servers anymore.

[CHIMPNOODLE.]

Saurakk@Guk wrote:

Phardash wrote:

Please? Its getting really lonely out here in Eq2land

SOE please do not merge servers anymore.

/agree

[Kaalenarc]

Instead of merging servers, why not take a more offensive tack and...

oh... I dont know...

 ACTUALLY ADVERTISE THE GAME!!!!!!

I cant open a magazine, turn on the TV, or visit Best Buy without Running into WoW marketing. Its not like EQ2 is put out by MoM and Pop Software Inc. You're SONY - Spend a couple bucks (or a couple million) and MARKET this thing.

[Leafbringer]

As much as I like lag, I'm not having any problems finding good groups on Unrest server, so please don't merge ours! (tip: find a good, big guild)

[TheBu]

On permafrost at night it is common to see less than a group worth of 70 lfg. much less a healer or tank. That does not nessarly mean the poplation is low. And well a few sending tells in chat. i been logged on when ther are 15+ toons logged in to the guild and i was still unable to get a group. So sometime the other toons are grouped or doing something else. currently it is better now with the unrest intrest going on. But it still it not wer i think the population on lfg should be. Ther is alot of solo and nothingness goign on. That is no way to keep the toons playing. Purhaps a large population of the toons are raiding in a guild. But even so, there needs to be enuf population of the lfg pep to allow toons to group so they do not lose intrest and leave... Some may be scared of more lag. i say the graphic lag is a diffrent problem than the population. Both need to be fixed

[SisterTheresa]

Chaly wrote:

The majority of the Fae newbies I see are going to be betrayers, so that Assassins will drop out of the nearly invisible Fae form and bushwhack you.  I don't understand the rationale behind them still being allowed to use all of the abilities once they betray, as it's going to make for even more two-shot deaths from Assassins, but then that's just me preferring the role of underdog.

There have been quite a few WoW converts of late, though.....

Huh?  Who can use what abilities now when?  You can use what you need when Exiled, but as soon as you hit the other city you get changed.  Is that what you mean?

And It would make sense to still have them.  Would you want to fight things at Level 30 (or whenever you betrayed) and have App 1 spells/abilities?  Think not. 

[sayitaintso]

TheBuzZ wrote:

On permafrost at night it is common to see less than a group worth of 70 lfg. much less a healer or tank. That does not nessarly mean the poplation is low. And well a few sending tells in chat. i been logged on when ther are 15+ toons logged in to the guild and i was still unable to get a group. So sometime the other toons are grouped or doing something else. currently it is better now with the unrest intrest going on. But it still it not wer i think the population on lfg should be. Ther is alot of solo and nothingness goign on. That is no way to keep the toons playing. Purhaps a large population of the toons are raiding in a guild. But even so, there needs to be enuf population of the lfg pep to allow toons to group so they do not lose intrest and leave... Some may be scared of more lag. i say the graphic lag is a diffrent problem than the population. Both need to be fixed

Guk has an estimated peak population of something less than 600 players...Wether you think the servers need to be merged or not is meaningless. SOE will merge them A) if they think the server population is too low BUT ONLY IF B) It's not going to show that the game population as a whole is weak...That's bad for business doncha know

[Bramwe]

Honestly, I do not find a problem getting groups in the evenings around 7-10pm CST.  I will admit there are never enough people LFG in the chat channels to form a full group but sure enough if I set one up myself with a simple line like "Guardian looking to go to CoV anyone want to join me?"  I will get at least a couple tells so that my next message can be "CoV group looking for more pst".  Once people see that a group is established the tells come pouring in.  Don't be afraid to set up a group, it usually works.

[Ildarus]

Kaalenarc@Antonia Bayle wrote:

Instead of merging servers, why not take a more offensive tack and...

oh... I dont know...

 ACTUALLY ADVERTISE THE GAME!!!!!!

I cant open a magazine, turn on the TV, or visit Best Buy without Running into WoW marketing. Its not like EQ2 is put out by MoM and Pop Software Inc. You're SONY - Spend a couple bucks (or a couple million) and MARKET this thing.

I agree 100%. I see nothing on EQII. I see advertising for Vangard and WoW, as well as plenty of others, but nothing for EQII. Also, you can't find EQII on most store shelves, but there will be multiple boxes of WoW, Guild Wars, Neverwinter Nights etc...... I don't understand that. When ever I look for EQII it is hard to find on a shelf. I decided to start a second account the other day and I had to go to three different stores before I could find EoF, which has all the original game and all the expansions in one box. Pretty much every store had Matrix Online and SWG, but not EQII.

[Spyderbite]

Bramwell wrote:

Don't be afraid to set up a group, it usually works.

Heh.. you bring up a good point. I see people sitting in the same spot all day long with the LFG tag on yet I don't see anything from them in the City/Level chats. I suspect these are the same people who come to the forums claiming that everyone has vanished from the game. XD Being pro-active is a good thing. Its not just for breakfast anymore!

[interstellarmatter]

I now that I've said this before but I'll try one more time

Put a Trial of the Island on CD at give them away at the local BestBuy, Walmart, GameStop, etc.  People love free.  People love to pickup free items.  If you even got 10 to 30% of the trial people to subscribe that would boost the population.  Right now, you've burned through your niche market players.  You need fresh blood.

[Wingrider01]

Phardash wrote:

Please? Its getting really lonely out here in Eq2land

Have no issues finding groups - can't find one - start one

[Red_Rider]

Sarron@Nektulos wrote:

Kaalenarc@Antonia Bayle wrote:

I agree 100%. I see nothing on EQII. I see advertising for Vangard and WoW, as well as plenty of others, but nothing for EQII. Also, you can't find EQII on most store shelves, but there will be multiple boxes of WoW, Guild Wars, Neverwinter Nights etc...... I don't understand that. When ever I look for EQII it is hard to find on a shelf. I decided to start a second account the other day and I had to go to three different stores before I could find EoF, which has all the original game and all the expansions in one box. Pretty much every store had Matrix Online and SWG, but not EQII.

   Most distributors do not take returns on game boxes so they are stuck with whatever they buy.  When EQ2 came out, sales died down quite fast and many, many stores were stuck with a ton of boxes.  Plus the expansions are sold by digital download so stores who bought those didn't sell many either.  Even though EOF retail was a much better deal for new and old players, the stores are pretty burned on EQ2 so they order the minimum if any. ( I was a buyer, before EOF AND an EQ player and I didn't put EQ2 expansions in most of my stores and had no complaints from the managers, meaning no one was asking for them).

  As for WoW, I would put a ton of them everywhere and we were always constrained (recieved less than ordered) and the managers would all want to kill me.  Was tough since I didn't like WoW.....

[Sebastien]

I would love to see a merger involving Permafrost.  I think it's pretty clear that the population is really low.  Most times you zone into a dungeon, you are either the only group there or there is one other groups' worth of players.

We have an AWESOME community with many nice people, but there just aren't enough of them for the average player to get groups going.

Sometimes I see the same players advertise, every night.. over the span of about 20 levels or so (I can actually monitor their level progress..) LFG, apparently with little success.  Myself I have kind of given up and resign to solo a lot of the time.  So I think it doesn't help EQ2's customer retention to have populations so sparse.

[Sebastien]

Wingrider01 wrote:

Phardash wrote:

Please? Its getting really lonely out here in Eq2land

Have no issues finding groups - can't find one - start one

Because of course all servers are exactly identical to yours, right?

[Ji]

Chaly wrote:

The majority of the Fae newbies I see are going to be betrayers, so that Assassins will drop out of the nearly invisible Fae form and bushwhack you.  I don't understand the rationale behind them still being allowed to use all of the abilities once they betray, as it's going to make for even more two-shot deaths from Assassins, but then that's just me preferring the role of underdog.

There have been quite a few WoW converts of late, though.....

If you think fae are bad ask a Fury to put on their level 20? fluff spell. It's a fairy thats so tiny it would be almost impossible to see.

[sayitaintso]

22 people in SoS right now on Guk, that includes 4 players who are known farmers...Pretty sad...

[Wingrider01]

Sebastien@Permafrost wrote:

Wingrider01 wrote:

Phardash wrote:

Please? Its getting really lonely out here in Eq2land

Have no issues finding groups - can't find one - start one

Because of course all servers are exactly identical to yours, right?

Anytime someone has problem finding a group they automaticly yell for a server merge - reminds me of the chicken and the sky

[sayitaintso]

Wingrider01 wrote:

Sebastien@Permafrost wrote:

Wingrider01 wrote:

Phardash wrote:

Please? Its getting really lonely out here in Eq2land

Have no issues finding groups - can't find one - start one

Because of course all servers are exactly identical to yours, right?

Anytime someone has problem finding a group they automaticly yell for a server merge - reminds me of the chicken and the sky

How about when you go nearly 4 months trying for a couple hours each night and MAYBE getting one? That still doesn't scream low server population to you? How about when you do a census of the top 12 grinding zones and count less than 275 people at peak times..It that a problem for you? Low server population might sound like a good thing if you have a guild group that you play in every night...But if you ever pull your head from teh sand you will also see that low server population destroys server economy and put's trade skillers out of business...Not to mention once people figure out the server population is lo, they are more likely to leave the next time they are tempted by another game being released...

[Leafbringer]

I must say that in my case, the reviewers killed this game. Look around the Web and you'll find that EQ2 got scores in the 70's and 80's while WoW has scores consistently in the 90's and up.  EQ2 is the far (far) superior game in my opinion, in almost every area: gameplay, graphics, design, quests, layout, tradeskilling, housing, grouping, and so on and so forth, so it's quite depressing that because of the ebb and flow of review writing moods and whatnot, EQ2 got stuck with the short stick.  I think reviews do make a difference.  I think savvy advertisers pay attention to numbers like that.  Unfortunately they flocked to the trendy Blizz game and Blizz REALLY capitalized on it. SOE has been cutting or raising costs in a number of areas (no manual, upped price of Station Access, etc.) so it's not surprising to me that the mega-humongous-corporation with a billion other interests might not support this product the way a company like Blizzard (devoted to games) might. But yeah it's frustrating.

[Wingrider01]

Stinkii@Guk wrote:

Wingrider01 wrote:

Sebastien@Permafrost wrote:

Wingrider01 wrote:

Phardash wrote:

Please? Its getting really lonely out here in Eq2land

Have no issues finding groups - can't find one - start one

Because of course all servers are exactly identical to yours, right?

Anytime someone has problem finding a group they automaticly yell for a server merge - reminds me of the chicken and the sky

How about when you go nearly 4 months trying for a couple hours each night and MAYBE getting one? That still doesn't scream low server population to you? How about when you do a census of the top 12 grinding zones and count less than 275 people at peak times..It that a problem for you? Low server population might sound like a good thing if you have a guild group that you play in every night...But if you ever pull your head from teh sand you will also see that low server population destroys server economy and put's trade skillers out of business...Not to mention once people figure out the server population is lo, they are more likely to leave the next time they are tempted by another game being released...

Have never gone 4 months without finding a group, even before the first merge. To many variables are not being discussed, nor even considered, lot harder to find a group on a US based server at 4AM in the morning on tuesday when most people have school or work at 8Am then it is to find one on a firday night at 8pm prime time play on a US server, same can be true on a european based server.

Ever consider trying a "non-standard" group out of the "top grinding zones"? They work well and can be fun, you die, what does it matter does not take long to get rid of the debit.

[Sebastien]

Wingrider01 wrote:

Sebastien@Permafrost wrote:

Wingrider01 wrote:

Phardash wrote:

Please? Its getting really lonely out here in Eq2land

Have no issues finding groups - can't find one - start one

Because of course all servers are exactly identical to yours, right?

Anytime someone has problem finding a group they automaticly yell for a server merge - reminds me of the chicken and the sky

How about instead of being ignorant (and condescending at the same time, nice combo there) you acknowledge the fact that different servers have different populations.  There are certainly servers where the population is too low; I know because I am on one of them.

[Wingrider01]

Sebastien@Permafrost wrote:

Wingrider01 wrote:

Sebastien@Permafrost wrote:

Wingrider01 wrote:

Phardash wrote:

Please? Its getting really lonely out here in Eq2land

Have no issues finding groups - can't find one - start one

Because of course all servers are exactly identical to yours, right?

Anytime someone has problem finding a group they automaticly yell for a server merge - reminds me of the chicken and the sky

How about instead of being ignorant (and condescending at the same time, nice combo there) you acknowledge the fact that different servers have different populations.  There are certainly servers where the population is too low; I know because I am on one of them.

Judge not lest you be judged in return. Thought this was a discussion, but seems it is not. Have a good day today and a better day tomorrow.

[Devout Disciple]

EQ2 is superior in polygon count but not necessarily art. The clone phenomenon does happen with the epic sets in WoW to be fair.  Even then though there is still background art that is done very well in WoW. 

There's 3 places to start at in EQ2 (outpost of the overlord, queen's colony, and greater feydark for kelethin) but how many in WoW? 6 I can think of off the top of my head plus the 2 with Burning Crusade making 8.  There's variety in that.

WoW has alot going for it.  The most important is that it feels like a continuation of the previous strategy games.  After all there was no Warcraft 4.  They stopped the strategy games at the Frozen Throne.  They really timed that well along with their reputation for releasing quality software.  Plus WoW works on alot older hardware.  So that ensured a legion of fans.

[Vukota]

I for one am completely against server merges. The populations on these servers are fine. On Unrest every zone is filled with players. And finding a group is no problem.

I see a complaint every now and then from some players who can't find groups...who play in empty zones...and my advice would be...JOIN AN ACTIVE GUILD.

I see way too many guilds out there with only a handful of players. Why people stay in guilds that have 9 unique accounts is beyond me. The more friends you make...the more likely you'll find a group. Besides...PU groups suck for the most part...they are always a last resort when you can't find a group within your guild.

I see the same players over and over again on my server who are LFG spamming the pub channels. I do a /who all on these players...and sure enough...they're in some guild with maybe 3 or 4 active players...or some guild I've neverh eard of. 

EQ2 may have screwed up by letting folks create guilds with only 6 players. Every Tom, [I cannot control my vocabulary] & Harry has a guild now. And they probably feel some allegiance to it and that's why they stay.

I couldn't tell you how many people I've recruited from stagnant guilds. And once they joined up they were amazed to be in an active guild that actually had 30-40 players on per night. Being in an active guild with a large player base will give you a whole different perspective of the game. 

My advice to all if you are having problems finding a group...or if you think the population suxorz...join an active guild. Make friends.

The population is fine.

...and NO to any server merges.