I'm going to try to summarize all the arguments I've seen for each of the two servers, and I'm going to try to do it objectively. (Nevertheless, I expect someone will be unhappy with my summary. 
)
Balmung
Gilgamesh
Note that 1.x had a microscopic population of active players. Regardless of the server you choose, new players will absolutely outnumber all 1.x players by a substantial number.
As others have said, I would recommend making a character on both if you're not sure. I've personally (as someone who played 1.x for all of a week after launch before uninstalling it and relegating my CE box to a monitor stand
) decided to play on Balmung because I personally believe it will have a higher population of RPers per capita.
EDIT: Oh, right, one other thing to note -- in beta 3, many people who are planning to play on Balmung in phase 4 and launch played on Gilgamesh because, for testing, Balmung was locked for a while to new characters and people naturally didn't want to remake their test characters.
)Balmung
- It was the original RPC server after the server merges in 1.x, so it has an existing RP community and a character continuity, along with the structure and events that can bring.
- The existence of 1.x characters combined with the addition of new characters means it will have an active economy and game experience at all levels from launch.
- It has a reputation as the "unofficial RP server" among 1.x players, so it is likely to have more RPers than an average server.
- The fact that some people are actively opposed to Legacy-tagged servers produces a barrier to entry that may repel non-RPers.
- The existence of characters at high levels means that there will be ample people to provide advice and assistance in gameplay to low level characters.
Gilgamesh
- It's a fresh server, so there's no existing community or character continuity, nor any baggage those might have.
- It is well known in the beta community that Gilgamesh is the RPC's other RP server choice, so it will have more RPers than an average server.
- As a fresh server, the economy will grow with the server, as will the game experience. The player base is guaranteed to be concentrated at low levels at launch, which should maximize gathering and crafting income and grouping opportunities at those levels.
- The barrier to entry caused by some players' opposition to Legacy-tagged servers means it will probably have a higher population than Balmung.
- Because the character base is low level, you're much more likely to be able to achieve server firsts than on a Legacy server.
Note that 1.x had a microscopic population of active players. Regardless of the server you choose, new players will absolutely outnumber all 1.x players by a substantial number.
As others have said, I would recommend making a character on both if you're not sure. I've personally (as someone who played 1.x for all of a week after launch before uninstalling it and relegating my CE box to a monitor stand
) decided to play on Balmung because I personally believe it will have a higher population of RPers per capita.EDIT: Oh, right, one other thing to note -- in beta 3, many people who are planning to play on Balmung in phase 4 and launch played on Gilgamesh because, for testing, Balmung was locked for a while to new characters and people naturally didn't want to remake their test characters.
The Freelance Wizard
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
