Mercer

SAM having no party buffs is sad. But LOL 1000 Potency attack. RIP SMN and SCH.

This is how you get server fires.

The Rainmaker event started. It's 8pm PST and there is a 1200 person queue. Gold Saucer will not let players in. Ul'dah is unstable.

Apologies for the triple posting. Very bad form but it has been a couple days. An alternate RP server discussion has been started on Reddit! Currently it's focused on Mateus but seeing as how we're gathering feedback from as many sources as possible it can't hurt to link to it and add to the discussion. If you like RP and can't get into Balmung, why not come on down to Mateus?

This is the last time I intend to respond to a post you make in this thread. There are no applicable precedents or procedural facts that give any indication to whether SE would designate an official RP server. A precedent is only applicable if there are analogous facts (and is usually defined as a analogous rule of law or regulatory standard; as opposed to something that depends on facts). Here, there have been no serious efforts to persuade SE to designate an official RP server since 2.0, and we are facing one of the most difficult population issues to impact high-population servers since launch. The facts and circumstances are unique. If you can identify any recent post by SE (made since high population has become a major issue) where they specifically decline to designate an RP server, that would be precedent. You have no precedent. You have only speculation and conjecture. Consumer demand drives change. If enough consumers demand something, companies are bound to respond. With that said, RPers have made lackluster efforts (save for a few vocal RPers who supported Nero's thread on the official forums) to convince SE to designate an official RP server. This is likely because most RPers believe that SE will simply reverse the transfer ban within 1-3 months after the launch of SB, rendering the need to designate alternative RP servers premature. The only tide I'm lost in is the majority consensus that large, centralized RP hubs are desirable. The overwhelming majority of RPers play on Balmung (or will transfer there after the restriction is lifted) because they value robust, diverse, and active communities. Very few RPers desire to RP on stagnate ghost town servers that offer little more than a 50-100 person homogeneous cliques of like-minded individuals that dwindle in numbers over time. Most RPers I know think that people who hold your view (i.e. - we should designate an unofficial RP server) /and/ my view (i.e. - we should convince to reverse the transfer ban and/or designate an official server) are acting prematurely. And they're probably right - things will likely revert to status quo in 2-3 months after SE lifts the transfer ban. In the end, most RPers will gravitate towards a centralized RP hub that offers the greatest frequency and diversity of RP. That hub has been and will continue to be Balmung (and perhaps an official RP server if designated down the road). My dear Brother Sig, it pains me to see you give up on our debate. However, since you have answered me it would be woefully impolite not to respond. Even if you do not wish to read my reply I will leave it here for others in the grand community to read. Thank you for educating me on the finer points of past precedents and I will refine my earlier reply. The fact remains that there have been examples of previous attempts by the glorious RP community to petition the Square Enix to designate Balmung as the RP hub, or perhaps another server. Indeed, these were under different more elegant times. However, these were not distant times. The posts and feedback from the Developer team are just a few years old, very recent for our standards. Since there have been no changes since the original statements it is the best and only reference we have. However, to say that RPers should hand their fate over to the Square Enix is folly! The RP-C and the glorious RP community as a whole have existed in parallel with the Square Enix for half a decade now and have decided to control the reigns of fate on their own terms. We do know that the Square Enix prefers it this way from previous comments during petitioning. There have been no signs to change this stance. In fact, by giving characters themselves the ability to be tagged as "RP" they are giving more control to the individual rather than the server. It is true that campaigning for a RP tag or clarification of the stance on RP servers is beneficial to the server. Nero started these efforts admirably. However, you seem to be ignoring the evidence of growing sever instability on Balmung. This is not simple conjecture or speculation. It is something that we have been experiencing over the past several months, varying from entire data center wide outages down to housing and personal rooms becoming inaccessible. Unnamed Mercenary and I have already put down numbers and references to exactly what has been happening to the server. It boils down thusly: Balmung is vastly too large for the intended server structure and couple with the wide disparity between smaller servers leaves little reason for the Square Enix to reopen the server. There are further examples of them taking a similar stance in FFXI, which I again referenced previously. Some action needs to be taken, and has been taken by the glorious RP community. Word spreads, plans are made and new players are given guidance. Even by your current stance you say that Balmung will not open for 2-3 months from now, the launch summer of Storm Blood. You have recommended that players wait for their chance to play on Balmung once again instead of rolling on an alternate server to enjoy the launch. I can not agree, my Brother Sig. There are players that wish to join Balmung but cannot. To say they should wait until Stormblood is over, that they can not enjoy the biggest XIV moments of the year is... simply tragic. To say they must wait on their hands until the next school year or until the server opens, if it opens? I can not agree. The simple truth is that the RP community will fracture due to the actions taken by the Square Enix. There is no denying that players need a new home right this very moment. I also can not see Balmung reopening in the future, due to the Square Enix's actions taken during XI and how they have handled Character Creation for Balmung in XIV for the last two years. Thank you for these continued debates, my dear Brother Sig. Even if this shall be the last debate here I look forward to continuing them on and on. You, desiring for the stagnation of Balmung, and me, wishing to see the diversification of servers.

Love, sex, drama, violence are all important to Roleplay. It can become a head ache for us players at times but it's just as important to accept those themes. I am not advocating playing a hyper violent or sexual character, unless that is your thing. Instead, I advocate playing your characters that those themes will come up. In it's purest form, RP is really improvisational acting. It is mimicry of real life in unusual situations and as such love, sex, drama, conflict, violence are all very real things that are cornerstones of the human experience.

You say that such actions before have been met with failure, I disagree! There has never been such an occasion in XIV's history that has required the RP community act so swiftly. To be relaxed in such a position is an invitation for destruction! By ignoring the fresh lifeblood of our community we ensure that we shall starve! This is a GLORIOUS opportunity for communities to grow and prosper. They are perhaps niche right now, as you have said, but as new players go to these communities they will grow beyond their previous boundaries into a wonderful new existence! This is why RPers should take action to pursue a very attainable goal: getting an official RP server designation (or revocation of the transfer ban). Brother Sig, it seems we are fated to spin along this spiral of debate forevah! Your claim that such goals are attainable is OBSOLETE! There is past precedents that the Square Enix will not submit to the demands of the noble RP army and will instead put a blind ear to our cries. Neither shall Balmung reopen and giving the command for other RPers to simply submit to this decision in hopes the Square Enix will reopen the capital is FOOLISH! The creation of characters has been locked for years, and even still Balmung has grown until the server bends under it's own population. To think that Balmung may survive such an undertaking during the biggest content release of the year is simply FOLLY! Your arguement holds little weight in the raging river that is the current tide. It is like a whisper going against a typhoon, trying to be heard. But I assure you Brother Sig, that I will at least hear your voice. I will hear your voice and I will refute it, for ours is a debate that will cycle on and on until the very server walls come crashing down.

I think this is a very fair point and one I contemplated while making the directory. I'll wait for more feedback from others, but if the general thought is that if we don't have an active resource to put down we don't list it, I'll follow that. Edit: I got more feedback that the empty servers bloated the post. I've since updated it and removed empty servers. If your server is not on the list, please PM me server info and resources and I'll happily add it.

Cross posting the new Alternate RP server Directory. The RP-C currently makes it difficult to add or sort through communities not associated with Balmung and Gilgamesh, and there are resources outside of the RP-C that could prove useful. The new directory is to help keep alternatives sorted by server without being burdened by our discussions. If you have any new resources, communities, linkshells or free companies that need to be added please let me know in that thread, or through PM. I'll add it as quick as possible. If you know of any Tumblr resources associated with servers, let me know as well! I'd like to tag them in the directory to make a more inclusive list.

Updated 6.15.17 So you are locked out of Balmung and are looking for a place to RP. Or you are a Balmung RPer looking to move or help establish and grow RP on another server. This thread is for you! This thread is a directory for the communities scattered around the servers, the RP-C and outside of the RP-C. Just click on the server you're interested in and view the long list of resources available! Please keep discussion about alternate servers and their viability in the separate discussion thread. This is a directory and resource only. This thread will continue to exist until the RP-C forum updates are put into place, allowing for more versatility for servers. If you have additional servers, communities, linkshells or free companies to add please either leave a message on this thread or send me a PM and I will add it as soon as possible. Update: Empty server listings removed to give a better view of active communities. If your server is not here and you wish to add it simply make a post in the thread or PM me.

They will work with enough attention and support from the community. Just like Balmung, minus SE's hardware capabilities which is forcing us to pick an extra place. But what do I know, I'm not an expert. BROTHER SIG! I knew you'd come. It has become quiet evident that you refuse to partake in lines of reasoning that do not line up to your own. You wish to depend on the actions of the Square Enix on the hopes that their whims may correct the course we have set the server on. Many dispute these claims, saying that it has not worked before so we should have little faith going forward. Their views are PRAGMATIC, wishing to create a solution themselves rather than waiting for the Square Enix to chance upon the plight of a minority. Balmung has grown too large and already buckles under it's own weight. Free Company houses become inaccessible, Free Company workshops and private rooms become locked behind a wall of Server Instability! These are not theories, but the realities of how Balmung has become Obsolete! You say that such actions before have been met with failure, I disagree! There has never been such an occasion in XIV's history that has required the RP community act so swiftly. To be relaxed in such a position is an invitation for destruction! By ignoring the fresh lifeblood of our community we ensure that we shall starve! This is a GLORIOUS opportunity for communities to grow and prosper. They are perhaps niche right now, as you have said, but as new players go to these communities they will grow beyond their previous boundaries into a wonderful new existence!

They will work with enough attention and support from the community. Just like Balmung, minus SE's hardware capabilities which is forcing us to pick an extra place. But what do I know, I'm not an expert.

That's because HRC is not the only RP hub. There are other hubs that appeal to different styles of RP. Sadly, I am but one man. I do my best to gather and spread information but I do depend on other players to put in legwork as well.

Well, what happens now is allowing this thread and poll to be visible to players looking for a home. In the mean time, we're waiting on more information on server transfers before another thread and poll will be run.

Paladins are getting a physical AoE They can block magic attacks They can put down a cone that reduces damage by 15% and gives them a 100% block rate.

NO MORE BOW MAGES BARD HAS RETURNED! NO CASTING MACHINIST! PHYSICAL RANGED DPS IS GLORIOUS!

5! 5 FEL CLEAVES IN A ROW! NO PACIFY! THE AGE OF WARRIOR HAS ARRIVED

Cleric Stance is dead. Long Live Cleric Stance.

We're just waiting on the server names to come out so we can say, "yes, this one". Then after that, that's down to the players and RPC to give it as much attention as Balmung so it doesn't fall into those small pockets like the other servers. With the website update coming, it's the perfect time to do this as well. I'll make sure to keep the EU threads in every server thread I make.

I think the best solution for now is that we need two RP alternatives. One for EU, one for NA. Having the population split between the Balmung NA/EU hybrid, EU and NA would allow for RP to diversify enough that the servers should remain stable while having large communities. But man, what a hot mess we've got on our hands.

Hi, my name is Oswin. You might remember me from such posts as "Dear lord, there are a lot of RP communites" as well as "Will this jackass shut up about server numbers?". I'm here today to remind folks that the population bloat on Balmung is very real and RPers make up a large number of those people. Transferring off to a single server is not going to solve the problem, it's going to make that new server be in the exact same spot as Balmung. The RP community in XIV is pretty damn huge. Membership on the RP-C for example grows at 4 new members a day. That's over 1,200 new RPers a year. The RP-C also has over 200,000 visits each month. Even if only 1/4th of the membership base of the RP-C is active, we are still looking at 3,000 players. If 3,000 players all moved to Mateus or Faeire, for example, it would push them from the smallest servers in the game to one of the top 8 biggest. That doesn't include people that enjoy RP communities going as well. Crafters love us, we make them millionaires. Trolls love us, we feed them delicious grief. Really, the best solution is to build up two communities outside of Balmung. We have the player base for it. The RP community is just too damn big to keep a single server or two serves functioning healthy. The best solution in my opinion? Help the EU players build up a player base in their region, so their game play is healthy and help the NA players build up a player base on an alternate realm.

Strap in for some data folks. It's time for... [align=center]The Importance of Diversifying RP Servers![/align]

Another point to make about the coming free transfers. Guys, they are giving out game time to get off the server. SE is throwing away those of dollars to get the hell off Balmung. They are willing to eat that loss. Let that sink in as well.

Thank you for the clarification! And I had forgotten about the zoning issues, hot damn what a mess. I think it's safe to say we should be expecting similar at launch.