There's a lot of reasons, but for the most part I'd say it's probably down to some of these particular issues.
1. Balmung is a legacy server, which means it plays hosts to accounts that were around all the way back in 1.0, and as far as I'm aware SE does not periodically go through and weed out unused accounts like some other developers do. Ergo, it reads as having a higher population than the other servers and the checker can never quite tell when it's supposed to be open.
2. FF14 does not have a kick mechanic. It is not uncommon to see people AFK in the same place for an entire day, and sometimes longer. I'm not sure if SE's servers are like the servers on any other game I've been a part of, but if they are this also contributes to server congestion.
3. Frankly, their servers aren't the best. I really never have any lag outside of dungeons, and even then I can excuse it as issues on my own end. I don't think their servers were designed with this many people in mind and I'm honestly shuddering to think of what is going to happen when Heavensward is released if something isn't improved. (Getting an Au Ra into this mess without using a designated placeholder for a Fantasia change is going to be like trying to move through an ocean of jelly. Unpleasant and time consuming.)
1. Balmung is a legacy server, which means it plays hosts to accounts that were around all the way back in 1.0, and as far as I'm aware SE does not periodically go through and weed out unused accounts like some other developers do. Ergo, it reads as having a higher population than the other servers and the checker can never quite tell when it's supposed to be open.
2. FF14 does not have a kick mechanic. It is not uncommon to see people AFK in the same place for an entire day, and sometimes longer. I'm not sure if SE's servers are like the servers on any other game I've been a part of, but if they are this also contributes to server congestion.
3. Frankly, their servers aren't the best. I really never have any lag outside of dungeons, and even then I can excuse it as issues on my own end. I don't think their servers were designed with this many people in mind and I'm honestly shuddering to think of what is going to happen when Heavensward is released if something isn't improved. (Getting an Au Ra into this mess without using a designated placeholder for a Fantasia change is going to be like trying to move through an ocean of jelly. Unpleasant and time consuming.)
