Better Server Merging

  • Hi Rare, I wanted to propose a change to the server merging aspect of the game, I’m located in Ireland (EU Servers) and usually in the morning if I get around to playing, the server I load onto is very dead, possibly one ship or no emissary’s. I think it would be a great addition to change the merging in the morning, where there are less server but a higher density of ships on each server, it would make it far better for the PvP aspect and it may boost interest in getting on early and grinding.

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  • How do you know that there's only one or two ships on your server? Unless you're using an ESP hack, it's just speculation.

    As far as I know the game already does its best to keep servers at the current 5 ship maximum.

    You may have no Emissaries, but that's not necessarily indicative of a "dead server".

    I used to solo stack world events with no Emissary all the time...Rarely would I encounter server hoppers because most of them can't be bothered to leave the dock unless there's multiple Emissaries and/or Reapers.

  • @sweetsandman See the fact is that a hack, doesn’t have anything to do with it, I have went around many servers for a hour or two in the mornings, for the past 9 days or so, hardly a single ship to be seen anywhere on the map, yes 5 is the max but there isn’t 5 in each server during morning hours, hence the server merge.

  • The number of servers already scales to meet demands. That's part of Azure's design. Servers spin up and down all the time depending on how many players are active.

    I'm in Ireland too, but you should be aware that we are matched with players in the UK and all across the north of Europe (I've ran in to folks from France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Scandinavia on servers), there are plenty of players to fill servers at any time of day.

    where there are less server but a higher density of ships on each server, it would make it far better for the PvP aspect and it may boost interest in getting on early and grinding.

    Firstly, this is what server merging already aims to achieve. Secondly, while this might satisfy PvPers, that's not the sole focus of the game and a balance needs to be maintained or PvEers get turned off the game.

    Finally, it's more to do with the types of players who sail at different times. There tends to be more solo players off peak and they behave a lot different to the crews that are more active during peak.

  • Yea, I'm pretty sure servers try to manage between 3-5 Ships and lean towards trying to have 5. When a server hits 2 Ships that is when you tend to see a merge happen (either you get pushed off to another server or someone gets pulled into yours depending on the pool). So if you're on a server and not being merged there are likely at least 2 other Ships out there.

    If it does happen to be on the low end it would be very easy to sail around the map and not see them as you describe. Heck, even with a full server I have managed to sail for hours without seeing anyone. It depends on what you're doing, what they're doing, and who moves where and when. This was even still a thing with the 6th Ship, though people talk about it like that 6th Ship somehow makes servers suddenly pop with life.

    While the general average is skewed at this point from what it was at launch, the goal was that - on average - you would run into a player every 30 minutes to an hour. Since then we have added a whole region to the world, expanded the map, and dropped down by a ship. So that is gonna skew that average to being longer between encounters. And, of course, it is an average which means sometimes you'll play for hours on hours and never see anyone, sometimes you'll play and it feels like there are players everywhere around you all the time. And still others it will pan out to what that average aims for.

    And that is working exactly as intended. It is the randomness that this game thrives on, the unpredictability of it all.

  • I've actually found when logging on early hours as a fellow eu player I've ended up on na servers only by interaction with people met. So there is an element of trying to put you elsewhere, it may be some hours are simply less populated

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