Empty servers

@pissedfurby Severes merge automatically when you are the only one that is in the server. Now in regards to increase capacity in-game. I’ve heard that the more people, the more lag.

@pissedfurby Boi I would be having a ball being in that empty server, constantly be doing skull forts every time they pop up. 😂😂😂

@pissedfurby might be based on the time you are playing.

Have personally been coming across players consistently, minimum of two or three ships a server (usually see others but they tend to be to far to spark my interest as I love checking up on other crews(sneak on board) or be a concern).

Have noticed people tend to hang out on the west side of the world more lately, guess due to the gilded voyages. Sometimes you just need to swap out the region to see the others.

It is true that merges happen automatically if only one ship remains. So, if you ain't being merged there is someone out there.

It's rare I end up on an "empty" server and with the way players are moved to servers as needed, I don't see how often someone can actually be on an "empty" server. The other ships and players just happen to be in other areas of the map.

Sometimes you seem to end up by everyone. Sometimes you seem to never get close to others.

It's random, but I don't think servers are "empty".

I happen to love when a server isn't brimming with other people, as it allows me (and my crew, if they're on) to do forts, and voyages without PvP-based annoyances.
Sure, we'll go out occasionally to look for trouble, but we're usually just trying get commendations, Rep and Loot.
I really can't wait for Arena to come, so that some of the griefers can go away and leave me to play the game the way I want to (that is to say, 'without them'), because not everyone gets off purely on PvP... some of us actually just like the game world.

@pissedfurby said in Empty servers:

@jack-flintlock I mean this is a feedback thread not a "whats your opinion on pvp" thread. but since you brought it up. why? why play a game thats entire essence is piracy, just to log on and avoid people as much as you can? wouldn't a pve mmo or something be better? my crew isn't griefers, we just enjoy actually interacting with players. commendations, rep, loot, are all point A to point B with very little dynamic gameplay. We grind it also, but without the adrenaline of possibly being able to lose your rewards you're just running after a carrot on a stick tbh. Wanting pvpers to leave you alone is like playing basketball and being upset that someone is blocking your shots.

I'm glad that you and your crew enjoy PvP... that being said, not every player needs (or wants, for that matter) to have PvP to occur during every play session.
To use your basketball analogy: some people prefer to shoot around, rather than to get into a shirts/skins game every time they pick up a ball.

@pissedfurby

The problem is everyone is having way different experiences. Was talking about empty seas, both players and game content in a different post earlier today.

There are players with sessions complaining that there is way too many Meg and Karen attacks. There are players that have seen no fog, others say they sail in it all the time. Same for no Megs or Karen since Shrouded Spoils dropped. Some players claim they have never been merge since launch. There are lots of players complaining that constant merging is having a negative impact on their fun and has been getting worse.

I have been merged repeatedly for hours to never see another player ship. I have seen fog once in one play session. Have only seen the same Meg twice and Karen has been missing in action. In a session spanning many hours it is rare to see more than one or two players. Seen drastic lack of players since shortly after the Devil’s Roar update. When you do find players they almost always want to be left alone. No Alliance or PvP. No ahoy, just get lost.

So, everyone is definitely not getting the same experience. My spouse has read lots of these kind of posts with me and said it is like we are playing totally different games. I know we play in peak times. We have tried lots of different times. It must be server based some how.

@pissedfurby said in Empty servers:

@jack-flintlock lets continue the analogy further then. why are you playing basketball at all with other people then? why not just shoot some hoops in your driveway?

That is precisely why a fair amount of people are asking for a private session mode for the game (clearly, there are people who want to play the game and not have to deal with hyper-aggressive players), and nothing you can say will change that fact.

As the situation currently stands, all players have to deal with the potentiality that other players may decide to bother them, but that does not mean things will remain that way.

If Rare has taken notice of the unrequited PvP issue by preparing to add the Arena, who's to say they won't do the same for PvE players as the complaints and requests continue to mount?

Again, don't misunderstand me. I enjoy PvP, when I'm in the mood for it. The threat of other players being around doesn't add to my enjoyment of the game itself (the game world does). I accept that they're there because at the moment, they are, but if I have an opportunity to play the game in a PvE-only environment when I'm in the mood to do so, you can bet that I will, and it won't hurt anyone else if I choose to (it won't affect their levels, their progression, their loot, their voyages, their cosmetics, it won't affect anything but my personal enjoyment of the game during that session).

In short, if I choose to shoot the ball at the hoop because it relaxes me and helps me to think, without playing one-on-one or five-on-five with others, it's because that is what I want to do at that moment; others can engage in one-on-one or five-on-five if they like, but I don't have to if I don't want to.

@pissedfurby said in Empty servers:

@x-crowheart-x I agree, the more people respond to me and the more i read into it, the more it appears that not only are people having different experiences with just the way the game and servers work, but also with their general idea of what the game is and how its "supposed" to be played.

me and my friends are frustrated with the scarcity of interactions with players and its been going on for a long time, other people apparently get onto servers that are constantly full according to them.

I know you were responding to @x-crowheart-x there, but I agree with your view.
Many people have many different opinions on how the game is supposed to be played.
Also, every server I've been on has had other players on it, and there are definitely days in which I'd love to be able to swap servers with you.

For me, all the action has been around the active forts. Seems like there are always a few human ships and skelly ships around them. Sinking a galleon with my solo sloop is always a rush.

@pissedfurby What I said was that I enjoy PvP when I'm in the mood for it, but I would take advantage of a PvE mode when I'm not.
You have your playstyle, and I have mine; neither is incorrect, and neither is superior.

So, is it an U.S. vs Europe thing? Is it time zone based? I have read and had direct messages from players in Central and Eastern U.S. have similar lonely server, lack of events triggering, and migration issues.

@x-crowheart-x said in Empty servers:

So, is it an U.S. vs Europe thing? Is it time zone based? I have read and had direct messages from players in Central and Eastern U.S. have similar lonely server, lack of events triggering, and migration issues.

I'm in the Eastern U.S., and we pretty much always have people sailing round.

@jack-flintlock

Lots of fog, Megs, and Karen? What time you usually play?

@x-crowheart-x said in Empty servers:

@jack-flintlock

Lots of fog, Megs, and Karen? What time you usually play?

I get Fog in just about every session, Megs as well. Karen appears every couple of days usually, though sometimes a lot more often.

I usually play from 6pm to 10pm on weekdays, and practically all day on the weekends.

@jack-flintlock

Play mostly same times and have been having the exact opposite experience. Players yell at others when they talk about these things, but all sessions and experiences on servers are not the same.

So, people are not wrong when they say they are experiencing too much or not enough. Sure causing some players on either side to not be happy and even stop playing.

@x-crowheart-x nope. I am U.S. and the servers aren't empty.
It seemed empty months ago though.

I think everyone is more inclined for PVE right now as The gilded voyages make everyone more cautious of others.
Once a new update comes out and gilded is over, I expect there will be a higher frequency in pvp again.

@swimplatypus7 said in Empty servers:

@pissedfurby

As of right now they have a 16 player limit on a server..

Consider that 1 galleon = 1/4 of the entire server population. Not all servers have a bunch of sloops, and because of that some times you're only gonna have 4 to 6 ships on a server.. If they're allied or something like that off in a far corner questing some place you may never see them.

Oft times you just don't see the players because they're far far away from your location and you're just having a bit of bad luck.

As for the server merges, happens but it's not all too frequent. This takes place when things actually get dead, like you're the last boat or two on the server.

Man I have no idea where the 16 player limit is coming from, but it is false. The server limit is 6 ships, it is not a player limit.

6 Galleons can exist on a server, so 6x4 is 24 players maximum.

This has been since the launch of the game.

I find it so funny that people complain about empty servers and others complain about wanting PvE servers. Me, I just want to not get server merged 3 or 4 times a session. If there's players, fine. If there's not many, we'll do forts until someone comes to us.

You say that you find it strange that people play this game without the need for PvP but the beauty of this game is the choice of how you want to play. Sometimes I'm bloodthirsty and see red, sometimes I just wanna hunt sharks or skeleton ships.

What's obvious to me is that server merges don't work like they're supposed to. It's not seemless, it breaks immersion and still apparently allows for sparse server pops.

@pissedfurby your anchor has to be down to do it