Merge the servers to stop the games player population dying

MISTFORMBZZZ · December 2023

The population on consoles are drastical low.

You cant find many trials, you cant find many group activities, you go in a zone and with luck there are 2-3 people somehow, you have less people online in the trading guilds and less people at the hot spots in the game.

Also in pvp the population also decreased a lot & noticeable.
At prime time during the week its max 2 bars each, we used to have a queue 2 years ago and now its rare we have 3 bars each 😂

You cant stop people from playing other games but now many people are stopping to play cuz there is not enough activity in this game anymore.

If you have to wait hours for a group finder, cant do the trial you want or dont find action in pvp, whats the point in playing this mmo?

My suggestion :

Merge the PS EU and PS NA server or merge the PS EU and XBox EU and the PS NA and Xbox NA server to avoid the game dying.

Yes the trading markets would probs crash but lets be honest wouldnt that be exciting in some way? It would be a bigger player base and there would be life in the game, it would be a healthy change overall!

I get cross play with PC might makes no sense cuz of their loads of addons etc but betwen consoles it should be absolutely a thing.

Zos gave us the group finder but lets be honest it doesnt really help.

The benefits of crossplay overhelm overall and zos should make this technical possible, better soon then later

Ragnork · December 2023

Ok.
On PC you can choose server to play on.
I presume the same for consoles.
If merged then they can not loose characters and any duplicate items need to be compensated for.
The best of both server achievements need to be retained.
Or should we loose what we have paid for in both real world money and invested time?
I am not saying do not merge, just asking how to manage the overlaps.

LunaFlora · December 2023

which served on which platform is supposedly dying?

ps eu is very full and busy regularly.
and if you see less people in zone chat making trial groups that's because we have the group finder!

crossplay would be nice, but it's not really necessary

Elsonso · December 2023

.

Dekrypted wrote: »

In my history with other mmos, a server merge can be a red flag indicating the overall health of a game when its needed.

ZOS can spin it in a positive manner if they merge within the same geography. They can simply say they are responding to requests for players to be able to play with each other across platforms.

OsUfi · December 2023

People who think ESO is a dead/near death game, don't seem to know what a dead/near death game is.

XSTRONG · December 2023

I play on PS5eu and population is not dead, sure I dont know player count but I see players all over, I have to wait max 5 min in dungeon finder as DD etc etc.

If pvp is dead dosent mean rest of the game Is dead.

alternatelder · December 2023

Wish as much as you want, but it's far from a dead game. About twice a week I see full bar in Cyrodiil, cities are usually packed every night. I'm on PS/NA. Even if it were dying, I certainly wouldn't want merged servers, it'd just cause more issues.

MISTFORMBZZZ · December 2023

I am not saying the game is dead. But you all cant denie there is less and less people online. And no, the group finder doesnt always help. And pvp is a completly different topic, there you see it most thought.

Its good how you defend your favorite game & and so am i , this is why i wish for zos to save it.

Crossplay would be the way.

Elsonso · December 2023

Dekrypted wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

.

Dekrypted wrote: »

In my history with other mmos, a server merge can be a red flag indicating the overall health of a game when its needed.

ZOS can spin it in a positive manner if they merge within the same geography. They can simply say they are responding to requests for players to be able to play with each other across platforms.

Spin at the end of the day is just Spin. The people who are in touch more with the game will.knpw what's really happening. We all know somebody's gotta save face.

Yes, but as soon as they spin it, the official reason is the official reason and everything else is a conspiracy theory. Conspiracy theories have a nasty habit of being dismissed, even if they are accurate. Take a step back and look around. You might see other companies spinning things, and succeeding at it.

Spinning a server merge for the purpose of allowing console players and PC players to join up sounds like a cool feature, and a much requested feature. If ZOS says that is why they are doing it, anyone who rolls out and says "declining population" will be dismissed.

Four_Fingers · December 2023

Starter zones on PS NA are well populated with new players which is what they want.

MISTFORMBZZZ · December 2023

PS NA is busy, PS EU and xbox server NA and EU are not, specially not in comparsion with PS NA.

SilverBride · December 2023

If they merge the servers how would they handle duplicate names? Which player would get to keep the name and which would have to change theirs?

What about leaderboards? How would this affect those?

Just because one server is typically more populated than the others doesn't mean there aren't adequate players on all of them.

XSTRONG · December 2023

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

PS NA is busy, PS EU and xbox server NA and EU are not, specially not in comparsion with PS NA.

I would say PSeu is in a good state maybe not as much as PSna but I certainly dont think its low populated.

But thats what I think because we dont have player count so only Zos really know if any server is dying.

Tyrant_Tim · December 2023

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

PS NA is busy, PS EU and xbox server NA and EU are not, specially not in comparsion with PS NA.

Xbox NA is doing fine.

ESO is a revolving door. Most of the game’s resources are dedicated to advertisement and the crown store, so Veterans eventually leave, with more emphasis on new players joining. This is the same in any game that markets convenience.

With ESO on Game Pass and rated 4/5 Stars on the Xbox store you have people joining every other day, it’s not even remotely difficult keeping your Guild Rosters full.

Elsonso · December 2023

Dekrypted wrote: »

tbh cross platform gameplay would be great, but it's already been addressed,

Now that Microsoft own ZOS, they can easily reconsider allowing cross-play between PC and XBox. Sure, there are lots of issues, both technical and probably legal, and maybe they don't want to, but nothing in this space is insurmountable. The main barrier to XBox+PC seems to be that they need to want to do it. If that barrier is breached, it will be done.

I hope they do find a way to do crossplay for XBox and PC. Not because of population issues, but for crossplay reasons.

That said... we, the players, will be the last to know when anything happens on this front, and we will probably find out via leaks before any official announcements.

P.S. Playstation is an entirely different can of worms and may be a huge contributor to the "don't want to do it" thinking.

Warhawke_80 · December 2023

The same handful of folks keep this whole "The game is dying drumbeat" lately....my guild keep's growing, the towns are full and the delves are never barren...

But we need to merge servers because the game is dying...really we do...

XSTRONG · December 2023

Elsonso wrote: »

Dekrypted wrote: »

tbh cross platform gameplay would be great, but it's already been addressed,

Now that Microsoft own ZOS, they can easily reconsider allowing cross-play between PC and XBox. Sure, there are lots of issues, both technical and probably legal, and maybe they don't want to, but nothing in this space is insurmountable. The main barrier to XBox+PC seems to be that they need to want to do it. If that barrier is breached, it will be done.

I hope they do find a way to do crossplay for XBox and PC. Not because of population issues, but for crossplay reasons.

That said... we, the players, will be the last to know when anything happens on this front, and we will probably find out via leaks before any official announcements.

P.S. Playstation is an entirely different can of worms and may be a huge contributor to the "don't want to do it" thinking.

Merging xbox servers with PC servers? Yeah that might upset some playstation players for sure and I think they have the right to be upset if that happend.

Amottica · December 2023

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

Zos gave us the group finder but lets be honest it doesnt really help.

I have no problems finding dungeon and raid groups and do not bother with the systems to help a group. I have two guilds that are more than sufficient for meeting my needs. Heck, I had to cut back on how many times I raid a week because it got out of hand.

There does not seem to be a problem with the population.

Twohothardware · December 2023

Warhawke_80 wrote: »

The same handful of folks keep this whole "The game is dying drumbeat" lately....my guild keep's growing, the towns are full and the delves are never barren...

But we need to merge servers because the game is dying...really we do...

Veteran player retention is higher on PC than it is on console. Saying you see a bunch of people on one platform/region doesn't speak to the game as a whole.

Mesite · December 2023

I'd be happy if the servers were merged if it means I can access my PC accounts again. My laptop hard drive is too small. If they merge I can access them through my Xbox. Then I can get to my 6 million gold sat in my PC server's ESO bank.

I don't have a problem with the population on Xbox at the moment. I'm a bit of a loner though.

Sometimes on PC there were different instances of the same area. Several guild members were at the same Gryphon boss in Summerset but we couldn't see each other. When we logged out and back in we met up. I don't know if this happens on consoles.

Castagere · December 2023

OsUfi wrote: »

People who think ESO is a dead/near death game, don't seem to know what a dead/near death game is.

Yeah, this post is just too strange. I run into players all over the place in every zone. The OP needs to tell us where he is getting this from [snip]

[edited for baiting]

AcadianPaladin · December 2023

PC NA here. Game feels too crowded now - cities, delves, public dungeons. . . . I find myself trying to do more and more 'processing' and interactions in my homes because the cities with good facilities are swarming with players, exploding mounts spraying fire and lightning, duelers - just way too hectic to be enjoyable.

TaSheen · December 2023

XSTRONG wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

Dekrypted wrote: »

tbh cross platform gameplay would be great, but it's already been addressed,

Now that Microsoft own ZOS, they can easily reconsider allowing cross-play between PC and XBox. Sure, there are lots of issues, both technical and probably legal, and maybe they don't want to, but nothing in this space is insurmountable. The main barrier to XBox+PC seems to be that they need to want to do it. If that barrier is breached, it will be done.

I hope they do find a way to do crossplay for XBox and PC. Not because of population issues, but for crossplay reasons.

That said... we, the players, will be the last to know when anything happens on this front, and we will probably find out via leaks before any official announcements.

P.S. Playstation is an entirely different can of worms and may be a huge contributor to the "don't want to do it" thinking.

Merging xbox servers with PC servers? Yeah that might upset some playstation players for sure and I think they have the right to be upset if that happend.

It would also upset this pc player to the point of dropping the game (and three annual subs).

Tornaad · December 2023

Mmo population seems to think eso is in good shape and is even growing.
https://mmo-population.com/r/elderscrollsonline

Syiccal · December 2023

Castagere wrote: »

OsUfi wrote: »

People who think ESO is a dead/near death game, don't seem to know what a dead/near death game is.

Yeah, this post is just too strange. I run into players all over the place in every zone. The OP needs to tell us where he is getting this from [snip]

I'm guessing xboz eu, I play that server and it's definitely a really low pop, I barley see anyone in main cities other than the usual duelers, things take a while to sale in traders if at all, Group finders take time, pvp barley gets 2 bars even in 'prime time', IC is dead, battle ground ques are 10-20 min wait..
It's definitely not what it was a few years ago

[edited to remove quote]

Tandor · December 2023

Warhawke_80 wrote: »

The same handful of folks keep this whole "The game is dying drumbeat" lately....my guild keep's growing, the towns are full and the delves are never barren...

But we need to merge servers because the game is dying...really we do...

Time was when the game was dead on release because of ArchAge, Wildstar and every other shiny new game that turned out to be the one in trouble.

Apparently, ESO has been in maintenance mode throughout its history of new chapters and DLC releases, and now it's dying according to those who wish to switch from console to PC without having to start over. That's mainly what this is all about.

Meanwhile, the position remains that ZOS don't have a system that enables occupied databases to be merged or transferred, unlike when PC players were offered transfers to empty databases on the console launches, and they've maintained their position that they don't intend to develop such a system because it would be fraught with risks to the existing server databases. Even the PTS can only have the EU and NA databases copied across separately.

Mik195 · December 2023

And yet, every time I do a delve, I'm sharing it wilth a dozen other people which is annoying in a delve. From my perspective not only is the game not dying, but there are too many people in the delves, public dungeons and quests.

Mansquito · December 2023

Xbox EU definitely is in need of some assistance in this regard, I can't see why PS EU would be any different but don't play PS. Xbox NA is absolutely fine, and again I'm assuming PS NA wouldn't be any different.

Xbox EU took a hammering when the servers were completely unplayable and it probably won't recover unfortunately.

TaSheen · December 2023

Mik195 wrote: »

And yet, every time I do a delve, I'm sharing it wilth a dozen other people which is annoying in a delve. From my perspective not only is the game not dying, but there are too many people in the delves, public dungeons and quests.

Way too many in Vivec too, all day every day. If it wasn't so damn convenient to craft there, I'd find somewhere else to "live".

h9dlb · December 2023

PC EU/NA server merge would be good if they can sort out the ping

katanagirl1 · December 2023

PS NA seems busy to me, except right after events, when people just need a break.

It’s the start of the Cyrodiil campaign and we are back to having queues again.