The science fiction MMO WildStar is transitioning to four mega servers. German, French, and English servers will be merged. Roleplayers are hit hard as they lose their roleplay-marked servers and have to make do with a chat channel.
There will only be four servers worldwide for the SF MMO WildStar. Two for PvE, two for PvP, separated by North America and Europe. This follows the model of The Elder Scrolls Online. Guild Wars 2 also took this path just in April.
WildStar sweetens the merger with free realm transfers
The transition from the current system to “mega servers” is confirmed. Game Design Producer Stephan Frost recently mentioned in an interview that they want to ensure solutions are presented for the issues associated with a server merge. Players should feel that such a merge brings benefits. It seems Carbine has found that solution, as once again, the Director of Operations Cougar was sent to deliver the news.
No more combined English, French, and German servers
To combat the “Tower of Babel” problem where suddenly three different languages are spoken on one server, they want to implement different language channels. Roleplayers should also find their place here. Three separate “RP” channels will be established for them, divided by language.
While the boundaries between individual servers that unite into a mega server will disappear, they will still exist between the four mega servers themselves. Players will not be able to switch from EU-PvP to EU-PvE or vice versa. The regional lock remains in place.
This is how WildStar wants to solve the problems associated with a server merge
WildStar aims to solve persistent issues with server merging as follows:
- Identical character names should not cause issues; with the server merge, surnames will be introduced.
- If guilds on different servers that are being merged have the same name, the oldest guild with an active leader will retain it. The other guilds will be marked for now until a solution is found later. They will likely need to rename themselves.
- Previously, players could have 6 characters on one server; this number is now increasing to 12. Those who have even more characters on their account after the merge can keep them, but they cannot create new ones.
- The friends list will remain intact and will be updated.
The aftermath of the guest passes?
My MMO thinks: This was probably inevitable. WildStar relies on active servers. Cougar states: “This in turn allows for more characters, more groups, more activities, and more raids … more of what makes WildStar so exciting.” He is absolutely right. Just to keep the raid operations going, which is one of Carbine’s crown jewels, a well-populated server is essential.
At release, players were invited to the servers with guest passes. This caused an incredible influx at the beginning, which faded and left ghost servers behind. The situation, as Carbine must have seen, likely would not have dramatically improved in the coming months.
The server merge now referred to as “mega servers” is likely a result of this “guest pass” decision at launch. Initially, they were pleased that they had to add numerous servers in the early days because the queues on the PvP servers became too long. The aftermath of that action has been seen in recent weeks.
Most players, especially in the USA, should benefit from the server merger and find a significantly more vibrant WildStar in their environment after the transition.
Roleplayers and non-English speakers will likely be hit hard
Roleplayers, who depend on their neighbors thinking like them and everyone adhering to certain rules, are hit hard.
Also, us Europeans who insist on speaking different languages might be demanded to make compromises with the transition to the mega server. However, the core clientele of WildStar likely shouldn’t have issues communicating in English. Those who started playing WildStar solely because it offered roleplay servers or was playable in German might turn away from the game in frustration. The number of players who would abandon the game due to excessively empty servers is likely much higher.
Short-term, WildStar will certainly hear some mockery from critics and have to endure one or another “free-to-play” jab. In the long run, this transition will likely be the right, if not the only right decision. And it is better to communicate it early and clearly than to hide it for a long time and delay the inevitable merge.
