Planetside 2 Server Mergers Displease Players

Have you tried the Planetside 2 server merger? Any time developers talk about merging to distant servers, East and West Coast North American servers, for instance, I feel a sense of apprehension. I comprehend the situations when the player base dwindles, making it necessary for the developers to take such decisions to maintain the game’s viability. However, it spells lag for me. It could perhaps be less problematic if the merging entailed moving everyone to a new server located in the mid-continent, providing equal access. However, building new servers is an implication as NA servers are predominantly located on both coasts.

Planetside 2 Server Merger Sparks Backlash Over Lag and Performance Issues

So, on hearing the initial announcement for server mergers for Planetside 2, I immediately assumed someone is bound to have a hard time. It seemed logical that the server with fewer players is migrated to the more populous server. However, the actual events unfolded differently. Instead of transferring players from the scarcely populated west coast server, Connery, to the east coast server, Emerald, the developers chose the inverse approach.

As addressed in MassivelyOP, a large number of erstwhile East Coast players now experience not just lag due to distance, but also server-related issues pre-existing the transition. Discontent among players is making waves on Reddit. Incredibly, a player pledged $10,000 to undo the server merge.

Regardless of the hyperbole, the player grievance managed to extract a response from the developers, albeit not exactly addressing the players’ concerns. The developers justified the merge as a necessity for the F2P game and outlined their strategies to resolve the issues. While they are not considering relocating the server currently, they were open to it as a last resort.

Assuming they iron out the issues, players might, in the end, adapt well. But it seems that merging players into the more populated, speedy server could have evaded the problem altogether. Especially in a shooter game, where lag can make or break the gaming experience. Yes, some players might face some lags, but the majority wouldn’t. Meanwhile, a Double XP event has been announced by the developers.