Would I be better off transferring to a US server?

[Mnemonic]

I'm getting back into the game after an absence and so far I've been playing exclusively solo. Back in the day I loved doing door & radio missions with random PUGs, but it seems that the vast majority of players online are fully IO'ed level 50 indestructible steamrollers of death running incarnate content, and everyone lower is power-levelling in AE content to get another fully IO'ed level 50 indestructible steamroller of death to run incarnate content.

 

I originally stopped playing not long after the invention system was introduced (life got in the way) so I've never really wrapped my head around it and my planned build for my main toon is all SO's. While there's a lot of QoL improvements since then, the invention system just seems too time consuming to bother with compared to SO's.

 

So, would I be better off transferring to a more populated server and tolerating the latency to improve my chances of finding other players like me?

Edited October 24, 2021 by Mnemonic
typo

[SeraphimKensai]

You could. Or you could always try and give the invention origin system a shot. It seems daunting at first, but you can use MidsReborn to make builds offline, and the test server to test builds for free before you invest the influence for them on the actual servers. Once you find a build you like you can work on gearing towards it and still play on random pugs.

 

I do that quite a bit, but all my toons are typically fully IO'd before I really play them as I enjoy making and trying out builds.

[Mnemonic]

I don't think the IO system is beyond my understanding, the issue from my point of view is the time investment it requires; I'd rather stick with a quick and easy SO build and get back to the parts of the game I like most than to do all the planning and grinding needed for an IO build and end up spending less time enjoying the game.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Mnemonic
typo

[Triumphant]

If you switch to a server with a larger population, there is going to be a better chance that you can find other players that like to play with just SO's.  However, most people seem to level to 50 pretty quickly, so I think you'll still find it challenging to join PUG's.  Your best bet is probably to start your own PUG's on a high-pop server with something like:  SO only, lvl 27 radio missions lfm.

 

Or a similar tagline.

[Icono04]

On 10/25/2021 at 9:58 PM, Triumphant said:

[...] so I think you'll still find it challenging to join PUG's.  Your best bet is probably to start your own PUG's on a high-pop server with something like:  SO only, lvl 27 radio missions lfm.

This is solid advice.

 

While transferring to the server which has the highest population (in your timezone! are you in the US?) gives you are better chance to find like-minded players, it is fair to say that you are looking for relatively small subset of the player population. So it is a big help if you boost your chance of finding them by sending out a precisely worded LFG invite.

 

Edited: Added a missing word.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Icono04

[UltraAlt]

On 10/24/2021 at 6:03 PM, Mnemonic said:

I'm getting back into the game after an absence and so far I've been playing exclusively solo. Back in the day I loved doing door & radio missions with random PUGs, but it seems that the vast majority of players online are fully IO'ed level 50 indestructible steamrollers of death running incarnate content, and everyone lower is power-levelling in AE content to get another fully IO'ed level 50 indestructible steamroller of death to run incarnate content.

 

I rarely - very rarely - play content above level 50.

I run on and lead PUG teams, task forces, etc.

 

I have characters on all the servers. If I can't find a team on one then I switch to another one.

I will say that I do some marketing waiting to see if someone is LFM.

 

On 10/24/2021 at 6:03 PM, Mnemonic said:

I originally stopped playing not long after the invention system was introduced (life got in the way) so I've never really wrapped my head around it and my planned build for my main toon is all SO's. While there's a lot of QoL improvements since then, the invention system just seems too time consuming to bother with compared to SO's.

 

You can do fine with SO's below level 50.

Your characters will, however, function better if you get some IO procs or sets going.

You can always discuss it with your team while PUGing.

 

On 10/24/2021 at 6:03 PM, Mnemonic said:

So, would I be better off transferring to a more populated server and tolerating the latency to improve my chances of finding other players like me?

 

I game on Reunion when I can during daylight Europe time. I don't experience much lag, but I have a fairly good internet connection.

Unfortunately, I can't game on Reunion on during the evening hours or before midnight Europe time ... and I can't play on weekends at all.

 

If you are going to transfer, I would suggest going to Everlasting or Torchbearer rather than Excelsior. As Excelsior is the most populated, you may have increased lag issue dependent upon your internet speed and computer processing speed.

 

If you think you might lose your name changing servers,  I would suggest simply making a new character on the server that you want to checkout versus bothering with transferring them.

Edited October 29, 2021 by UltraAlt
I have characters on -ALL- the servers.

[Hyperstrike]

On 10/24/2021 at 5:03 PM, Mnemonic said:

I'm getting back into the game after an absence and so far I've been playing exclusively solo. Back in the day I loved doing door & radio missions with random PUGs, but it seems that the vast majority of players online are fully IO'ed level 50 indestructible steamrollers of death running incarnate content, and everyone lower is power-levelling in AE content to get another fully IO'ed level 50 indestructible steamroller of death to run incarnate content.

 

I originally stopped playing not long after the invention system was introduced (life got in the way) so I've never really wrapped my head around it and my planned build for my main toon is all SO's. While there's a lot of QoL improvements since then, the invention system just seems too time consuming to bother with compared to SO's.

 

So, would I be better off transferring to a more populated server and tolerating the latency to improve my chances of finding other players like me?

You don't need to start a setup looking to build an end-setup.

Run and level as you wish.  The access to SOs early on, and the ability to upgrade them as you level makes things easier.

Then, when you're nearing 50, if you REALLY like the character, you can look around for a planned end-build and go godlike.

Also, the "servers" are all virtualized now.
So they're all on the same set hosts.

There is no "EU" server per-se in terms of "this one is geographically closer to us".
The difference is merely a cultural and demographic one now.

The "EU Server" is the EU server because this is where the Euro contingent of players has chosen to call home.

[Mnemonic]

Thanks everyone for your replies and advice, you've all given me a lot to consider.

 

I did try transferring my main to Excelsior and Everlasting just to try them out connection-wise and thankfully didn't experience any noticeable lag playing on a US shard from the UK, but in both my main's name was already taken, which was a surprise.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Mnemonic
yet another typo

[starro]

You probably could have best of both worlds with free transfers.  Naturally need to keep an eye on and bases or supergroups. 

[Icono04]

On 10/28/2021 at 2:08 PM, Hyperstrike said:

There is no "EU" server per-se in terms of "this one is geographically closer to us".

Sorry to be pedantic, but the Reunion server is physically located in Germany, and the other 4 are located in Canada. Unless they changed that when I wasn't looking - wouldn't be the first time :)

Not a big deal, though. I myself play from Denmark and don't notice any significant difference whether I play on Reunion or one of the North American servers.

[Triumphant]

Lag is probably more likely if you're an American playing on Reunion, as we have such notoriously bad internet service thanks to throttling and the like.  😛

[RogerWilco]

The IO sets take quite a bit of investment, but just the general IO's only take common salvage and will work well enough, even for quite a bit of level 50 content. I have level a 50 toon without any IO sets.

 

And sometimes you can get some things cheap on the Auction House, people craft these things just to level up and then dump their inventory. Just put out a few low-ish bids and usually you can get what you want in a couple of weeks. No need for even crafting the generic IOs. A few will be hard to get this way, like Accuracy, Health and Endurance Modification.

 

I take forever to get to level 50 (I have nearly full incarnate level 50, and one that doesn't have any incarnate powers yet). I have like 30 alts.

But I don't PUG much, I mostly play with a fixed set of friends, with whom I also play other games. There are quite a few groups on the server with their own discord channel or server, join one of those. Unfortunately the Super Group doesn't really work that well in City of Heroes as a guild or fleet does in other games.

[Sorn]

Hello Mnemonic,

                            I am a U.S. player too on Reunion. I don't play like most players as you described. I play the old fashion way. Yes I have one main hero who is 50 and incarnate but guess what I did it the old fashion way.

 

Took months.

 

I am mainly at the moment, working on my main villian who now reached level 40. I plan to do the same for the most part with my other toons as well, one day.

 

So I will be on red side for awhile. I just started the villian patron stuff with my main on red.

 

Main hero on Reunion is Tizar.

Main villian (right now) on Reunion is Zappras.

[Gerald_Deemer]

After playing on Reunion I have to admit that this is inevitable. This server will be merged with another one in the near future. I hope all the bases can be rescued somehow. But Renunion lacks of active and permanently players. Think of the server costs and the poor utilization. 

[Glacier Peak]

On 11/12/2024 at 7:29 AM, Gerald_Deemer said:

After playing on Reunion I have to admit that this is inevitable. This server will be merged with another one in the near future. I hope all the bases can be rescued somehow. But Renunion lacks of active and permanently players. Think of the server costs and the poor utilization. 

To anyone reading this thread, everything quoted above is false.

[Gerald_Deemer]

I´ll be watching the server population for months. I worked for a server rental company for about 10 years. I don´t think Homecoming wants to waste donation money. I just want them to keep a very close eye on this server as this shard could turn out a waste of money, menpower and time.

Edited November 16 by Gerald_Deemer

[jkwak]

Reunion was left in Europe to throw players from there a bone when the other shards where moved to North America, i dont think they will merge Reunion in to another shard, it will probably another shard with low population that gets merged in to Reunion.

although .... i play on Everlasting and i dont experience high latency or lag, not that it matters to much for this type of game

[Gerald_Deemer]

Exactly. It doesn´t matter what server gets merged into another, the main thing is to reduce costs and elminate the cost causer. And merging is the only way to do it without loosing player generated data. Except the bases. This would be a big challenge I guess.

I really love the game and thats the reason why I care about server populations because it was my daily business and I´m experienced in this stuff. But love doesn´t pay server bills and as a donated project we should be double aware of server costs and possible cost savings.

[Lunar Ronin]

The four North American shards all use the same hardware, so there'd be no cost savings by merging any of them.  It'd just result in headaches and players leaving.

 

While Reunion is on its own in Germany, the server it uses is also used as a backup for Homecoming's operations, so they have a vested interest in keeping the server hardware online.

 

I.e., there won't be any shards shutting down anytime soon.