Server splits, which servers?

[Alanthus]

With BC coming up and server splits pretty much bound to happen with the influx of both old and new players to crowded realms.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/threa ... 6319&sid=1


It would be very interesting to see a list of %queued servers in descending order from the one with the most %time queued the last months or so to get an idea of which servers are prime candidates for this dubious honor...

[Rollie]

Here you go, top 25 list of servers who were seen as queued :

Times Server
309 Draka
281 Draenor
275 Durotan
261 Feathermoon
247 Silver Hand
244 Perenolde
242 Warsong
228 Anvilmar
225 Shadowsong
224 Duskwood
224 Aggramar
220 Dragonblight
220 Scarlet Crusade
218 Silvermoon
215 Blackwater Raiders
213 Uldum
211 Blackhand
208 Shadow Council
207 Windrunner
204 Bronzebeard
203 Korialstrasz
199 Garona
199 Alleria
197 Whisperwind
190 Greymane

First column is the # of times the server was seen as Queued since Dec 1.

[Rollie]

A separate type query:

This is the top 25 by time entries. Data is the average horde activity plus the average alliance activity during primetime server hours. Included for references is the count of time entries found in the query:

Code: Select all

theCount	tsum	Server
278	3460.9089	Azjol-Nerub
175	3341.6444	Cenarius
23	3217.9018	Draka
8	3180	Alexstrasza
12	3162.3636	Darkspear
119	3128.1388	Aggramar
57	3090.1	Mal'Ganis
36	3081.1615	Windrunner
23	3072.7	Durotan
139	3069.2268	Emerald Dream
85	3055.204	Silver Hand
41	3055.1326	Nathrezim
16	3055	Destromath
40	3050.2759	Alleria
21	3049.7223	Draenor
288	3041.797	Kirin Tor
65	3035.8722	Thunderhorn
74	3035.5479	Hellscream
57	3032.0555	Cenarion Circle
54	3031.6703	Icecrown
30	3026.7083	Dalaran
29	3026.4697	Perenolde
60	3024.5111	Stormrage
144	3023.9492	Blackwater Raiders
122	3023.4225	Garona

[Alanthus]

Interesting, I can see some servers that will definately be prime candidates for a split, especially the older ones that are likely to get a surge of returning players. It's also interesting that some servers that have had population issues in the past now doesn't seem to be at risk for a split *crosses fingers*

[DM.]

Oh snap Silvermoon is there....

And I thought my realm wasn't that big
It seems like 3000 is the max queue number for 'most' realms too...


How often are the scans for the queues done?

[Naraht]

I would like to point out that many of those servers have recently, or are currently ones that have had the option of free charactre transfer.

Also, talk on the Blizz forums is that when BC comes out they will likely be upping the limit on how many people can be online on a server at any time.

[Alanthus]

They state in the post that they will be offering free transfers and that they will be upping the limit, in some ways it may also be a way to scare people to use free transfers.

The upped limit is also mentioned and has been mentioned before but keep things in perspective, a server like Warsong has had 10+ free transfers and still has a queue it's likely to gain a lot more than say 500 concurrent players from returnees as well as new players and given all the free transfer offers in the past people remaining are less likely to move off it voluntarily.

The data above gives us an indication as to which servers might be at risk for splits but only the Blizzard Networking team will ultimately decide, I would guess things like unstable intermittent hardware/sotware issues that they have been unable to trace for years on some servers may make a server a candidate as well, kill two birds with one stone and all that...

[oiseaux]

I am really not liking this new idea. I think overall it is a BAD idea. So my server Emerald Dream in the top 10 of the 2nd list you posted. It doesn't matter what they call this, it is a forced realm transfer. Just because they are taking ED and cutting it in "half" does not mean that it is going to be the same ED. It could be better or worse. Then if you get on the new realm and it sucks, you are forced to pay $25 to move back, which is total bull. ED has some positives and negatives just like any other server. However even though we have 300 queues nightly until about 1am, we have no lag whatsoever. Who is to say that the new realm won't be a lag fest. =/

I see Mal'ganis being the first realm to split. Some of these servers though have been a community for a long time and forcing these communities to split is a horrible fix...Like my other server Dalaran, I would be crushed to lose all of my friends that are in several different guilds just because Blizzard can't figure out a way to create a better balance on servers.

[Balgair]

Got any stats on EU realm queues there, Rollie? Mine doesn't seem too bad so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't get split - as I don't really know many people outside my guild it wouldn't be too bad but losing touch with Horde friends would hurt, and frankly I just hate the idea as a whole.

I never see queues over about 150 though, usually more like 50 or no queue at all... some of the servers I census on the other hand get as high as 500 at peak times (which means I don't census them much )

[Rollie]

The Euro site hasn't gotten with the times on how to display the queued status so I only have that data on the US servers right now, sorry =/

[Balgair]

Ahh, I see, no worries then - didn't know where you were getting the info from Our site always is behind lol

[xpolockx]

I see Mal'ganis being the first realm to split. Some of these servers though have been a community for a long time and forcing these communities to split is a horrible fix...

Yeah, we're very worried about an impending server split. A lot of us have been on mal'ganis since release or close to it, and nobody wants a server split. I agree that I think it's a scare tactic to hopefully encourage people to take the free realm transfer... but I do think they will go to it if enough people still don't leave.

As it stands our queues can be bad enough, but they could be bad enough when BC comes out to make Mal'ganis unplayable once a lot of the old players who have quit until the expansion come back. My guild talked about transferring with the free transfers, but ultimately decided not to because there's so many of us that have friends, some RL friends, not in the guild that we don't want to leave behind.

I know it's not an easy problem to fix, but there's got to be a better way then forcibly destroying 2 year old communities.

[oiseaux]

I see Mal'ganis being the first realm to split. Some of these servers though have been a community for a long time and forcing these communities to split is a horrible fix...

Yeah, we're very worried about an impending server split. A lot of us have been on mal'ganis since release or close to it, and nobody wants a server split. I agree that I think it's a scare tactic to hopefully encourage people to take the free realm transfer... but I do think they will go to it if enough people still don't leave.

As it stands our queues can be bad enough, but they could be bad enough when BC comes out to make Mal'ganis unplayable once a lot of the old players who have quit until the expansion come back. My guild talked about transferring with the free transfers, but ultimately decided not to because there's so many of us that have friends, some RL friends, not in the guild that we don't want to leave behind.

I know it's not an easy problem to fix, but there's got to be a better way then forcibly destroying 2 year old communities.

I agree completely with your post. The economies on those servers are going to be out of whack too. Who's to say how much of the economy's gold and items will actually get moved to each server. Also if you get "stuck" on the less populated realm, then you went from having queues to only seeing 25 people in IF. =/ I would rather wait in a 200+ person queue each night than to be on a low population server. I have been on one and it is not much fun. Oh man, I am really not liking this..at all.