The time has finally come. My pocket universe of New World (Rivadeneya) is being devoured by Langoliers in preparation for a server transfer (along with three other small servers) to Yggdrasil.
While this may come as welcome news to players who were tired of low-pop server life, my small ingenious company has built itself a little island Shangri-La on our old server. One that we will miss.
The Ups and Downs of Low Server Pop Life
In the declining pop days of New World, Global chat would be full of people lamenting the lack of action.
“The server is dying.”
“It’s so dead in here.”
“Nothing to do.”
“Bored.”
Global chat would constantly bleat these complaints from exasperated players. Players who inevitably left for the greener pastures like Camelot or El Dorado. Those that stubbornly remained had a particular social profile. These were the loners, the DIYers, the players who weren’t ready to give up their homeland for greener pastures. And this group of old goats, formed a very tight knit community.
Our company of six dedicated players decided that our impossible dream of capturing a city, may become possible on a sparse server. We ran faction missions day and night. We took forts. We were pushed back. We persevered. Eventually, we were able to put together a bid to declare war on Brightwood. Not the fanciest, most income rich property, but a solid portal to the north and mid-level resource-rich area.
We drew upon an alliance with the largest Syndicate company left on our server – The Knights of Ni. We plied them with shrubberies and other Monty Python references. They were compelled to join the cause.
Having 20-ish dedicated players in a war is a substantial force on a de-pop server. We rolled the remaining Covenant forces and staked a claim to our very own town! Brightwood. That Brightwood could be owned by six stalwarts, is an impossible dream on any normal pop server.
The Downside of High Pop Servers
Of course, playing on a bustling server isn’t all hyssop and roses. Gold bots, fishing bots and orichalcum node campers can both ruin farming runs and manipulate the prices of market goods.
Want to use your arena orbs? Wait in line.
Want to camp Rafflebones? Wait in line.
Want to camp The Surgeon or the Pit Boss for trophy mats? Wait in line.
Wars and Invasions are by Invitation Only
If you’re not part of the secret cabal that runs your new high-pop server, you will not be selected for wars or invasions. These slots are reserved for high gear score, well-known pillars of the community. In the olden low-pop days, you could stumble into an invasion as a level 53, and the grateful townsfolk would give you a repeater to sit on and talk you through the whole process or waxing demons. On a high pop server, you’d better mail in your application including your entire gear breakdown and horoscope. Hopefully you’ll hear back in 4-6 weeks.
High Pop Servers Do Have Advantages
Being merged into a high-pop server isn’t all doom and gloom, though. The best parts of a high pop server include:
- The OPR queue is popping! You can play OPR as much as you want. On Rivadeneya, we were lucky to get two matches a day on weekends.
- The TP is chocked full of merchandise. Though top trophy mats and legendaries will be expensive, because a high pop server means you’ll be bidding against some of the richest folk in Aeturnum.
- World Tours abound. Non-companied, or lower level players can usually find a zerg to run around with and collects some elite chests to gain expertise.
Low Pop Personality Types
There’s a certain profile to the player who gravitates to a low-pop server. These are the older, more patient types who don’t mind farming 2,000 thick hides, because there aren’t any left on the market. Like Thoreau, these intrepid spirits are drawn to the wilderness, harvesting, logging and mining happily without worrying about how they can arbitrage motes to make an extra .10 gold per.
These folks will go out of their way to avoid others. They’ll figure out ways to ‘cheese’ Mines or Imperial Palace, just so they don’t have to rely on other humans.
Should you encounter one of these self-selected low pop types, exercise patience with them. They may be a bit grumpy to have been forcibly high-pop merged. They may prefer talking to turkeys and lynx than the likes of a city slicker like you. They may be mumbling about Langoliers like Bronson Pinchot. Exercise compassion and keep your distance.
