*Crickets*

SomeHuman

• Social is missing for me.  I figured I'd drop a quarter to play the game over Spring Break.  I knew what I was getting into after reading and watching Twitch.tv, but I was still surprised at how quiet it is.
• I've spent seven hours in game and I've been messaged only twice-- by gold farmers.  No one else has communicated with me.  No one.  I'm trying harder than normal to be friendly, but it seems like everyone has their guild-phones on even at levels 2 and 3.
• Not only that, but there has been zero discussion in Alliance chat or any of the chats.  I've asked for help once relating to the map, and no response whatsoever.  It's worse than P.V.E. zones in GW2.
• I'm hoping that eventually people will need groups to complete quests, which will force people to at least acknowledge others.  Maybe from that I'll find a guild.  It is just so damned quiet in terms of community.
• Everything else is exactly what I expected from a polished M.M.O.R.P.G. of this sort.  I'm enjoying the game and not bee-lining for objectives or power-leveling, smelling the roses so to speak.
• Has anyone else experienced this?

Foomerang

Could be your server. I'm on balmung and it is quite social.

Foomerang

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Originally posted by DMKano
I havent played it since launch, but I imagine that at this point the population is a small %.Subscription games retention rates post first month on average are 30-40%, and then they keep a steady decline each month (WoW and EvE are the 2 exceptions)The other factor is that most of the remaining playerbase is at end game, which doesnt help.

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I had a queue logging in yesterday afternoon. Not saying you're wrong but at least on balmung, it is still packed. OP, you can also look up linkshells which are player made chat rooms basically. You can ask around on your server for newbie friendly ones. Or even a newbie friendly guild. These are all pretty normal steps to take when looking for a more social experience in an Mmo.

ZizouX

Originally posted by DMKano

I havent played it since launch, but I imagine that at this point the population is a small %.

Subscription games retention rates post first month on average are 30-40%, and then they keep a steady decline each month (WoW and EvE are the 2 exceptions)

The other factor is that most of the remaining playerbase is at end game, which doesnt help.

lol.

 

YoshiP just posted his producer letter apologizing for server issues due to SERVER CONGESTION.

 

The problem isn't that the servers are dying.. it's that they can't hold the amount of people trying to log on.  

Hyanmen

Originally posted by DMKano

I havent played it since launch, but I imagine that at this point the population is a small %.

Subscription games retention rates post first month on average are 30-40%, and then they keep a steady decline each month (WoW and EvE are the 2 exceptions)

The other factor is that most of the remaining playerbase is at end game, which doesnt help.

ARR's retention rate averages 40%, yes.

There is no sign of a decline though, quite the opposite. The fact SE continues to release the game on different platforms and regions further cements that trend (something that most MMO's fail to do, resulting in little growth opportunities).

I guess the fallacy here is that since other MMO's decline = ARR is no exception. ARR is fueled by SE's gold coffers and not the investors' (which also makes ARR an exception with WoW), and you can see it in the way ARR continues to pump out the same amount or more content while other sub games slowly lose dev support due to overestimated returns and a shift to F2P.

Yoshi-P will even go to GDC to talk about his firm decision to keep the game P2P next week. The F2P advocates are in for a rough ride as will be proven time and time again.

SomeHuman

Population isn't the issue; there are tons of toons hopping around.  Maybe it is the server.  I'm on Behemoth.  I think the guild thing is also part of it.  I shouted for help earlier today and got a tell back.  Nice chap.  Followed immediately with an invite to his guild.  It's just that a big part of why I grew to like M.M.O.R.P.G's is the chatter.  Something about it soothes my mind while I disconnect from reality and play.  It hit me pretty quickly how quiet it is.  It could be that I'm still in a starter area, too.

Foomerang

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Originally posted by SomeHuman
Population isn't the issue; there are tons of toons hopping around.  Maybe it is the server.  I'm on Behemoth.  I think the guild thing is also part of it.  I shouted for help earlier today and got a tell back.  Nice chap.  Followed immediately with an invite to his guild.  It's just that a big part of why I grew to like M.M.O.R.P.G's is the chatter.  Something about it soothes my mind while I disconnect from reality and play.  It hit me pretty quickly how quiet it is.  It could be that I'm still in a starter area, too.

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Yeah I don't know how other servers are, but balmung is full of chatter. Mainly because it is an rp server and there are alway people role-playing at the adventure guilds in every city. I do a ton of farming and everywhere I go, there is usually a conversation happening in shout.

Hyanmen

Originally posted by Foomerang
 

I do a ton of farming and everywhere I go, there is usually a conversation happening in shout.

 

God I hate this. Nobody wants to hear about your feelings of the game or some lame drama/joke. Keep it to yourself.

The less dumb kids chatting in shout the better the community.