Last week, Mythic Entertainment's recently released Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning completed a series of server transfers which moved thousands from low population servers to medium ones. This transition had wide reaching effects on the community and a number of players and arm chair developers took this to mean the beginning of the end. Is it really? Should we give in and play Wrath of the Lich King or Fallout 3 until the next big thing comes along? Perhaps it's time to finally give up and buy a Wii? These are always an option but I plan to lay down a few reasons why we might not want to toss in the towel just yet.

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Is he Lonely?

It's important to understand that server transfers are just a natural part of MMO games whether it's to give players an option to move around or an attempt at population control. Every game you can think of at some point has asked people to move. Now of course the game did just launch a few short months ago but it isn't entirely unlikely they just overshot the amount of servers necessary. If you look at Age of Conan or Pirates of the Burning Seas, both admitted they didn't properly anticipate how many they'd need, and in fairness that has to be really hard to predict in the first place.

However following that train of thought, is it really fair to compare Warhammer Online to other MMO games which have come before? No game (excluding Dark Ages of Camelot of course) has ever built their foundation using Player vs Player as a measurement so why compare it to games who have done the opposite? Player vs Environment content works whether you have one or a thousand people playing. Unless you have a massive surplus or a level so low it's blatantly noticeable there is no reason to do anything about it. Warhammer Online doesn't have this luxury and is being proactive.

What about the end game? While one might argue you have to keep players engaged in Tier 1-3 in order to achieve the end game, some have already reached the pinnacle of RvR and are actively defending their cities in Praag, Reikland, the Chaos Wastes, and other areas. If there is a healthy group of people keeping the end game going it provides hope for everyone close to or just on that horizon. Bulking people together has likely bolstered these conflicts. The only unfortunate portion of this, is unless your city is being actively under siege you might not see the effects of this.

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Is Everything Dead? Not Likely

One of the most important aspects that can't be ignored under any circumstance is that full servers are required for the basic mechanics of the game to work. It isn't like other games where a low population just means it's harder to find groups or raids. Players themselves are the content so this might be something which must be tinkered with carefully and regularly. You'll find very few people who would argue the RvR system, when in balance, works very well and is extremely enjoyable. The other question to ask yourself is do you know anyone who transferred to another who wasn't happy afterward?

Finally, an unusual phenomena you might not have considered in relation to server populations is the current state of the economy. "He's reaching" is what you are thinking right? If you seriously consider the demographic of the average MMO game player we are just average folks with average jobs. A loss of disposable income and things like pizza rolls, the Playboy channel, and videogames start to take a backseat. As things begin to turn around and people have more money to spend you could very well see see a return of many players who will restart on these newly populated servers and revitalize the pre-T4 tiers and drive new interest in all aspects of Warhammer Online.

Now I'm certain this won't be enough to sway everyone, and you will find doom and gloom in every corner of the community from those who choose to see it. The glass is half empty, we are in a recession, and no sequels will ever live up to the original Star Wars. The point I'm trying to get across is there are plenty more stages the game would need to go through before people need to get concerned about the game decaying. With new classes, live events, and constant bug fixes rolling in weekly from Mythic Entertainment, Warhammer Online will likely enjoy a success for many years to come.