Layering, You think you do, but you don't. Explained

WoW Classic WoW Classic General Discussion
1

Since I have not seen what blizzard intends on capping each realm at this is all still a toss up. But unless the server is capped at 5k or below and that is layered , layering will not work. I assume blizzard wants to do 10+k and take advantage of layering and their promise of it going away after a few weeks is bogus. The world can not sustain much over 5k players without adjusting node spawns and other things in the world. They are either lying or hoping that every server population falls so they can remove layering.

With that said, during the latest stress test I logged in about 20 minutes before it ended and saw so much chat about bosses in cities. Since I was on the zeplin headed to undercity, I figured I would go see what all the noise was about. After ariving to Undercity and running all the way to the boss room , I did not see ANYONE and when I came to the boss room I was ALONE looking at the summoned boss. So much immersion that I had to ask for an invite to a different layer so I could participate…

Also layering gives the opportunity to avoid world pvp encounters. Lets say you land in Tauren Mill and the alliance have taken over the town, with out layering you have a few choices, run, call for back up, or log. BUT with our good friend layering you can just ask for an invite and BOOM, world pvp avoided continue questing at your own pace…

I can only see 1 positive for layering but I can list many more negatives. The positive is a smooth launch, but it also removes that authentic vanilla fresh realm rush.

Again if server caps are 5k or less I am forced to be ok with this process, but if the cap is above 5k layering can not be removed without changing more core components of the game or EVERY servers population falling below 5k.

I would like some server cap blizz posts and or more information about how they plan on removing a system that is put in place to allow more people on a realm than it can handle. If the populations do not fall and classic does way better than what they wanted , what are their plans?

But seriously having to ask to be invited to a layer so you can participate in an event in the world takes everything classic was meant to be and flushes it down the toilet. I should be able to run from any where and come upon these events. Not show up and notice I am 100% alone. Or try to answer a call for help , only to arrive and not see anyone around…

Ion said he wants to keep true to vanilla, well layering does not do that at all and undermines the whole concept of what they are trying to accomplish.

My rant is over and I know blizzard will not change their darn mind, but know this, I will abuse this system in every way that I can. Starting off with making leveling way easier by avoiding people. As stated you can easily avoid world pvp just by swapping layers.

6 Likes
3

I started a thread about this already.

2 Likes
4

I completely agree. Especially the part about the macarena.

1 Like
5

People their did not understand how layering if the pops are high can not go away. They just think it magically will be removed. But if the serves have more than 5k people it CAN NOT just go away. The world can not sustain that. I would like to see blizzard say what the caps will be because that will be the tell all.

1 Like
6

My interpretation of what they said: one ~3k layer and a login queue by the time phase II rolls around (or earlier). With transfers off the server offered too.

The login queue is how they can remove layering at the point in time they wish. Of course if the server is way overpopulated will be a major queue.

1 Like
7

Pretty much. Layering is a terrible idea designed to appeal to tourists who have no intention of leveling past 30, yet those who want to play long term have to deal with it.

3 Likes
8

That only happens if the population of a server falls. They have said i believe each layer will have 3 k people. So how many layers, 3 , 4 ,5 ? 9,12,15 k people? So they magically will remove all those layers down to 1 layer with 3k people? Unless 10+k people quit , this can not happen. Forcing a login que to deal with layering is a piss poor way of removing layering. That is worse than just hosting as many servers as is needed to handle everything.

1 Like
9

The login queue will limit concurrent players to 3k. So the others in your example are queued up.

10

I edited my post, thats a piss poor way of removing layering my dude.

1 Like
11

They specifically stated layers would be round 3k, and yes layering is a bad solution to sharding. You will still see people port in/out in front of you just less frequently because it’s not dynamic but user driven, but it doesn’t provide any positives ie; only having to compete with 40-50 people for mobs.

You just have an all around negative experience… low mob counts compared to players, porting in/out, server que times…

12

Yes, each layer on a realm is 3k, times how many layers? And when events happen and mad people hop on one layer, everyone who didnt hop is left alone. layering and sharding do not belong in classic. One troll guy should be able to hold a bridge captive for as long as he wants and the entire realm should know that guys name. But with layering that is not the case. No matter how you spin it, layering only offers ONE positive and that is maybe a smoother launch, other than that it is riddled with negative impacts on the vanilla game. And that smooth launch might not be what people remember who played back in the day and this layering affects their experience.

1 Like
13

Well after layering is removed, it is like vanilla with a login queue with only one realms of people playing normally, so that part is good.

But if they overpopulate the servers too much (due to more demand than expected) then it may be a bit rough…but I am holding them to their word to remove layering when they promised even in that case.

I am with you too that I don’t like any incoherence in the world.

1 Like
14

You went through an effort to post in Latin. +1 for that.

15

More Servers, Longer Queues - You think you do, but you don’t.

Until someone comes up with a realistic alternative, this is what we got. It was a suggestion by the community…

16

Until anyone can list more than a smooth launch as the only positive to this horrible idea, there is no point in arguing.

You set the server cap at a little above what the ideal number should be and move on to the next server. This whole layering nonsense is for a smooth launch and can only be removed if the server dies down to that ideal number. Assuming they will die, which many of the first servers with layering will not die down and we will be left with many super high pop servers forced to xfer. Then if the 7k capped servers die down to low numbers you still are offering server transfers. In either situation free server transfers are going to be offered.

And what is wrong with more servers? If they all have the intended cap that just means that the game is doing better than they probably expected. Like I mentioned no matter what you do here, server transfers are going to happen. So why sacrifice the integrity of the game for a fake news smooth launch? Would having servers capped at 7.5k not make a smooth launch? When its full, you move on to the next realm down the list until you get in. BOOM, you’re on full server , FRESH, good to go.

17

Clearly you haven’t been reading much about the positives.

The biggest one, ignoring a smooth launch as the 2nd biggest one, is that they don’t need to add a pile of servers to meet demand. Because once the tourists leave, you are left with a 1000 dead servers instead of 100 full servers.

As someone who played on both full and empty servers in Vanilla, the benefits of a full server cannot be understated.

18

My comment on another thread about this same issue. I have added to the number count. Now at 13, with 14 being a strong duplicate.

19

Would have to find the source again, but they stated that there will be a “hard cap” on players per sever (even with layering). If they are smart they would limit it to no more than 2-3 layers before putting overflow in a queue, then reducing that max player cap as the server quiets down and as a result lower the max number of active layers until they are removed.

20

It was Brian Dawson talking about queues in the Dev interviews, I think with StaysafeTV.

1 Like