Updates to Load Balancing Zones (AKA Pickzone)

So, xp group in PoFire. 34 people in base, my group in the only pick. About 10 minutes after I picked over and joined the group, someone else wanted to leave, but the replacement couldn't pick over, the pick was locked.

So the group picked to main pick, to get the replacement in, losing the charmed pet along the way.

But then, there were 40 in the main pick, which seemed to be enough to open up the other pick again, after all.

So, we lost time and charmed pet for a locked pick that was very quickly unlocked, just because we moved from the pick to the base....

I think the numbers need to be adjusted a bit, I don't think this is how it's supposed to work.

Patch tomorrow is supposed to lower the threshold to spawn a pick. It should be better all around after the patch tomorrow if the numbers do come down.

Do we know if anyone on Test has actually done any... testing... and reported numbers for a few zones? I'm very curious to see how much the numbers come down.

This is exactly how it's supposed to work, unfortunately.

Has anyone noticed any differences since the patch?

Not sure how to comment on this.

I've been in heavy zones, and thanked the EQ gods for empty picks. But one thing I do understand is how much CPU load on the servers is being used when a pick with 1 person is up. And I understand the reasoning behind closing it (which apparently many posters in this thread seemed to gloss over).

Gonna see how this plays out on Phinigel.

I think we've all accepted that "this" is the way it's going to be no matter what; however, many of us have also proposed that "if the picks are going to despawn when they're not longer utilized anyways, there is very little reason not to allow picks to exist so long as there is a group in them." Obviously group is not = 1, but kicking out a full group in the middle of an exp night is unacceptable imho. I think we all are fine with unused picks being collapsed, it's the used ones we're upset with being collapsed (also the fact that spawning new picks was previously nearly impossible without a raid rolling through, though that MAY have been changed now... waiting to hear the general consensus.).

I think a combination of the previous method and this method would be ideal. If a pick AND either another pick or main zone are below the threshold, then the pick that is below the threshold closes.
This should at least allow for if a pick closes, any group that is in that one would likely be able to get a camp in what is left because one of the others is also below threshold. Will they be able to get the exact camp? Not always, but because two of them are below when one closed, there at least there should be camps open.
Getting rid of the lock feature is definitely important though to stop people from getting "private" picks through manipulation of zone numbers.

Yeah, and that would be fine. There needs to be some middle ground, and that's the problem right now... I realize that the change is the result of "server instability," (even though that wasn't the original reason given)... but the change is far too punitive at this point. There's basically "Guess what guys, that wonderful feature that you all love so much that basically saved Ragefire and Lockjaw in the first couple weeks... we're taking it away. Completely. Deal with it." And all of the future changes that were detailed in the previous post (where it was not blamed on server instability) were simply *MORE* punitive.

So how does this work now? A couple hours ago I zoned into CoD with a full group. There were 25 people there in the main pick, but there was another pick with 0 people in it. We picked over and hunted there for over an hour. Shouldn't that pick have kicked us out since there were only the 6 of us in there?

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

I would assume that the main pick always stayed above the threshold to spawn another pick. So if that's the case, then there will always be the main instance and 1 pick open, even if there are zero people in the other pick. If the main pick ever fell below the threshold though it would then close the pick you were in.

Complicated Well it worked out and I am happy for now.

was in a CoD group, pick spawned at 22 and kicked with 9 in it. Got pushed back to base pick which now had 24, new pick spawned soon after and we picked back over, was there for an hour when pick locked and we got pushed back to base pick. base pick was camped (2 in rats one in Carpin Tunnel) and was not able to support another group but not enough to spawn a new pick.

So it sounds to me like the threshold to open a new pick is pretty close to decent, but the threshold for closing a pick isn't. Would that be fair to say? Or is it really cool to kick groups out of a pick in a game where 1 hour is barely even the start of a group's average camp time?

When you get kicked out of a pick, do you land at the same exact spot in main pick, or do you arrive at the succor/zone in point ?

Some of what was going on before was sticking an afk alt in an unused pick to keep it open. Including picking in and out of that pick as required to get extra xp in easy areas (eg in The Deep AE groups - clear out the east, pick over, do it again, pick back, etc). Or picking through a particular named camp, keeping PHs down in 3 picks for that one drop...

Hopefully they can adjust so that these changes fix those issues, and free up resources without badly affecting most of the players who may want some xp in a camp, and not to be particularly disturbed there.

The corpses are never moved to the base zone. They are lost.

No, I totally understand the reasoning from both server stability and exploit perspectives... But since they can't seem to decide on their reasoning, it's hard to offer meaningful suggestions to them other than "FIX THIS CRAP" -- but seriously...

Kicking out a full group an hour into a camp is unacceptable. If they want to consider 1 person holding a pick open an exploit, then start banning people for it -- don't punish the (majority) who are just trying to have a good time in a game they love.

Ya if you die in a locked pick you lose your corpse, its lame. That's silly that the pick closes when theres enough to spawn a new one after closing.. it's supposed to be like 1/3rd the threshold counting two picks worth, at a time (base + 1)

Since the new /pick system has gone in place, has anyone been able to recover any of their corpses from a pick zone that closed?