If you aren’t aware of the server locks on Final Fantasy XIV, chances are you either picked a low population server or you aren’t coordinating with a clan/group of friends. During the open beta phase 4, a large number of servers were locked down in order to keep the population in check. With the launch of early access, Square Enix has once again begun locking servers in order to disperse population and prevent servers from being overloaded. The general reaction has been mixed, leaning toward negative, with complaints mostly related to being cut off from friends/clans.
As usual, both sides have a point. Gamers want to be able to log in and play with their friends with as little impediment as possible. Square Enix want to disperse the population more evenly among the servers available to prevent players from congregating on one or two servers, overflowing them while leaving the other servers empty and abandoned. To meet Square’s goal of not having unbalanced server population and ensuring that players on the more popular servers don’t experience heavy instability, server locks are a necessary evil. It is similar to NCSoft implementing faction locks on Aion servers to keep the sides from becoming any more unbalanced.
The server lock idea, however, will live or die in the court of public opinion based on whether or not Square Enix plans on allowing players to easily transfer over to their intended servers once the launch population levels out (unless we see the rare case where the population continues growing).
MMO Fallout 