Guild Wars 2

The question “How do I server hop” a.k.a move between the overflow servers in Lions Arch was asked on the Guildwars 2 Guru forums in relation to forming groups for FoTM.

I thought Id re-post my reply in case it helps folks who only frequent these forms.

Guru thread http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/76091-overflow-server-hopping/#entry2097299

Please Note: The STOP ‘lf1m’ posts, use lfg site! sticky relieves the need for this. This humble post is intended for the folks who choose to not use that service.

The Process

…of overflow server hopping (I refer to it as bouncing) is to continually log out to the character select screen then back into the game over and over. In doing so your character is placed into a new/different overflow server for the map that you’re located in each time.

This is typically done in maps like Lions Arch when searching players to join for dungeon runs like FoTM. Each time you log out and back in, you’re placed in a different overflow server, you advertise for what you’re looking for, rinse & repeat. Once the group has all its five players (or whatever it is you’re looking for), 4 of the 5 party members will “join in Lions Arch” to the 5th to be placed in the same overflow server as the 5th before entering the instance.

This is possible because overflow servers house players from across all servers, thus one has the ability to quickly search through hundreds (if not thousands) of more players than if you were stay put to advertise in one/your current (overflow or home) server.

Extra Stuff

In GW1 we didn’t have to do this exact process because

1) there was a proper group finder in each city/hub (added to the game sometime after launch)

2) more accurately, cities with high population were divided into “districts” that one could choose from a drop down list.

In GW1, once you joined a group from the group finder you were automatically pulled from your current district into the district the rest of the party was in without having to do a “join” in x.

Personal Theory

In all honesty GW2 is like GW1 in the sense that once could feasibly play with any player from anywhere in the world due to the district drop down menu. In GW2 they call it overflow servers, but really they are “GW1 like districts” in a layman’s technical sense.

Regarding home servers, I think perhaps Anet did this to create the sense of home servers (in part for WvW) and create an environment for a player population who is used to the idea of the separate (home) server(s) topology.

Thanks for reading,

Green

IGN: Greenth | Mantra Of Gwen | Dwäyna