***The Bad Grid***

Firstly, i'd like to say a thankyou to Ark Odimandas who took the time and patience to listen to me and help me with my problem, despite there wasnt much he could do. He helped me learn some interesting information as well that has helped increase my zoning time. Ark needs more people like this.


My problem arises with THE GRID
Since NW it is terrible, many people i know that it's become slow, laggy and many people crash in it. Even now after the last patch was meant to help it. (okay it did a bit, but the problem seems to be coming back twice fold)

Rubber banders also have lots of trouble in the grid.

And an essential QUEST to fixers is also ruined by the grid at peak times.

I am a fixer, and the quest to get in the fixer grid requires at the end what is known as "The great NPC race" where you have to run to and from about 4 NPc's within ten minutes of each other to suceed and gain your winning entry into the Fixers grid.

The new lagged and crashing grid though makes this nigh on impossible for some fixers to do though.

On the 2nd of the 4 NPCs, i had to get from Sally in MeetMeDere, to Brenda in Home in Broken Shores.
Sounds easy? It would be if the grid was like it used to be.
It took me *3* minutes to zone out of MMD, and a further *4* minutes to zone into Home, leaving me not enough time to get to the NPC.

Earlier in the quest, i crashed several times going in and out of the grid, that could've happened in the great race as well.


The basic premise is simple. The Towers exit in the grid is the root cause, simply because when a tower is attacked, people pile into the grid and use the grid to tower exit.
Me and my friend also noticed that we think there may now be multiple grids, since we were both in the grid at the same time, and at the same place, and couldnt see each other. Meaning that FC has implemented Shop System "overflow" to the grid, multiple grids to cope with the influx of the mass of people running to the tower exit.
If this is the case, then it hasnt solved the main problem, since the lag and terrible crashes and rubber banding are STILL there.



The Suggestion -

THE only thing i can suggest, is simply a Tower Grid. A tool to use on the nearest grid station to give u the choice of going straight to the tower, and not take up space or information by going INTO the grid itself.

Some fixers cant afford to go online in the daytime when america isnt online, just so the grid is more stable to do a quest.

The grid problem needs addressing, and the lovely ark told me that your friends list might also be something to do with the problem, since they think that the amount of people you actually HAVE on your list, increases lag and zoning time. (If that's the case, then half the problem lies with the chat client)

Either way, these issues need addressing and soon, otherwise i can only see more problems like this, arising.

If people are causing alot of the lag gridding to there towers would it may be better to maybe make a warping nano that takes you to your tower?


It could maybe be an nano you pick up by right clicking on your controler after it has been placed in the area and the only requirment it needs is that your a member of the guild?

Not a bad idea Svendor, it would lessen the traffic of people running out form BS missions to save the towers:p

There's always been multiple grid playfields, like Camelot. And the grid never had problems before, except for a small bug where you "walked" slower if you had shrinking bracers on.

So it isn't a recently put in solution, fyi.

Team up with 4 Engineers that can Beacon Warp you to each NPC. That way you avoid the Grid all together. Kinda goes against the spirit of the grid quest, but hey, I guess it'll get the job done. Hunting for those rare bot drop is a pain in the ass.

If the volume of traffic heading to towers is part of the problem, why not simply divert them at the grid terminal instead of inside? When you click the grid, couldnt you just get the option of heading to your towers, or to the grid, kinda like you get now when you exit the grid to your towers? That would keep all of the tower traffic out of the grid, and still make the grid the path to the towers.

Might be better to make that a seperate terminal somewhere to help keep people from grouping in front of a grid point which in some spots is also the point u zone into.