LotRO Devs Are Planning To Open More 64-Bit Servers As Transfers Continue Along

It's been three weeks since the transfers to the new 64-bit worlds opened up for Lord of the Rings Online, and the team is talking about adding another server for each region to help meet demand.

The transfer process has been anything but smooth for Standing Stone Games, as demand for transfers far outweighed the team's expectations. While The Lord of the Rings Online saw four total 64-bit servers open, two in both NA and the EU regions, it seems that this just isn't enough. 

To that end, executive procuder Rob Ciccolini mentioned on the official Discord channel that the team is looking to open two new 64-bit servers, one in each region. 

"We are looking at opening up new servers, on in the EU and then a couple of weeks later on in the US. When we do that we will open transfers between Orcrist and the EU server, and from other world to those two. We still have enough players on the 32 bit servers to warrant another server."

The new servers have been exciting, especially for long-time players who have dealt with the nagging lag issues that have plagued LotRO for years. The new servers aren't perfect, as there are still some issues to work out (something Severlin has been active in the Discord adressing these pain points), but they do offer a way to play a much more performant version of the nearly 18-year-old MMO. Since transfers began earlier a few weeks back, the team has processed well over a million character transfers, with the queue still trudging along. 

One way to try to alleviate transfer demand was switching off housing so there wasn't the mad land grab that often occurs in games. We're a few weeks into the 64-bit era and housing is still off, and there doesn't seem to be a hard date just yet as to when it'll be turned back on. Community manager Jerry "Cordovan" Snook mentions on the LotRO forums that the team is "working toward being able to open housing on at least some of the worlds," but stops short of giving an actual timeline for people to work with. 

Regardless, it's exciting to see that the demand is still there and that the LotRO team is reacting to it in a way that makes sense. More servers is always a good idea, especially as the populations have reached heights that even Ciccolini hasn't seen since starting to work on the MMORPG.