I was a little too late to reply to the "Wipe post" that was created earlier today; it has since been closed. I'd like to at least give my personal input and some suggestions as a pretty active player and a level 250. When I created this initial post roughly a month ago, I saw the writing on the wall.. the server population was steadily decreasing and that was before a certain PS released which I knew would take away even more of the population.
In my opinion, Yuna is the greatest server I've ever been a part of. It is vanilla in the way classes, skills, and bosses function, yet has its own twist on certain aspects that I've come to really enjoy. However, YunaMS from day one has always been a small server. The group of us can definitely say we found a home here, and that's why we stay no matter the player count. However, a majority of PS players jump from server to server to enjoy exciting, new content. We cannot keep all of them obviously, but we need to figure out how to keep some more. Because lets be honest with each other, once the player count dips below roughly 20 players online, there is no coming back. As a prospective player looking for a new server, would you join a server with 20 people online? The answer is no 99/100 times and you can't blame them. So although the population has been steady between 40-50 players online at all times, this is crunch time.
Before I get into what I think needs to improve here, let me preface by saying that I think Yuna has done an amazing job. She has always been kind, open-minded, and on top of the server with little to no delays. So I think I speak for all of us when I say thank you and keep up the great work.
Below are some improvements I think the server needs:
1. Yuna needs to add people to her team. I know it is easier said than done to trust people enough to help you with your "baby", but you cannot do it all! Add people to take care of the day-to-day nonsense or look for people to strengthen your weaknesses. You aren't a great developer? Reach out to people who are. (Just an example) There are a handful of loyal players who I personally think would be great GM's for this server. Pretty and Natalka come to mind immediately.
2. Get rid of/add changes that were previously made to adapt with player population. When the expedition SP point fiasco happened, I understood why the change was made. Now the player count is cut in half and I think a revert is necessary. Let the more funded, more experienced players help the new players without them having to worry about losing out on SP points.
3. The burning event was genius, but it was implemented a little too late unfortunately. People had already made up their minds about joining the new server hype. However, events such as the burning one would normally boost player count and keep players engaged, especially during the lower level grind. I think another event such as this in the near future would help significantly once the new server hype dies down.
4. Maybe it's time to add some hyper skills or even link skills. I'm not saying lets get every class to 250, but maybe every class you hit 150 on, you get a passive buff or something of the sorts. Adding even one feature that sticks out compared to other servers will go a long way.
5. I'm going to add this suggestion, but I'll be honest when I say I have no idea how it works. Maybe marketing the server in other places would catch more eyes. Whether it be mmorpg, old school maple, gaming websites, an ad banner or something of the sorts may bring new people in.
Like I've said, these are just my opinions. But I keep seeing people say things need to change, yet they give no input whatsoever. If I can atleast get people thinking, maybe somebody can come up with even better suggestions.