Union is generally higher populated, but your BEST option to see if it's what you want, is to roll a new toon and play on Union for a few days. That'll give you a better feel for it.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
What FFM said, roll a test toon and see if you like it.
I usually find Union's nicer to be in, but I know Defiant people who say the other way around (not that I believe a thing Golden Girl says anymore. 
).
Your best bet really is to roll up a toon and give it a go.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
In the last number of weeks i've moved the bulk of my play time from Defiant to Union and on both Heros and Villains from 6pm-10pm Mon-Fri and Sunday most of the day , i find Union to have on average 33% more people on.
Getting a team is so much easier though i miss my SG peeps on Defiant , thank goodness for Global Chat at least
What you have to remember though is the time you play, iv noticed a lot lately that there is a lot more players on after 8pm than the old(er) peak time of say 6pm.
Just take that into account when scouting the population Also feel free to join in on our random atlas chats 
@Damz Find me on the global channel Union Chat. One of the best "chat channels" ingame!
DONT ROLL A NEW TOON
Imo this will create a false image of the server for you, at the low lvls you will meet people new/newish to the game and as great as some of these people are they will taint your experience, especially if your used to teaming with friends on Defiant.
Your best bet imo, is to move 1 of your more team friendly Alts across, play a few missions as a memember/leader.See if you like it, this will provide damage mitigation to your wallet.
I personally play loads on both, have 50s on both, PVE and PVP on both. Theres not a load of difference Maturity wise, tho there is deffo more players on Union, sometimes almost twice as much especially on Villains.
Yea i agree, all rolling a new char is gonna confirm is that there is life in the lower zones, which you know anyway.
This is the thread you are looking for: [linky]
Hmm, I've found Union to have 27.376% more level 13.6 Blasters on Wednesdays than at any other time!!!
Or something.
The thread LeighB mentioned shows these numbers, I've no idea how true they are, but they are probably at least as true as mine above:
server population at 2008-07-18 GMT+2
hero....villain...time..server
(290.....195.....18:05 triumph
301.....188.....18:08 protector
335.....195.....18:10 guardian
312.....249.....18:13 victory
292.....267.....18:15 pinnacle
416.....182.....18:19 champion
373.....205.....18:21 liberty
427.....187.....18:24 justice
407.....302.....18:27 infinity
849.....671.....18:29 virtue
1352...901.....18:32 freedom)
414.....271.....18:34 union
242.....146.....18:39 defiant
(112.....78.......18:42 zukunft
239.....136.....18:44 vigilance)
�How do I like my MMOs? I like them the way Paragon Studios used to make them.� - a fitting tribute from kiasa.org
EU, Union mostly.
Followed by:
2008-07-18 GMT+2
Hero....Villain..Time....Server
(425.....313.....22.24...triumph
446.....325.....22.26...protector
484.....269.....22.28...guardian
414.....332.....22.31...victory
436.....313.....22.34...pinnacle
538.....271.....22.36...champion
514.....251.....22.38...liberty
561.....276.....22.40...justice
539.....502.....22.42...infinity
1163...880.....22.44...virtue
1545...1114....22.47...freedom)
538.....354.....22.51...union
359.....213.....22.53...defiant
(162.....96.......22.55...zukunft
325.....194.....22.57...vigilance)
Times stated are, effectively, UK time so out of hours on the US side, but it is the poulation when we are likely to be playing. I'm guessing this is from a /search so hidden don't show.
�How do I like my MMOs? I like them the way Paragon Studios used to make them.� - a fitting tribute from kiasa.org
EU, Union mostly.
Damn it must be lonely on the German Server.
Defiant 50's
Many and varied!
@Miss Chief
Best strategy is to move all your higher-level toons to Union.
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[url="http://www.the-cow.net/"][color=red]The CoW Network (Blog) /[/url][url="http://www.collegeofwar.com/"][color=blue]/ College of War[/url]
[ QUOTE ]
Damn it must be lonely on the German Server.
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I think it'd be the opposite - almost everyone must know everyone else - it'd be like an extended family 
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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Best strategy is to spread your toons around the servers.
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Fixed
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
[ QUOTE ]
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Damn it must be lonely on the German Server.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think it'd be the opposite - almost everyone must know everyone else - it'd be like an extended family
[/ QUOTE ]
If you can get a team its usually pretty good...IF.
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
[ QUOTE ]
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Damn it must be lonely on the German Server.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think it'd be the opposite - almost everyone must know everyone else - it'd be like an extended family
[/ QUOTE ]
If you can get a team its usually pretty good...IF.
[/ QUOTE ]
Well, yesterday 1am when i tried making some cyborg toons it was
Defiant 57, Union 72, Zudunkf 41.
That aint that bad
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
The numbers in that list where done by /search by a friend of mine (Vanex)... he actually did them by hand. GR claimed that the total avarage of population on Union and Defiant is roughly the same. Practical information from search shows a higher population on Union. So... we can assume that either Defiant plays on other times or has more hidden toons. Last can be true as Defiant has more PVP-ers.
But PVP-ers or hidden toons will not help you find a team fast. So if its teams you like to see... Union is youre best shot.
I actually found myself moving more and more toons from Defiant to Union. Still have a nice bunch on Defiant.. but the list gets shorter every day.
I am guessing since the extra slots came available... there is a slow but steady migration going on. Wonder how empty a server must be to be officially closed down.
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IMO they should make a small differences in each server, one with a slow XP rate but a lot of quests(RP server) and one with a slightly higher then normal XP rate but less quests to do.
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IMO they should make a small differences in each server, one with a slow XP rate but a lot of quests(RP server) and one with a slightly higher then normal XP rate but less quests to do.
[/ QUOTE ]
No, just no. I'm not even going to waste my time explaining why that's a bad idea.
Sam: "My mind is a swirling miasma of scintillating thoughts and turgid ideas."
Max: "Me too."
Stuff
Funny I have had no problem getting a "full" team for the last 3 weeks with my PB on....
..wait for it...
..Defiant
or any of my Alts..
Happy to be on Defiant.
Global name @mereman
Member of P.E.R.C. Representing Defiant
Alts http://cit.cohtitan.com/profile/4488
CoH faces http://faces.cohtitan.com/profile/mereman
[ QUOTE ]
Funny I have had no problem getting a "full" team for the last 3 weeks with my PB on....
[/ QUOTE ]
With.. or without global channels, SG and friends?
Imaging a new player getting on the Defiant/union server, how would they feel you think? I get a scary deja vue with the current state of AoC..
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
well, AoC is going to merge servers, which I hope CoX won't do for a while, or better yet, don't merge at all.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Funny I have had no problem getting a "full" team for the last 3 weeks with my PB on....
[/ QUOTE ]
With.. or without global channels, SG and friends?
Imaging a new player getting on the Defiant/union server, how would they feel you think? I get a scary deja vue with the current state of AoC..
[/ QUOTE ]
All PUGS believe it or not
Happy to be on Defiant.
Global name @mereman
Member of P.E.R.C. Representing Defiant
Alts http://cit.cohtitan.com/profile/4488
CoH faces http://faces.cohtitan.com/profile/mereman
[ QUOTE ]
well, AoC is going to merge servers, which I hope CoX won't do for a while, or better yet, don't merge at all.
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Its a fate eventualy all 'less' populair will face. New players getting on a nearly deserted server wont stay long, trials halfway left and eventualy the stayed people will move.
tabula merged their 3 EU servers into 1, now if you come on the server as new player its nice active again, active chat and lots to do. Likewise the big servers as freedom on the US, the very first moment you log in, you get overwhelmed by the ammount of heroes running around.
AoC has some nice tricks, main hubs and first part mostly solo, GW has town-based missions, WoW got alot outside fighting, while in CoH 90% of your time you are inside a 'closed' mission, 8% you are traveling and the remaining 2% you either stand afk or at AH. Interaction with the 'community' thus is rather small.
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
[ QUOTE ]
tabula merged their 3 EU servers into 1, now if you come on the server as new player its nice active again, active chat and lots to do.
[/ QUOTE ]
Where did the other 2 come from? As far as I can remember there's only ever been 1 EU server for Tabula Rasa, Centaurus, which has been there since launch. The other 3 are based in the US.
I'm contemplating moving a few characters from Defiant to Union. However, i'm not sure whether or not to do a mass migration or just a scouting party.
Does anyone have any numbers on the player populations of the two servers ? preferrably at various times during the day , or can anyone tell me how I go about getting these numbers - or is it a case of log on and see.
thanks
ps. no, i'm not starting a Dooooooooooom thread. just a question.