The Great Server Purge, announced several days in advance, has wrapped up on Balmora. It was one of the biggest technical operations on this Metin2 private server in recent times. The staff first warned players about the deletion of inactive characters, empty accounts and old event items, and once the work was done, they confirmed that the purge went smoothly. According to the Discord announcements, the difference in how the game and the admin panel run is already noticeable.
This wasn't a regular restart or a quick maintenance break. Over the years, Balmora had accumulated a huge amount of dead data: old accounts, unused characters, leftover event items and remnants of past events. The staff stated plainly that the database contained more than half a million accounts and characters, and keeping them was putting a strain on the server. The goal of the purge was to slim down the database and prepare the project for the next stage of development - the announced Balmora Reborn.
The Great Purge on Balmora - what exactly was removed?
The purge rules were announced on Discord several times so that players had time to secure their accounts. The basic condition applied to characters below level 75. Characters that had not been active since January 1, 2025 were subject to deletion. Characters at level 75 and above were marked as safe and were not to be deleted as part of this operation.
The staff also explained that the purge mainly concerned characters, but in some cases it could affect entire accounts. If no active character remained on an account after the inactive ones were removed, the account could be deleted as well. In practice, this meant that players with old accounts had to log in before the maintenance and check whether they had characters they still wanted to use.
A key part of the announcements was the warning that deleted characters, accounts and items would not be restored. The staff stressed this several times, leaving no room for later requests. If someone had an old character below level 75 and didn't take care of it before the purge, they had to accept that there would be no way to recover it once the work was finished.
For players following the Metin2 private server ranking, this is an interesting example of a major overhaul of a long-running project. Balmora isn't a new server starting from scratch, but a project with several years of history, so a database cleanup like this means something completely different than a routine cleanup after a seasonal event.
Old event items have disappeared from the server
The second part of the purge concerned old event items. The staff had announced earlier that leftover items would be removed from inventories, storage, warehouses and any other places where they might be sitting on player accounts. This covered items from past events that had stayed in circulation for a long time or were simply lying unused in the database.
The list of items marked for permanent removal included, among others: Pumpkin Seed, Jack Pumpkin's Pumpkin, Blue Gift, Cupid's Overlay Chest, Easter Radiant Casket, Mega Mount Chest, Chocolate Bunny, Summer Radiant Casket, Starfish, Birthday Radiant Casket, Autumn Radiant Casket, Winter Radiant Casket, Beach Ball, Frozen Crystal, Ice Ornament, Carrots, Carrot Casket, Grains of Sand, Sand Casket, Bad Santa's Sack, Candy Cane, Christmas Radiant Casket, Spring Radiant Casket, Viking Chest, Nasty Crab, Gift, Backpack, Notebook, and pink and blue Cupid's Chests.
This is important information not only for active Balmora players, but also for anyone watching the Metin2 private servers scene. Old event items can affect the economy, item circulation and the overall state of the database for years. In this case, the staff didn't present it as an economy rebalance, but as a technical and organizational cleanup before the server's next stage of development.
Maintenance took longer than planned
The first announcements said the work would start on June 2 and last a few hours. In practice, the operation turned out to be more time-consuming. Even before it started, the staff warned that the database was very large, problems could arise and there was no honest way to predict exactly how long the whole process would take.
During the work, a notice about extended maintenance was posted. The server wasn't forced back online at the originally planned time, because the staff wanted to be sure the operation had been carried out correctly. The database backup was expected to take the most time. They chose the safer option - copying everything to a separate server so that, if anything went wrong, Balmora could be restored to its pre-purge state.
That's actually good news for players, even if the downtime itself may have been frustrating. In an operation covering accounts, characters, storage, warehouses and event items, rushing could have led to a much bigger problem. The staff made it clear that they would rather do the purge once and do it properly than have to undo mistakes caused by bringing the server back too quickly.
After the purge, Balmora should run more smoothly
After the work was completed, the staff announced that the purge had gone smoothly and that no major problems had been reported by the time the announcement was published. According to the Discord posts, the server runs noticeably better after the database was slimmed down. The effects listed include faster game logins, less lag, smoother account and character handling, faster character loading, more stable server performance and a better foundation for Balmora Reborn.
It's worth keeping expectations reasonable, though. The staff themselves wrote that this isn't a magic button that fixes everything at once. It's more of a first big step toward getting the project in order. Over the years, Balmora had piled up data, old characters, items, bugs and leftovers from earlier stages. Much of that baggage has now been removed, but the announcement also hinted that this wasn't the last database cleanup.
For players, this mainly means a more stable starting point for further changes. If the server is about to enter its Reborn stage, getting the technical foundations in order first seems logical. It's hard to rebuild gameplay, events, systems and community activity when the database itself is weighed down by years of backlog.
Code CZYSTKA as compensation for the extended downtime
After the purge was finished, the staff added the promo code CZYSTKA for players. It's meant as compensation for the extended maintenance. The code has to be entered in-game. The announcement didn't detail its contents, so it's best to treat it simply as a post-maintenance bonus rather than full compensation for the time offline.
This is a fairly natural move after longer downtime on Metin2 private servers. Players lose a few hours or more of playtime, the staff carry out a major technical operation, and afterwards a code appears to soften the impact a little. In this case, though, what matters most is that the code was released only after the work was finished and the purge was confirmed as complete.
Balmora Reborn - a first real step, but not yet the launch of a new edition
Balmora Reborn came up several times in the announcements. The staff strongly link the Great Purge to preparing the server for the future, but at the same time they don't present the operation as Reborn itself. That's an important distinction. The purge isn't a new edition, a restart or a full rebuild of the server. It's a stage of getting the foundations in order before further decisions are made.
Sudden wrote plainly that Balmora is ending the stage of carrying old baggage and starting a stage of cleanup, rebuilding and preparing for the future. In practice, this means the community can expect more changes, but their final scope still depends on the staff's decisions and players' feedback.
Players have been invited to share their thoughts on the propozycje-reborn channel and in the comments on Balmora's Facebook page. The staff encourage not only throwing out loose ideas, but also explaining why a given change would matter for the server. This suggests that Reborn isn't meant to be just a technical reset with a marketing name, but a broader process of gathering community expectations and setting the project's future direction.
For anyone comparing Medium Metin2 servers and Hard Metin2 servers, Balmora's development may be worth watching. The server is associated with Medium Hard gameplay, so a potential Reborn will be especially interesting for players who enjoy longer progression but don't want an extremely slow game.
A refresh of the 100+ stage and the end of support for the old Academy client
The purge-related announcements also included side information that matters to active players. The staff announced the end of support for the old Academy client. A refreshed client has been made available on the Balmora website. The changes are said to be subtle, but the staff encourage players to download and reinstall the game, as the new client should run better and more smoothly.
The important thing is that there's no need to panic. According to the announcement, the main server client will continue to work, and the end of support applies to the Academy client with the black icon. Even so, players who used the older version should switch to the new one soon to avoid problems with future updates.
The second change is a refresh of the 100+ stage. The staff wrote that after the team integration, work picked up pace and changes were prepared for the range up to level 150. Some elements were made easier, others harder. Some bosses received more HP or regeneration, while others are meant to give more experience. The goal was to adapt this stage to the current state of the game.
This matters because the 100+ map was added in early 2022. Since then, the server has gained new systems, stronger gear and mechanics that have changed the pace of the game. The update to the 100-150 range is therefore meant to bring this part of the game in line with Balmora's current state, not just add cosmetic tweaks.
Guild League Summer Cup and a football-filled June
With the purge topic closed, the staff also announced new activities for the community. The Guild League is back, this time as the Summer Cup League. According to preliminary information, it's scheduled to start on July 4 and end on August 30. Sign-ups will be handled privately by the person in charge of organizing it, and a dedicated announcement on Discord is coming soon.
Rewards are set to include, among other things, a guild costume for the top 1 and SM for participants. The details may still be clarified in a separate announcement, so for now it's best to treat this as an announcement of the return of guild competition rather than the full league rules.
June on Balmora is also going to be heavily football-themed. The staff have announced a World Cup prediction game, dedicated events, free IS items and other football-themed attractions. The highlight will be a prediction league organized by OJCIE3C and Mraskus.
After a big technical operation, activities like these can be important for the server. The purge cleans up the database and improves the foundations, but it's events, the guild league and regular communication that keep players engaged with the project day to day. If Balmora really wants to enter its Reborn stage with stronger community involvement, the coming weeks will show whether the technical cleanup is followed by a clear revival in the game.
What does this purge mean for Balmora players?
For active players, the key information is simple: the staff consider the purge closed, and the server is running after the operation. Old inactive characters, empty accounts and the announced event items have been removed. The promo code CZYSTKA is available, and further announcements will mainly focus on upcoming events, the guild league and plans related to Reborn.
For returning players, the picture may be more mixed. If someone hadn't logged in for a long time and had characters below level 75, some of their data may be gone for good. The staff announced this in advance and made it clear there would be no restores. On the other hand, accounts with active or higher-level characters were to be preserved in line with the purge rules.
For Balmora itself, this is a symbolic moment. The server hasn't received the full Reborn yet, but it has finished a stage of technical cleanup that the staff present as a necessary step before further development. If the announced community consultations translate into concrete decisions, the coming weeks could be important for the direction of the entire project.
You'll find more information about similar changes on the private server scene in the Metin2 news section. It's also worth checking the full Metin2 server ranking to compare Balmora with other active projects and see how the server stacks up against the current scene.