Normal or PvP server?Follow

I'd like to hear some opinions on the two main server types. I still haven't decided which would best suit my play style.

Here's my current impressions:

Normal servers are not really PvE servers as they are often called, there is still a ton of PvP going on, but it is mostly consentual. Dueling, faction fights, and City raids are still in. Battlegrounds will be added later. You can make a character from any race on the same Normal server to see all sides of the story and share items with alts etc. The drawback seems to be that it makes people less committed to thier "side" and since the factions seem to be a key part of WoW universe it takes away from the flavor of the game a bit. I had thought it would be a more watered down version of the game, but in open beta it had all the content and still lots of PvP going on.

PvP servers were what I had originally wanted to go on, PvP adds a nice extra dimension to the gameplay and setting, but now I'm not so sure. For the most part the big exciting PvP content (city raids etc) is no different than Normal servers. A few times during the open beta I got into skirmishes in disputed territory that were alot of fun, but other times I got PKed while I was minding my own business questing in these zones and that was bit annoying, but the death penalty is so minimal it wasn't a big deal. I do like how PvP servers force you to have only characters of that faction on the server, it just seems like it commits the player to thier role more and makes a more immersive sort of environment.

Also, WoW's current "honor" system for PvP is a little wonky. High level players get penalyzed for killing lower levels (standard anti-griefing stuff) but the current system doesn't account for self defense in any way. Basically if a low lvl attacks you, you either die and loose honor or fight and loose honor. Then again, not sure this is even an issue since it is clear that blizz is still tweaking this.

When I think about it, my main goals in the game will probably be endgame raid dungeons (think Onyxia), and PvP would be more of an secondary concern (that and my GF that plays with me isn't to interested in PvP atm, but she may come around).

I'd be interested in knowing what people think of the server types and how they think the communities for the different servers will be. Will PvP servers have more "serious players" and thus a better shot at winning endgame raids? or would the normal servers have people more serious about that sort of quest? Also, would the Normal servers appeal to more pacifist types that wouldn't be intersted in using the city raid and battleground cotnent that is still available?

Looking foward to hearing everyone's thoughts



- currently without a sig
- Retired lvl 74 paladin from FFXI

Edited, Mon Nov 22 03:04:25 2004 by Talik

Yeah, I'm going PvP... The biggest reason I'm doing it is for the immersion. I know if I saw somebody that I hated in a fantasy setting (D&D or something where killing isn't totally banned) I'd have a go at them, not ask.

an RP PvP server would be great.

I think that especially in warcraft it would be much easier to RP on a PvP server due to the hatred between the horde and alliance... it would make for some very fun and interesting gameplay doing it this way

I will be goin PvP server simply because i think that it will help with geting into the game and making it more exciting

Edited, Mon Nov 22 03:22:08 2004 by Lunak

I don't think the PVP server will have more serious players or anything like that. They'll definitely be more competitive against each other, but as for winning a prized raid, I think both servers will attempt those equally hard. I played to about level 20 on each server, and I'll throw my comments in here about them. Note that these are my experiences, and I'm not trying to generalize everyone into one neat category.

I went PVP at first, and took a warlock to about level 21. I thought that this is the type of game I want, kill or be killed, to add that extra sense of intensity. What I found, however, was that my contested zone PVP consisted of me fighting a mob then being blasted from behind in a weakened state. I'm primarily a solo player unless the quest calls for more, so my other experience was being steam-rolled by parties of the opposing faction. I enjoyed it somewhat, but I can easily see how it will soon become a gankfest, and seeing as how the durability PVP hit has been removed, and the rewards are so abstract, I didn't really see the point of the PVP server. There was little risk and little reward, making even equal match-ups rather meaningless. He dies, I gain a smidge of "honor," and he just runs back to his corpse. I die, shrug, and run back to my corpse. There wasn't any real meaning to what I was doing, and could easily see a downside totally negating any fun I would have - namely being repeatedly ganked by a higher level.

The average player I had to experience on the PVP server was of a standard lower than what I saw on PVE. I had to turn off General chat nearly everytime I entered the game. It was full of "pwnage" and leet-speak, and totally aggrivating. The intensity these people were showing made it seem like we were fighting for our lives inside the Thunderdome, rather than playing a game for fun. It was more "serious" in a meaning like that of being killed will cause you physical pain. Like maybe the guy who just killed you will come to your house and smack you across the face. I had a level 34 in the first stress test on a PVP server and this was basically the same experience as before.

My time on the PVE server was more enjoyable for me, anyways (shaman at 20, I believe). On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst, General chat on PVE was about a six, while PVP had it churning along at 9. People were generally friendlier, and I didn't see too many blatantly offensive people trolling the chat. There were a couple well-knowns who, because of the back-log of GM calls, repeatedly spammed the chat and weren't banned, but for the most part it was rather civil. I missed being able to take action against Night Elves who ran into the Barrens, but I'm not sure if losing that made up for the trouble later in the game when I'm sure mass-ganking will take place.

It seemed to be a more leisurely pace, rather than "I need to grind levels out so I won't be vulnerable to ganking." I enjoy PVP, but I'm not sure I want to be forced into "OMG come help noobie, y u on pvp server tehn if u not fight??" every day. I would've loved for Blizzard to have announced anything about Battlegrounds, because right now I have no clue what's going on. Have they been tested internally and will be in at release? Will they be patched in later? We don't know anything. Knowing at least an outline of their plans would help me pick my server at launch, because I'm still not sure which one I'll begin on.

Even without Battlegrounds, there still wasn't a lack of PVP available on the PVE servers. Running around while PVP-activated kind of encourages people who enjoy that sort of thing to do it themselves. Then after one of you tires of it, you go on about your questing business.

I really don't think the server type you're on will have a major impact on your end-game experience. Many of the old school, major EQ guilds are setup on PVE servers, alongside transfers from other games. The PVP'ers are definitely more vocal about their accomplishments, which kind of fits into the entire mindset of why one would play there, but I doubt that somehow the entire population of skilled raiders will end up on PVP servers.

I'm going PvE, my computer can't really handle PvP. I was going into Undercity near the end of the beta, then I froze for about a minute. When I unfroze I saw a bunch of lvl 20-40 alliance people trying to raid Undercity.