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There are over 150 Realms that players can roll characters on in World of Warcraft (WoW). These servers are broken down into four types, which only somewhat simplify a player’s decision as to which Realm to play on. Usually, players choose a random server when they begin playing WoW, and never realize that the atmosphere of the different Realms is actually very different. A recent thread at the official WoW forums gives some advice as to what the “best” Realms to roll on are.

The list is interesting for a number of reasons. While the author tries to place a disclaimer on his selection, she, and many other posters, maintain that the list is very accurate, and only in a few cases were arguments brought up disputing a particular server choice. Of the seven servers selected for inclusion on the list, only two were PvE, and only one was a “normal” PvE server.

This last fact is rather interesting, given that most would be inclined to think that PvE servers would be preferred for raiding, but this happens not to be the case. Admittedly, three of the server categories were PvP-specific, but that doesn’t forego the fact that feedback on PvE servers has been less than stellar. Some have argued that PvP servers rise above PvE gameplay because despite the annoyances PvP can bring, PvP servers offer more to the player. Based on posts in the official WoW forums, it seems that this opinion is fairly widespread.

Of the “best servers” listed in the aforementioned thread, only Earthen Ring stands out among servers as fostering the best community of players. Earthen Ring is an RP server, which has made a strong name for itself. Unfortunately, having a high population, it is unlikely that character transfers to Earthen Ring will be allowed.

The other PvE server listed is Lazy Tiger, and seems to have been added as an afterthought. The server doesn’t boast any significant accomplishments, but appears to have a decent atmosphere, good raiding guilds, and solid Battlegrounds matches. Still, the server doesn’t boast what many of the PvP servers do, such as Black Dragonflight, a PvP server noted for having the best raiding experiences. More interestingly is the fact that people left PvE server Hyjal to sign up for Black Dragonflight, including Hyjal’s “elite” raiding guilds.

Home to my Horde characters, Maelstrom made the list as “The Rising Star”, which was disputed most heavily by players of Emerald Dream, another PvP-RP server. Not coincidentally, Maelstrom is also heavy with moderators and CMs, as well as hosting the minds behind WoW Radio.

The trends towards where people are migrating is notable particularly because of upcoming emphasis by the WoW developers on World PvP, which is expected to make up a rather large portion of Outworld in the WoW expansion. Considering such trends as Roaming PvP Night started on PvP server Arthras, we may slowly be inching past the age of mindless ganking, and sliding instead towards servers where a close community fosters support for lowbies and raiders alike.

With decisions to limit or outright prevent transfers from PvE servers to PvP, I can only see future population surges on PvP servers, with less people transferring to PvE servers because of ganking than some might expect. The “trial of fire” that occurs on PvP servers is not nearly as present on servers like Maelstrom, which is a great example of a server that has set itself apart from most others.

If anything, threads touting some servers over others will only bring more attention to the fact that all servers are decidedly not equal, regardless of whether one looks at them according to their respective categories or not. This should make people more concerned with their choices for upcoming character transfer options, as well as more research that ought be done by players new to the game, whose initial experiences could very well decide their future interest in the game.

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