So many realms!

[Tuskasaurus]

Hey, I just picked up WoW (last time I played was literally years ago) got everything installed and patched up now I have to choose a realm. There are tons of them, and most that I went to had absolutely noone in the starting zone ( and the cities around it ).

Is there a list, or could someone reccomend a realm to choose? PVP and PST narrows it down a bit, but there are still quite a few. I dont want to end up picking realm that everyone is already in the endgame likewise, I don't want to end up in a realm thats dead or dieing.

I would want ideally a server that people are still progressing through the new zones, but has enough players for worthwhile PVP/PVE.

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

[rottentomato]

weekends you can find a lot more people in major cities and starting areas...id say go on a recommended server to play, or if you want a lot of people, find one that has "full" as the population.

[moopy]

I would want ideally a server that people are still progressing through the new zones, but has enough players for worthwhile PVP/PVE.

You might, but as Number Six says, "you won't get it!".

PvP is a function of battlegroup- not just a single server, they are clustered together, a few servers per battlegroup. "World PVP" is a dead phenomenon other than unfocussed ganking and kiddie guilds (bless their little cotton socks), and deadly dull for anyone with any level of skill. Ultimately, Arenas are the most punishing form of PvP, and they'll be doable on pretty much any server- as you're playing against people from your whole battlegroup. The only caveat is that on the really low-pop servers, you might have a smaller pool to draw from to form your teams (team mates have to be on the same server, after all). So again, avoid the "recommended" ones, unless you're going to be playing there almost exclusively with a group of friends, or you're going to get frustrated.

PvE.. well, avoid at all costs, the "recommended" servers. They are the worst thing- far worse than an overcrowded server. As it is, the majority of players (even according to Blizzard themselves) play at the level cap (currently 70). Since TBC has been out for a while, you'll find things fairly quiet below the level cap. On a low population (or worse yet, "recommended") server, you'll find it utterly dead- and the "old world" will be almost uninhabited, except for the very low-level areas.

(The reason for this is that the very low-level areas are always well supplied by new players, but not all of them get past this point. Either they get bored and give up, or they become one of those crazy "altoholics" who never actually grasp any class, but have about 17 zilliion lv 20 characters anyway.. but I digress :-)

If you think you'll ever want to do endgame raiding, population is vital, too. Less populous servers mean that there will be a tiny pool of decent players on a server, and not much space for multiple raid groups able to consistently field decent 25 man raids of first-rate players. Your average "recommended" server is a cesspool of recruitment spams for new guilds who will be "starting kara soon", and very little else. There will be a couple of guilds per faction with some progress in 25 man content, but the chances of them being Illidan killers are somewhat slim...

Once you've narrowed down your priorities and server choices a bit, you can always do some research to see if that server's suitable for you. For example, if you're interested in PvE, you could look for the progress of the guilds on that server, to get an idea of how good or bad it is.

However, no matter what you do- unless you're playing with a totally self-sufficient group of people, avoid "recommended" servers like the plague. the economies tend to be weird, distorted and sluggish. There's a lack of crafters for the most unusual needs. The pool of people to draw upon (be it for your raid group or arena team) is tiny. Your chances of finding groups for instances while levelling are also significantly decreased. Only go near these servers if you are sure that you're an island.

[Zendarin]

You might, but as Number Six says, "you won't get it!".

PvP is a function of battlegroup- not just a single server, they are clustered together, a few servers per battlegroup. "World PVP" is a dead phenomenon other than unfocussed ganking and kiddie guilds (bless their little cotton socks), and deadly dull for anyone with any level of skill. Ultimately, Arenas are the most punishing form of PvP, and they'll be doable on pretty much any server- as you're playing against people from your whole battlegroup. The only caveat is that on the really low-pop servers, you might have a smaller pool to draw from to form your teams (team mates have to be on the same server, after all). So again, avoid the "recommended" ones, unless you're going to be playing there almost exclusively with a group of friends, or you're going to get frustrated.

PvE.. well, avoid at all costs, the "recommended" servers. They are the worst thing- far worse than an overcrowded server. As it is, the majority of players (even according to Blizzard themselves) play at the level cap (currently 70). Since TBC has been out for a while, you'll find things fairly quiet below the level cap. On a low population (or worse yet, "recommended") server, you'll find it utterly dead- and the "old world" will be almost uninhabited, except for the very low-level areas.

(The reason for this is that the very low-level areas are always well supplied by new players, but not all of them get past this point. Either they get bored and give up, or they become one of those crazy "altoholics" who never actually grasp any class, but have about 17 zilliion lv 20 characters anyway.. but I digress :-)

If you think you'll ever want to do endgame raiding, population is vital, too. Less populous servers mean that there will be a tiny pool of decent players on a server, and not much space for multiple raid groups able to consistently field decent 25 man raids of first-rate players. Your average "recommended" server is a cesspool of recruitment spams for new guilds who will be "starting kara soon", and very little else. There will be a couple of guilds per faction with some progress in 25 man content, but the chances of them being Illidan killers are somewhat slim...

Once you've narrowed down your priorities and server choices a bit, you can always do some research to see if that server's suitable for you. For example, if you're interested in PvE, you could look for the progress of the guilds on that server, to get an idea of how good or bad it is.

However, no matter what you do- unless you're playing with a totally self-sufficient group of people, avoid "recommended" servers like the plague. the economies tend to be weird, distorted and sluggish. There's a lack of crafters for the most unusual needs. The pool of people to draw upon (be it for your raid group or arena team) is tiny. Your chances of finding groups for instances while levelling are also significantly decreased. Only go near these servers if you are sure that you're an island.

I don't think I could more vehemently disagree with any post I have ever read.

I chose a recommended server and I am sure glad I did. The old world has a lot of activity. (The starting zones are not very busy with the exception of elwynn forest though - but there are a lot more on weekends).

I find that even though it's a "low" population server the old world is fairly busy. The cities are PACKED on the weekend and evenings during the week - so much so that it is hard to move around.

The benefit of the "recommended" servers is that a lot of the new players start on those realms so you actually can find new people to group with. On an "older" server most people have already progressed to end game and about the only lower level characters you see are people's alts.

The thing with starting zones is people progress so quickly through the early levels that you don't stay in the starting areas very long at all so there are rarely going to be more than a few people there. You don't need any groups at low level anyways.

[xDarkDrifterx]

"World PVP" is a dead phenomenon other than unfocussed ganking and kiddie guilds (bless their little cotton socks), and deadly dull for anyone with any level of skill.

No it's not, it's not certainly what it used to be - but it exists and is still fun and enjoyable. As you can see below certain guilds are created around it, and run instances and do arenas to gear up to do more world pvp / major city raids etc.

http://wowarmory.com/guild-info.xml?r=Andorhal&n=World+PvP&p=1

__________

OP - I would, if you're concerned, make a noobie char in various realms and log on to them one by one on say a friday night and type the command in the chat interface "/who Ashenvalle", "/who Darnassus"," /who Westfall" etc (those are alliance towns) this will give you the nuber of players (up to 49) in each of those areas. Check the low level areas and the major cities.

If you don't care that much, I'd say go with a recommended server at first (many of us started on recommended servers and all is well, though this may not always be the case as each server is different) I would still check the cities on the weekend before you get to high of a level in case you want to move.

Or just choose a realm that has a high or medium population and go from there. The servers are all different and one may have plenty of activity in lowbie areas and still have world pvp etc - it just depends - no one can make a broad generalization across all the servers and have it be true for every single one.

Good luck and welcome back to wow. :smiley:

[moopy]

A few guilds doing it doesn't mean it's not largely a playground game. I also wouldn't describe the guild that you linked as particularly "geared up", by the by.

I don't think I could more vehemently disagree with any post I have ever read.

I chose a recommended server and I am sure glad I did. The old world has a lot of activity. (The starting zones are not very busy with the exception of elwynn forest though - but there are a lot more on weekends).

I find that even though it's a "low" population server the old world is fairly busy. The cities are PACKED on the weekend and evenings during the week - so much so that it is hard to move around.

The benefit of the "recommended" servers is that a lot of the new players start on those realms so you actually can find new people to group with. On an "older" server most people have already progressed to end game and about the only lower level characters you see are people's alts.


(selective quoting for brevity)

That's nice dear. Vehemently disagree, eh? Forgot to take the pills? :)

Yes, there's plenty of lowbie action on these servers. However, when you outgrow this, it can be dull as ditchwater when you have a yen to go cause trouble in the Black Temple. All servers have tonnes of lowbie action, the difference is, not all of them drop off horribly around the 60 mark. Recommended servers often have a spike of activity at the "learning Karazhan LOL m8" level, and then drop off again horribly when you start doing content which requires a strong setup.

[xDarkDrifterx]

A few guilds doing it doesn't mean it's not largely a playground game. I also wouldn't describe the guild that you linked as particularly "geared up", by the by.

I didn't . . . I said they run instances and do arena's "to gear up" I never said that they were "geared". They are a pvp guild they don't raid. I linked them to show that even a few guilds in all of WoW doing it provides a rebuttal to your broad stroke of:

"World PVP" is a dead phenomenon other than unfocussed ganking and kiddie guilds

[moopy]

They are a pvp guild they don't raid. I linked them to show that even a few guilds in all of WoW doing it provides a rebuttal to your broad stroke of:

Sure it does.

[Khab]

I've been playing since August so I'm still pretty new to the game. I started out on a PVP server that was listed as high population and then moved to a east coast PVE server which was listed at medium. I used the WoW Census site to find a server with a good amount of players and just went with that.

So far it's worked out fine. When I started on this server there were like 10 people in the noob city I started in. I do agree that there are tons and tons of end game players. Just go to any major city and you'll find it packed with 60's and 70's.

In case you didn't know you can have characters on different realms so you can always try a few until you find one you like.

[xDarkDrifterx]

Sure it does.

:rolleyes:

Oh that's right I forgot the infallible moopy knows all . . .you know we all know that your head is big, but wow the size it must be to actually retain the knowledge of all the pvp data from all pvp servers in both the US and the EU and to know without a shadow of a doubt what their preferences and playstyles are in relation to how much they do or do not like world pvp. Don't make such blanketed statements. A simple "From my experience . . ." or "IMHO" works jsut fine . . .but a "this is how it is, period" - doesn't work.

FYI - It's okay to be wrong on occasion

[moopy]

I've been playing since August so I'm still pretty new to the game. I started out on a PVP server that was listed as high population and then moved to a east coast PVE server which was listed at medium. I used the WoW Census site to find a server with a good amount of players and just went with that.

So far it's worked out fine. When I started on this server there were like 10 people in the noob city I started in. I do agree that there are tons and tons of end game players. Just go to any major city and you'll find it packed with 60's and 70's.

In case you didn't know you can have characters on different realms so you can always try a few until you find one you like.

Aye, best advice, use the census and have a poke about. Also ask people about stuff that's currently out of your reach, for when you get there, check progression, yada yada..


FYI - It's okay to be wrong on occasion

..as you so ably demonstrate :)

[xDarkDrifterx]

...as you so ably demonstrate :)

:rolleyes: :laugh:

And you know what? When I am wrong and I'm proven so, I'll accept it if it's correct, not go on to try to push those points further or just sling out a sarcastic remark or insult as you enjoy. I remember a post not to long ago where I say that you know more about wow than myself and many others - gratz . . .but don't be a jerk about it - just point it out. And arguing this world pvp thing is just silly.

If the Coelacanth fish is extinct (for 70 million years) then one is found in 2000 near South Africa it is no longer extinct (until that one dies or others are found).

If world PvP is extinct then an entire guild is found that is dedicated solely to doing World PvP then world pvp is no longer extinct .

Continue arguing that all you want.

__________

So, OP, I guess this jsut shows you that realms often differ as to the amount of activity, world pvp, etc there is. So, you may want to google "warcraft server census" (which will give you fairly accurate info.) and / or go into the realms and use /who or just ask the people in general / trade.

[Zendarin]

:rolleyes: :laugh:

And you know what? When I am wrong and I'm proven so, I'll accept it if it's correct, not go on to try to push those points further or just sling out a sarcastic remark or insult as you enjoy. I remember a post not to long ago where I say that you know more about wow than myself and many others - gratz . . .but don't be a jerk about it - just point it out. And arguing this world pvp thing is just silly.

If the Coelacanth fish is extinct (for 70 million years) then one is found in 2000 near South Africa it is no longer extinct (until that one dies or others are found).

If world PvP is extinct then an entire guild is found that is dedicated solely to doing World PvP then world pvp is no longer extinct .

Continue arguing that all you want.

__________


I have to agree with you here - I made the cardinal sin of disagreeing with Moopy and now apparently I am in need of medication and have forgotten to take my pills. I was completely unaware that disagreeing with Moopy was indicative of mental illness - now I know.

[xDarkDrifterx]

I have to agree with you here - I made the cardinal sin of disagreeing with Moopy and now apparently I am in need of medication and have forgotten to take my pills. I was completely unaware that disagreeing with Moopy was indicative of mental illness - now I know.

Don't forget that it also makes you mung and an idiot as well.

Although, if you're lucky, maybe you'll get Mung II or Mung Jr. or something like that lol

And you don't just have to disaggree - just state something that he "knows" (feels) is different, or works differently, etc. Because everyone knows that no one does anything differently in this game and there's only 1 way that things can be done or looked at or used . . . and that's the moopy way.

And god forbid you actually make a statement that is wrong (especially once you're on his "list"), where someone else in the forum could inform you so that you can further your game "education" and understand where you were wrong and then learn from it . . . nehhh just get some feces slung at you by the monkey.

:laugh: :wink:

[moopy]

Oooooh so much pent-up tension :)