I’ve never played official vanilla. I played it a bit when that private server Nostralius (however it was spelled) was still around a few years back. All the aspects of vanilla that people talked about I loved experiencing.
I don’t know what kind of server to join. I want to do world PvP and endgame PvE content. I’d probably end up doing about 50/50 of each. (I know I can get ganked in a PvP server that’s not a deciding factor for me)
In PvE servers, do people still do world PvP in certain zones, or does hardly any world PvP go on in the zones that are known for world PvP?
And in PvP servers do people still do a lot of dungeons and raids outside of world PvP?
Pvp is the same as pve but has world pvp
Pvp servers still raid and dungeon and everything
Pve just got rid of world pvp for anyone that doesn’t like that aspect of the game
Pve also allows you to make both alliance and horde on the same server,. So the AH and economy, are often more screwy
with players transferring cross faction gear tanaris
There are no PvE servers.
There are Normal servers.
Difference between the two is 1 thing and 1 thing only.
On PvP servers you are always flagged for PvP therefore any opposite faction player (no matter level or anything else) can always attack you.
On Normal servers you choose when to flag for PvP (by action or by typing /pvp) causing world PvP to be more fair and a heck of a lot more fun for both sides.
I play on normal servers as I enjoy world PvP.
i doubt you’ll find many people flagging themselves unless an event is going on (like a city invasion)
if you really want to PVP before battlegrounds are added, i recommend rolling on a PVP server. (just accept that you’ll be ganked a lot on your way to 60, and when you’re trying to farm resources, and pretty much anytime you’re not in a city)
World PvP still happens on PvE servers, but it isn’t forced on you. That really is the difference. On PvP servers you will get ganked. PvE servers, the ganker types tend to grief by killing flight masters and quest givers until another high-level shows up and kills them.
I played on both PvE and PvP servers back in the day, here are my thoughts:
The atmosphere of the two are completely different. PvP servers attract people who are taking the game more seriously. They’re more interested in min/maxing. They’re more competitive. They have higher standards for pick up groups. There’s also generally a lot more drama and both villains and heroes of the community are widely known by the whole server. People who ninja loot and cause drama in trade chat are quickly identified, and the same for those who are helpful and often lead groups for PvE or PvP content. Conversely PvE servers are far more relaxed. It’s not that there aren’t great players, and it’s not that the raiding or even PvP scene is completely dead. It’s just a more chill approach. People generally aren’t discussing the game as much at such a high level, they’re just having fun.
Reframe your thinking of “ganking” not being a deciding factor for you. The looming threat of world PvP changes the whole dynamic of the leveling experience, which is a significant part of Classic. On a PvE server you can pretty much grind and quest carefree, and Classic (despite what many say) is not in and of itself a challenging experience. On a PvP server, everything changes. The simple task of grinding out 7 bars of experience so that you can move on to the next quest zone will be engaging you 100% of the time, as you will be constantly moving your camera around assessing threats, looking for red nameplates/text in the distance and listening for that ever-ominous stealth sound.
Tying into the last point, you will find instanced dungeons to be your relaxation on a PvP server. The only time in which you can focus solely on your class and your role. Even if a certain quest zone may be the fastest way to reach that next level, you’ll find yourself doing “just one more ZF run” because it’s close to town, gives decent xp and above all is a consistent return on investment, whereas that next quest zone you venture to could be a warzone where progress halts entirely.
Just my 2 cents as one who played on both types from 2004 until WotLK where I pretty much determined I would only play on a PvP server. I do really think it’s worth it to play on a PvP server, unless you really want to approach the game more casually. You’ll make more friends, get more immersed in the world and identify with your faction and even class a lot more.