How Do I Choose a World of Warcraft Server Type?

World of Warcraft has three types of servers: Player versus Player (PvP), normal, and role playing (RP). On a Player versus Player (PvP) server, as soon as you leave areas that your faction controls and enter contested territories, the game automatically turns on your PvP flag. When your PvP flag is on, any player of the opposing faction can attack and kill you.

While the prospect of attacking and killing players of the opposing faction sounds like fun, many of the initial hostile players you see will be of a much higher level than you. They will probably kill you with one attack. Thanks to World of Warcraft's honor system, you only receive honor points if you kill a player within a close range of your own level. PvP servers are brutal, but there is an exhilaration to hunting another player down and killing them, or successfully fleeing from a much more powerful character.

When I reached level 20 with my human warlock on a PvP server, I would regularly encounter higher level Horde characters on the roads of Redridge Mountains. They would usually kill me with one melee attack or spell cast. The culture of PvP servers has fostered the maxim, "if it's red, it's dead." When in contested territories, the names of hostile players appear in red.

I had pretty much the same experience with my level 24 troll hunter on a different PvP server. In Tarren Mill, part of the Hillsbrad Foothills, groups of Alliance players would come and kill every player in the town and camp the corpses for several hours. In other words, they waited for you to resurrect and then would kill you again.

Normal servers are also known as player versus environment (PvE) realms. On a normal server, the game will not turn on your PvP flag when you enter contested territory or territory that the opposing faction controls unless you enter into combat with a Non-Player Character (NPC) that has the PvP flag symbol next to their picture. You can play on a normal server without constantly looking over your shoulder for the player who will one-shot you while you fight a monster. The lack of random PvP means that the player will spend more time engaging the environment.

Players can still turn on their PvP flag on PvE realms, or for a more controlled PvP experience, enter one of the battlegrounds. Starting at level 10, players can enter Warsong Gulch, where they engage in "capture the flag" PvP. At level 20, players can enter the Arathi Basin, where they capture and defend territory. There are other battlegrounds available at higher levels.

Role playing (RP) servers are for people who enjoy the opportunity to actually become their character and live in Azeroth. Players always speak and act "in character," as if they were their character, and make no reference to the real world. Role playing servers ordinarily function like normal servers but there are a few with a PvP option.