Private Servers

When it comes to actually playing on your private server, there are going to be many different options for types of game play, because people are all going to have different preferences on the way that they play the game.

Player Vs. Player servers are exactly what they sound like; Servers directed towards players attacking and killing other players. These servers can definitely get quite intense, and are very popular. I would say these servers are harder to manage and will require more GM support than any other, because there are always going to be issues both between players and between players and the environment. You're also going to have to come up with a system for players to get their gear, and come up with a way for them to gain levels very quickly, or instantly. Although the traffic of these servers tends to be much higher, a lot of work will come with this popularity.

Blizz-Like servers are servers with lower experience and drop rates, which typically do not have custom vendors to give you all of the best gear in the game. These servers are for players who want to level up, run low level instances, and actually earn their way towards creating a powerful character. These are definitely fun, however there are less people that want to dedicate the time into these types of servers. The up side is that GM's are much more at ease in these types of servers, as there are typically less bugs (due to players against environment, as opposed to other players). Also, you won't need to create custom gear and vendors because players will have to earn all of their gear the proper way.

Raid servers are definitely one of the most fun in my opinion, however I like all servers. Raids are basically just instances for large groups of people, and these are setup so that players will get some awesome gear if they are able to assemble huge groups of people (sometimes larger than 25 players) and take down some of the best mobs in the game. These are fun because it forces you to work with other players and makes the game really fun. Sometimes these servers are instant 80, sometimes they have high rates, and sometimes not. It really all depends on the preferences of the server host.

Battleground servers are similar to PvP servers, and many people would classify them under the same category, however I choose not to because many PvP servers do not run battlegrounds due to their extreme capacity of bugs. Battlegrounds are difficult to run, and even more difficult to arrange. However, battlegrounds are by far one of the most fun things to do in a World of Warcraft private server, because mass groups of players are on a team attacking another large group of players.

So, whichever type of server you're going to create, remember that as a GM, you're going to have some work to put in behind it, and some servers pull in more or less people, but the amount of work that comes with is more than likely to match. Hire out some close personal friends as GM's that are responsible, and you'll have no problem! For more information on modifying your private server, as well as hosting issues, check out some of my other articles under my profile!