Why are there no non-pvp servers?

[MeanieUK]

Even blizzard realised how problematic and how unpopular pvp server were and got rid of them, so why no normal servers?

[Drunkuser]

Because the vast majority of players here like pvp servers.

And whatever blizzard is doing, is killing wow and making people leave. So not such a model to follow.

[DragonfireEX4422]

Because the vast majority of players here like pvp servers.

And whatever blizzard is doing, is killing wow and making people leave. So not such a model to follow.

The fact that each of Warmane’s TBC and Wrath servers with the exception of Blackrock have over 5k during peak times really supports this argument. Hell, Icecrown STILL has a queue every single day during peak hours two and a half years after the merge. Seriously, man. That’s just insane.

There hasn’t been enough demand for PVE servers in any private server in general either. Take the now defunct Vanilla server, Nostalrius, for example. The population of their PVE realm was only a fraction of what their PVP realm’s population was.

[Obnoxious]

The fact that each of Warmane’s TBC and Wrath servers with the exception of Blackrock have over 5k during peak times really supports this argument. Hell, Icecrown STILL has a queue every single day during peak hours two and a half years after the merge. Seriously, man. That’s just insane.

There hasn’t been enough demand for PVE servers in any private server in general either. Take the now defunct Vanilla server, Nostalrius, for example. The population of their PVE realm was only a fraction of what their PVP realm’s population was.

That can easily be attributed to "numbers attract numbers"/cattle mentality, not necessarily to a preference to PvP servers. Let's not forget that a PvE server isn't something without any PvP, just a configuration that gives people the option to opt-out of it. It's not comparable to rates, unless there was an option to opt-out of higher rates, for example. So just like happens on retail now, people who want to PvP are expected to have that enabled, simply being unable to gank people who aren't interested. Is the ability to gank the unwilling what makes or breaks a server? I'd hope not. And if it isn't, there really isn't any good reason for a PvE server to not have high population beyond the aforementioned "going with the flow."

[Patchwreck]

Because the vast majority of players here like pvp servers.

And whatever blizzard is doing, is killing wow and making people leave. So not such a model to follow.

Year after year it seems like every time I read a comment like this the population of wow goes up by a million. Last year first place was wow with a population of 7 million and elder scrolls in 2nd with 3 million the year before that it was 6 million and this year its 8 million with elder scrolls holding the number 2 with 3 million.

Edit: as I remember these are number of accounts total not logins. Mmo's normally don't release login numbers. This comment is from memory, I looked up the numbers every time I'd see the world is ending.

[Skuddy]

That can easily be attributed to "numbers attract numbers"/cattle mentality, not necessarily to a preference to PvP servers. Let's not forget that a PvE server isn't something without any PvP, just a configuration that gives people the option to opt-out of it. It's not comparable to rates, unless there was an option to opt-out of higher rates, for example. So just like happens on retail now, people who want to PvP are expected to have that enabled, simply being unable to gank people who aren't interested. Is the ability to gank the unwilling what makes or breaks a server? I'd hope not. And if it isn't, there really isn't any good reason for a PvE server to not have high population beyond the aforementioned "going with the flow."

i'd honestly like to see what would happen if warmane hosted a pve realm. even if it was temporary to gauge interest. would be interesting to see if it supported and/or held a decent population.

[Obnoxious]

i'd honestly like to see what would happen if warmane hosted a pve realm. even if it was temporary to gauge interest. would be interesting to see if it supported and/or held a decent population.

By the nature of what I said in my post, it would fail. For it to succeed it would need an "extra" larger than just being PvE, and something exclusive to it, to attract a larger population than Icecrown, which I don't see happening.

[enchant1]

i'd honestly like to see what would happen if warmane hosted a pve realm. even if it was temporary to gauge interest. would be interesting to see if it supported and/or held a decent population.

Big +1 on that. But if they just created the server and saw how many people created new characters on that server, it'd have a tough time getting going. I think a better idea would be to allow people in Icecrown to "make a copy" of characters to bring to the new server. Let them play on it long enough to determine if it's really going to fly and bring in enough players. I don't want to play on an empty server. I want the numbers. I want an active AH. If some people decided that they didn't actually like the new server, they'd be allowed to revert back to icecrown, keeping the characters as they were before copying to the new pve server.

The model that they have now is a good moneymaker for them and I'm totally fine with that. You can get on for free at some times of day, but if you want to get on during peak times, you've really got to pony up the donation, which is really chump change. Perhaps they could change the player caps and adjust as people migrated over. 9000 peak on icecrown, 3000 on the pve server. Then if it warranted it, 7000 on icecrown, 5000 on the pve server.

Sort of a different subject, but I think that there are often TOO many people on icecrown. So many times I'm trying to level up a toon and there are a dozen players waiting for low-level boss to spawn.

[Drunkuser]

Year after year it seems like every time I read a comment like this the population of wow goes up by a million. Last year first place was wow with a population of 7 million and elder scrolls in 2nd with 3 million the year before that it was 6 million and this year its 8 million with elder scrolls holding the number 2 with 3 million.

Edit: as I remember these are number of accounts total not logins. Mmo's normally don't release login numbers. This comment is from memory, I looked up the numbers every time I'd see the world is ending.

Yes, everytime a new espansion is launched the population goes up, before declining again. The long term vision is a huge population and subscription loss.

7-8 milions? I don't know where are you taking those numbers from, but anyway in WOTLK era wow was well over 12 milion.

[Nekridus123]

You introduced dual spec which was not in TBC. Can you not introduce a way to remove the pvp flag from a character in a pvp server for those who do not wish to engage in open world PVP? That flag removal would also prevent that character to likewise be unable to atack the opposite facting outside a BG or arena. Maybe have a cost at the store to enable it?

[enchant1]

Doing something like that might help gauge the interest in a pve server.

[Patchwreck]

Yes, everytime a new espansion is launched the population goes up, before declining again. The long term vision is a huge population and subscription loss.

7-8 milions? I don't know where are you taking those numbers from, but anyway in WOTLK era wow was well over 12 milion.

I got it by googling mmo population in 2016 17 and then 18 when people said wow was dying because of changes that were similar to changes being made in different games I was playing at the time, that chart is from 2015 and before. Each time I did so I saw a video game that had 2 1/2 times the population of the next runner up 3 1/2 times the one after that and then everything below that is has a population in the hundreds of thousands not multi-millions. As far as I saw it wow did nothing, I remember hardcore players started leaving in the middle of wotlk (me among them towards the end of wotlk) for other games that were basically the same because the the population of mmos and new expansions started exploding at that point and peaked the curiosity of board players. Most of which didn't have pvp servers at all. Wow's player base had a large influx of soccer moms and stay at home dads fallowed by a realization that you can't play all day and take care of your children which I believe is part of the fallowing off of the leveling out of the player base.

[Obnoxious]

You introduced dual spec which was not in TBC. Can you not introduce a way to remove the pvp flag from a character in a pvp server for those who do not wish to engage in open world PVP? That flag removal would also prevent that character to likewise be unable to atack the opposite facting outside a BG or arena. Maybe have a cost at the store to enable it?

That's called "turning the server PvE."

[Start2]

New 3.X.X PVE realm opens > Population splits between Icecrown and the new one -> Icecrown is no longer at 12K players permanently -> People thoughts : dead server > Population decreases > Less money for Warmane

[Obnoxious]

You forgot "/tips tinfoil fedora" at the end.