BG Social Research

Today I will compare European BG, russian (CIS) BG, and Ukrainian BG.

I started my journey as a WOW player in 2008. Of course, as a player from Ukraine, I played on a Ukrainian server. My first server was a Ukrainian private BC server with an average online of 1000 players. I spent two years on this server.

Since I was and am a PVP player, it is clear that I spent the lion's share of my playing time on BG.

When the Lich King was released, the old Ukrainian BC server began to decline.
And accordingly, the popularity of the new patch began to grow rapidly.

So my friends and I switched to a russian private (well-known) server.
I spent about 10 years on this server on and off. Why did we play on private servers and not on official servers you ask? Because we were schoolchildren/students and we didn't have the money to pay for the monthly subscription)

In 2023, I switched to Warmain.

During this entire period of time, I managed to play on ten different WOW servers, including the official one (Cataclysm, Lich King, Battle for Azeroth, etc.) During all this time, I spent thousands of BGs, both in single mode and in group mode. Of course, when you change not only the server, but also the geography, it is difficult not to notice the difference between how players from one region play and how others play. So in this post, I would like to share my experience with you.

How did Ukrainians play BG?

The Ukrainian Battlegrounds were a fierce confrontation. These are always battles on the edge. Both sides were very strong, so the dominance of one side almost never happened.

Alteraks very often came down to the fact that one side turned against the other and the battle had been going on for a good half an hour. Therefore, most often the battle ended due to the fact that one of the teams ran out of respawns.

In WSG, a side (for example, the Alliance), which could have slightly weaker players in its composition, did not go out onto the battlefield, but fortified itself at its base. Players buffed each other - distributed food, prepared to repel the attack.

If the alliance managed to repel the attack and kill the horde players, then at that very moment the raid ran to capture the enemy flag. A similar situation occurred when both sides were capturing the flag. In most cases, it was a raid-to-raid battle. There were very few cases where players left the battlefield or passively waited for respawns. At the same time, players (flag bearers) very rarely resorted to any tricks - jumping over fences, etc.

In general, Ukrainian BGs came down to the battle, to who could overpower whom in an open fight, and not to some tactical maneuvers when the battle was avoided. In general, players strove for an honest and open battle. Overall, the skill level of the players was about the same. There were no clearly weak players.

In addition, an important feature of Ukrainian gamers is that they will never go to BG with bad equipment. They will always be enchanted, with stones, with upgraded professions, with items knocked out of dungeons, etc.

A characteristic feature was also a motley mix of classes and races of players (gnome, troll, gnome-outcast, etc.). As well as a low number of healers. Most players wanted battles as battles, and not to stretch rubber. Therefore, I, for example, prefer to play in a team of two dps, rather than healer + dps.


How did russians play BG?

BG on the russian server was somewhat chaotic. If the teams were roughly equal, then the outcome of the battle was almost impossible to determine.
For the first time playing on such BGs, I encountered a situation where one side could be clearly weaker than the other.
Russian players do not consider it a problem to go to BG in very weak equipment (green with 2k GS). Moreover, they are very swearing.
One of the signs of a russian gamer is total swearing and the use of derogatory words.
For the first time on the russian server, I saw total domination of one side over the other. For the russians, the apogee of victory was considered dominance in the respawn, when for a long time players were simply killed right next to the angel.
This also applied even to such a BG as Alterac. When an entire raid stands on the respawn and kills other players who are resurrected. And it can last 10-15 minutes.At the same time, on the Ukrainian server it was simply not possible.

I remember the situation when in the Battle for Azeroth expansion, European players complained about the russians. Because they could drive players to respawns with an entire raid on Alterac and kill them continuously. This could last half an hour or even an hour.

They very rarely recognize a fair fight. For them, the normal format is when there are more of them and they are better dressed - they destroy significantly fewer players, in weaker equipment. Players on the russian server were different. Some could be quite strong. At the same time, there were many weak players.

Russian players are not afraid to die and be reborn, even if they have 20 or even 30 deaths in their statistics. They will resurrect and be resurrected endlessly. There were more healers on the battlefield than on the Ukrainian server. At the same time, teams could be very unbalanced in terms of both game level and equipment.


What is the game like on the European server?
I have played hundreds of BGs on the official Lich King server, and quite a lot on Warmein. Above, you have already read how BGs on the Ukrainian server differed from the russian one. I will not describe to you what BGs are on the European server, because you yourself know this very well. I will only describe the difference and what exactly caught my attention.

For me, as a gamer from Ukraine, who is used to open battles, it was strange to notice that on European servers at the beginning of the BG your team often warms up with the enemy. One side runs to the right, and the other to the left. Avoiding the battle!) A striking example is Alterac Valley. There, it is quite normal for one team to run to the enemy base, without a fight. The whole battle comes down to who will burn the towers and kill the general faster.)

In the battle itself, it is very difficult not to notice that European players support each other very well during the battle. You can simply destroy one player, and at the same moment another player will save him. You kill this other, as the third one pulls him out of death. Players very skillfully use all their abilities for team play.

Team play among European players is at the highest level. In general, European players strive not for the battle, but for its result. Take points, take the flag and finish it.

There are the most healers on European BGs.

At the same time, the negative side of European players is that after losing the first battle, they have a very hard time getting back together.
Your team can have top healers (even two). But something breaks at one point and your team starts to lose rapidly.
Many players leave the battlefield, and this can continue until the enemy side stops this agony.
(On the Russian server, such situations would be almost impossible. Since the local players constantly rise and move forward, like a horde.)
At the same time, the opposing team may have players with weak equipment, but they continue to play harmoniously.

It seems that the players suddenly forget how to press the buttons. Some stand passively on the respawn, some leave the battlefield, and others run aimlessly across the battlefield.
And you understand that if it weren't for the passivity and lostness of the players, we would have been able to win. Sometimes it is possible to overcome this, but quite often it all comes down to a total loss. Despite the fact that there may be many top-equipped players in your team.
I have not encountered anything like this on the russian server, let alone on the Ukrainian one.
This is somewhat reminiscent of the Tower of Babel, when some stop understanding others and chaos begins.

Thank you for reading. I hope you found it interesting. Part of the text was written using Google Translate. So sorry for the tracing.

Agree, a lot of people here raise the white flag right after the first death on the battlefield, and then stand in the cemetery and blame others for the defeat, even though in most cases these screamers are at the very bottom on the scoreboard.
I partially understand them, because the server is full of premades, it very often happens that the difference of the entire group in average ilvl is even over 40 lvl, such a difference in equipment can lead to 100-300% difference in damage and healing. With such huge difference is like fighting with bare hands against tank.

Blackrock has too many losers (in real life) who play BG PvP, who give up at their first death. tsk.. tsk.. tsk... bad attitude. No desire to win at all.
I so hate these mofos.