So far, I've started all my chars on a PvE server. The reason is the horrible memories I had of PvP in Everquest. I never could get a char over level 10 in EQ on a red server because of all the high levels who would camp the noobie zones and gank repeatedly (even a level 9 is high level to a level 3 :)) I got so frustrated and PO'd I'd head back to the "care bear" servers.

But in WoW I've participated in a few brief PvP encounters, mainly helping repel the Horde from towns they were raiding, etc. and I've enjoyed it for the most part.

So I was wondering what it was like on a full-time PvP server? Is it aggravating like EQ? Or is it actually fun? :)

How hard would it be now to start a char on a PvP server and be able to level up?

Well Wow is my first experience with PVP(in eq always on PvEservers). Pvp Servers are actually alot of fun to be in, its a totally different gaming experience than I am used to.

You wont have to worry to much about getting ganked in lower levels do to the zone designs, here is how it works.

There are 3 types of zones. Your faction zones, Opposite faction zones and Contested.

When you are in your faction zone. You can not be attacked unless you are flagged for pvp. So esentially noone can attack unless you attack first.

When you are in opposite faction zone. You can not attack anyone unless they are flagged for PvP. So esentially you can not attack anyone unless they attack you first.

When you are in Contested Zone. Its a Free For all.

To be flagged for pvp you need to have attacked anyone from the opposite faction or assisted in killing someone for the opposite faction. If you remain in your own Territory after a couple of minutes the PvP flag will drop.

Hope this helps.

Chubbs
Lvl 49 Priest of Imperial Guard on Mal'Ganis

Oh, I didn't realize that. I thought it was all PvP all the time :)

How do I know if I'm in a contested zone? Does it tell me somehow?

From level 1-25 you'll be safe just like a PvE server.
From level 25-35 you'll be relatively safe, with maybe a few minor encounters.

From level 35-50 you will curse yourself for ever thinking pvp server was a good idea.
From level 50-60 you will get revenge for the pain you suffered the previous 15 levels, completing the cycle.

35-50, i.e. once you get to areas like tanaris, stranglethorn vale, southshore... you will have the WORST time trying to do your quests and level. Gank gank gank all day long. Your best resort is to do instances whenever possible and skip quests (this will hurt your faction as you'll not be likely to get exalted at the end) through these levels. In a place like Booty bay, both alliance and horde are doing same quests. Opposite faction will attack you all the time. Level 60's are usually hovering around to protect their guildmates/factionmates, and to return the favour to low levels that they had when they were there.

I personally went to STV the other day and ganked every horde I saw while helping guildmates level. This is because they simply cannot level there without someone like me supervising. They'll get ganked all the time.

You just have to realize that when you're in contested zones (lvl 30+ basically) you are not safe. You pull a mob, there's a reasonable chance a horde rogue is waiting there and will come in and kill you once you've pulled it. This can get incredibly frustrating if you're not patient. Because there are NO rewards or penalties for pvp right now. They kill you, you come back. IF you do kill them, they can just be back again in 2 minutes. Which means when all you wanted to do was level or finish a quest, your stuck battling opposing faction because they won't leave you alone.

That is the reality of it unfortunately. IF we had a pvp system im sure it would be 100x better. Right now its just gank gank gank.

Normal server ftw :)

35-50, i.e. once you get to areas like tanaris, stranglethorn vale, southshore... you will have the WORST time trying to do your quests and level. .

UMMMMM So not true!!

While I will agree there will be days when you have to leave a zone cause the ganking wont stop. But these days are very rare. I spent my majority of lvl 30s in STV and never had this problem this bad. While I was usually grouped I would solo also and I would do my quest with little or no bother from the Alliance.

Please dont give bad information to someone who has never experienced it on there own.

Chubbs
Chubbexul
Lvl 49 Priest of Imperial Guard on Mal'Ganis

Dude every day for the past two weeks every guild member I have between level 35 and 40 is constantly getting ganked in STV and they can barely level there. I went there with them for about 3 hours to help them out and we still got attacked repeatedly by dumb horde who think that w 1 level 60 hunter in their group they can kill anything.

And I can imagine there is nothing quite as frustrating as clearing your way towards a quest item or npc, only to get killed from behind by a group of horde and then have to start all over again because they jacked your target.

When I went through it wasn't as bad. Now you have a lot more bored level 60's who will go gank you either in protest to blizzard for a pvp system, or to help their guildmates get through their quests.

My girlfriend curses me for making her come to a pvp server because now at level 40 it takes her 2x as long to do everything than it would on a pve server thanks to ganksquads.

Getting ganked is not fun when all you want to do is finish a quest, so be aware it happens a lot in STV, badlands, and Tanaris. i.e. the level bubble from 35-50.

You have to have a certain mindset if you choose a PvP server.

If you want to speed through content and dominate the PvE environment, PvP servers are NOT for you. You will throw your keyboard at the monitor in frustration when you get jumped for the 30th time trying to do a turn-in in Booty Bay. You will advance at a much slower rate than players on PvE servers, due to the constant PvP battles. S lot of people on PvP servers don't care about PvE and spend all their time hunting down other players. It will be frustrating if you are the type that only likes to PvP on your own terms, when and where you want to do it. The honor code/rulebook is thrown out the window.

There is something VERY awesome about PvP though. I am glad I chose it. The adrenaline rush you get from winning a hard-fought PvP encounter is very similar to beating a high-end boss mob in PvE. And because these are real people you are fighting against, no encounter is exactly like another, and you really get the feeling like you are part of some big hunt or a military strike when you go on PvP raids.

If you are a ninny, go Alliance, because Alliance play on easy mode and outnumber Horde on PvP servers by a ton. ;)

And its priceless to tell people they were killed by a girl na na na na na na!


Unfortunately its really difficult to speak with the other faction :(

From level 35-50 you will curse yourself for ever thinking pvp server was a good idea.


maybe you just suck at pvp :P

i play on a pvp server and i love it. there is almost no penalty for getting killed, cept maybe a few silver to fix your armor after a while. im lvl 38 at the moment and i have no problems with being ganked. its a part of the game and part of the fun is getting revenge on that lvl 60 that just killed you by getting some friends together and hunting them down.

last night for example, i was killing some mobs for a quest when i noticed lots of corpses laying around. i saw someone else from the opposing faction camping the same mobs as me... i couldnt have that, we fought a few times and he brought friends... then i brought friends... then we had a night full of pvp fun. so in my opinion pvp keeps things interesting. what would have been another night of grinding away at countless mobs turned into quite an eventful night.

so if you are looking for a change in pace, i definately recommend a little pvp action.

-nim

Um, I play pvp and I have one question for those of you getting repeatedly ganked in STV. Why do you go there? I mean, it isn't the only zone in the world where you can level. Yes, it has some easily doable quests, but if you can't kill Zanzil beacuse the Horde also wants to kill Zanzil and you have to kill them first, which would take time etc. Then just go somewhere else.

Personally, I didn't do but about 2 quests in STV and leveled up just fine through the upper 30's and 40's. The ganking in that zone annoyed me, so I left it.

As to the original poster's questions. I played on Rallos Zek in EQ from release for about 2 years, and the pvp isn't even comparable. WoW is so much more fun for pvp, and once you realize that dying doesn't really cost anything, you can relax and have even more fun in pvp. You will get ganked, particularly in popular contested zones, but as a druid you have a few tools that can help out. We're the only class that can stealth AND track humanoids (all PC horde are humanoid, btw, even the undead), which is invaluable for hunting down horde or avoiding them entirely.

PvP is much better than EQ and really only problematic in overcrowded zones, or in contested zones that are really close to a "safe" place for the opposing faction--Ashenvale comes to mind as a place where Horde have a safe base from which to raid questing Alliance, though we can do the same to them in Stonetalon.

--Silver

I'm not on a PvP server and I've never done any quests in STV - I'm level 50 with no problem getting there :)

High-level PvP is awesome because you can make fun videos like this!

http://www.invisus.org/videos/ringoffire.wmv

Anyone who's done this, or has had this done to them, will appreciate this video.