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What server should you pick?


Scorpienne

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Welcome to Star Wars: The Old Republic, new player!

 

In short, you have two major decisions to make about a server.

1. What server type? (PvE, PvP, RP-PvE, or RP-PvP)

2. What geographic area/language do you want? (US East, US West, Asia-Pacific, European English, European German, or European French.)

 

After that point, you've narrowed it down and can begin sleuthing around.

 

PLEASE NOTE - SERVER CHOICE IS FINAL!!! At this point in time, it's a life-long commitment. You cannot change servers. BW has said that at some point in the future that they *may* allow transfers. The speculation is that it will cost money. No one knows for sure when this will happen or how much it will cost. THEREFORE - choose wisely! If you suddenly decide you don't like your server - or that you like another server more - then you'll have to just start a new character on another server. You can't move.

 

 

Your first choice as a player is which server TYPE you want.

 

 

You have a choice between PvP, PvE, RP, and RP-PvP. I suggest googling those terms to determine which one is best for you. This website has a pretty good overview, and it's also posted below.

 

 

In short:

PVP - Unless you're in a designated "safe zone" (capital worlds, starter worlds, a very few other places) you are flagged for Player versus Player combat and you can not turn it off.

PVE - Unless you're in a designated "PvP zone" you can choose whether or not to flag yourself for PvP.

RP - No mechanical difference from the base server type BUT the RP flag is likely to attract people that want to role play.

 

Your second choice as a player is which geographic region you want.

 

Your options for region and language include:

 

Asia-Pacific English

European English

European French

European German

US East

US West

 

Keep in mind two things when deciding - server distance and when the population is active. On the one hand, you want a server group that's physically close to the geographic region of the world where you're likely to be playing. On the other hand, keep in mind when the population will be active and how that interfaces with your schedule. If you work nights, you might want to belong to a server in a different time zone so you're awake when they are.

 

A word about server population.

 

At this point, as a new player, you can ONLY make new characters on one of the 26 "destination" servers. Other servers will not show up as choices, or will be listed as "locked". Right after launch, people complained about queues so BW opened up a *lot* of servers. Since then, some people have moved on to other games and BW has increased the amount of people that can be on one server. Most people moved over to the destination servers but there are a few holdouts on the locked servers. There is speculation that the locked servers will be closed but no one knows anything *for sure*. (Speculation and thoughts here, here, and here.

 

The population on the 26 destination servers is all pretty good. If you're interested in seeing details of the server population then the best way to look at the recent status of the servers is to look at the server population trends on http://www.torstatus.net. The higher phi value means that the population is larger.

 

US http://www.torstatus.net/shards/us/stats

Europe http://www.torstatus.net/shards/eu/stats

APAC http://www.torstatus.net/shards/apac/stats

 

Here is the list of the 26 destination servers that you can choose from by geographic area/language

 

APAC

Dalborra PvE

Master Dar'Nala PvP

Gav Daragon RP PvE

 

EUR English

Nightmare Lands PvE

The Red Eclipse PvE

Tomb of Freedon Nadd PvP

The Progenitor RP PvE

 

EUR French

Mantle of the Force PvE

Darth Nihilus PvP

Battle Meditation RP PvE

 

EUR German

T3-M4 PvE

The Jedi Tower PvE

Jar'Kai Sword PvP

Vanjervalis Chain RP PvE

 

US East

Canderous Ordo PvE

Corellian Run PvE

Jedi Covenant PvE

The Shadowlands PvE

Prophecy of the Five PvP

The Fatman PvP

The Ebon Hawk RP PvE

Jung Ma RP PvP

 

US West

Drooga's Pleasure Barge PvE

The Harbinger PvE

The Bastion PvP

Begeren Colony RP PvE

 

 

Once you've narrowed it down to a server type and area/language you need to do some homework about that server to see what it's like.

 

At this point you probably only have one choice - in which case, there you go. Sometimes you might have two choices. Regardless, do a little homework just to veryify that you like the atmosphere on the server. If you think you want one server type, and then don't like the atmosphere of your regional server, then you might want to pick a different server type.

 

You probably also want to get an idea of what the social atmosphere on the server is like, or the PvP warzones, or the raiding progression, or RP.

 

1. Check out posts for that server in the SWTOR forums. Do the people that are posting seem like people you want to play with? Are there events going on that you'd like to go to?

http://www.swtor.com/community/forumdisplay.php?f=309

 

2. Google the server name and see if there are external forums for that server. These are forums that aren't moderated by the folks at SWTOR. If you're interested in RP servers, definitely check out http://www.swtor-rp.com

 

3. Find the social media outlets for that server. (Facebook, twitter, you tube). See if they're active and what's going on.

 

4. Get an idea of what guilds are like on that server. Even if you aren't interested in joining a guild, they are part of the social climate. (http://www.tortools.com/quiz and google are your best bets)

 

 

 

Good luck, and may the Force be with you!

 

 

Paige

Edited by Scorpienne
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Edited to add a link to http://www.swtor-spy.com/guides/choosing-a-server-type-for-swtor-pve-pvp-rp-pve-rp-pvp/307/

 

Material from that website below

 

========================================================

This guide is designed to help you make a more informed choice of which server type you plan to choose to be your main server at launch. It is designed for all levels of MMO player experience.

 

For quite a while we have known what the four types of servers there will be at launch but you may have questions as to just what mechanics each type of server offers and if you think it would be a good fit for you and your play style.

 

I will go over them and then try to give suggestions as to which play styles might fit you best. To the seasoned MMO veteran this may be old news as these types of servers are pretty much standard fare these days, but to new players this may be a confusing choice so it bears some explanation.

 

At launch we have been told by Bioware that there will be four types of servers available:

  • PVE (Player versus Environment)
  • PVP (Player versus Player)
  • RP-PVE (Role Playing Player versus Environment)
  • RP-PVP (Role Playing Player versus Player)

 

OK, that’s great you say. What do those designations mean and what are the mechanics present in them?

 

PVE (Player vrs Environment)

 

On this type of server players are concerned with things like questing, character development, advancing trade skills like crafting and gathering, exploration of the world, interaction with other players in a non-combatant manner, experiencing things like operations with groups of friends working together and etc, usually.

 

There still is the option to have PVP interaction if you wish in areas like warzones and open world PVP areas or “lakes” as they are commonly referred to. You will manually have to select the option on your character options to flag yourself for PVP combat or you will not be able to be attacked, or be able to attack other players unless you are in a area specifically designed for PVP like the planet Ilum for instance, or you are making use of the /duel command.

 

So if in your normal play style you can’t be bothered with constantly looking over your shoulder while questing, or sweating the fact that you may be ganked at any moment by raving squads of PVP’ers then this may be a great choice.

 

If you want to have the experience of being protected from PVP while still having the option to try or participate in PVP, just on your own terms and your own timetable, then this may be the server choice for you.

 

PvP (Player vrs Player)

 

On this type of server players are concerned with the standard fare like questing and etc, but the player that chooses this type of server desires more of a confrontational or competitive type of experience. PVP ability on this type of server is “always on” and is not able to be toggled off. This is the server type where the valor statistic is going to be key.

 

Unless you are in a area that has been designed as a “safe spot” where you cannot be attacked, like a origin world, your factions fleet, or your capital world, then you are fair game for whatever and whoever desires your characters demise.

 

So if in your normal preferred play style you crave the excitement that can come from a surprise attack out of nowhere, or you like to play the role of the hunter looking for the thrill of the chase, then this server is the best choice for you.

 

*Just as a side note about this type of server, you can defeat other players in the open world but in this game there is no looting of defeated players corpses by other players and each class has a self resurrection option that when chosen to “res at this location” gives you a ten second window to allow you to escape the area while cloaked and hidden from sight until the timer wears off.

 

With that sort of mechanics in place you should be able to avoid being killed over and over again ( a scenario commonly referred to as “T-Bagging” ) and be able to escape the scene or at least get enough of a head start that if fleeing is your choice then you should be able to do it.

 

RP-PvE (Role Playing Player vrs Environment)

 

Players on this type of server are more concerned with the interaction with other players on a more immersive and lore centric type of mindset. They still want to participate in other game features but to them the journey or the path they take in developing their character and the manner in which they interact with others and the quest material is of the most importance in more cases than not from what I have seen in other realms that offered this style of server.

 

It seems to be Bioware’s wish that if they designate a server of this type then it will attract those who want to role play and act “in character.” Those that want to live the life of their characters as it applies to the lore of the realm.

 

Just how much policing they plan to do to enforce this type of server community is still yet to be seen but unless the person and the immersion breaking offense they commit is extreme or habitual I wouldn’t expect too much action from the customer support staff in this area and I feel it is more of a situation where they feel if they provide the server that is labeled as such, then people of that mindset will migrate there and have a place they can experience the game as they wish with like minded players.

 

There still is the option to have PVP interaction if you like, in areas like warzones and open world PVP areas or “lakes.” You will manually have to select the option on your character options to flag yourself for PVP combat or you will not be able to be attacked or attack other players unless you are in a area specifically designed for PVP like the planet Ilum for instance, or you are making use of the /duel command.

 

RP-PvP (Role Playing Player vrs Player)

 

With this type of server environment players are encouraged to role play and act ‘in character’ while pursuing their desires and while engaging in PVP style combat. This lends to a style of PVP that is not based around griefing or constantly proving ones prowess in player versus player battle or achieving the top spot on a leader board but is more focused on the lore of the world and how that relates to PVP.

 

Someone who realizes and cherishes the fact that in the Star Wars the Old Republic time period, there is a battle going on between the Empire and The Republic. That war between the two is inescapable and desires to play their character in this mindset and immerse themselves in it will find this style of server to their best liking it is hoped.

 

It seems to be Bioware’s wish that if they designate a server of this type then it will attract those who want to role play and act “in character” even while PVP-ing. Those that want to live the life of their characters as it applies to the lore of the realm and the story and environment of the time period.

 

Just how much policing they plan to do to enforce this type of server community is still yet to be seen but unless the person and the immersion breaking offense they commit is extreme or habitual I wouldn’t expect too much action from the customer support staff in this area and I feel it is more of a situation where they feel if they provide the server that is labeled as such, then people of that mindset will migrate there and have a place they can experience the game as they wish with like minded players.

 

PVP ability on this type of server is “always on” and is not able to be toggled off. Unless you are in a area that has been designed as a “safe spot” where you cannot be attacked, like a origin world, your factions fleet, or your capital world, then you are fair game for whatever and whoever desires your characters demise and wants to do it in a “in character” type of method.

 

So if in your normal preferred play style you crave the excitement that can come from a surprise attack out of nowhere, or you like to play the role of the hunter looking for the thrill of the chase, and you want to speak to others and behave as if your character is actually part of the lore of the realm and not just a PVP character on a server of SWTOR, then this type is the best choice for you.

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Fatman chose fatman

 

It's not the right choice if you want to avoid the crowds. Also not the right choice if you're a RPer. Or if you want to play with a lot of people during Europe's or APAC's peak hours. Or if you want to play on a German-language server.

 

Fatman is a good choice for some people, and a bad choice for other people.

 

Paige

Edited by Scorpienne
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Your Original Post says:

 

*You have a choice of PvP, PvP...*

 

Might want to edit that.

 

Thanks for the guide though - looks good.

 

Riôt

 

Herpin-mah-derpy-herps... How did I miss that for so long?!? Good catch, thank you, edited it again.

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Fatman is a good choice for some people, and a bad choice for other people.

 

Yes...I've heard of wait times over an hour, just to get in. That's crazy - there's no way I wanna spend an hour waiting to just LOG IN! :mad:

 

LOL...my server is like 5th from the bottom...ugh, think I need to transfer! :rolleyes:

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