Friday, February 20, 2009

PvP vs PvE

So, we had a debate on twitter a little while ago. It was the old PvP versus PvE server argument. I play on a PvP server, mostly because that was the server my brothers were playing on when I got started. So, I didn't really have a choice, I'm guessing that a lot of people have similar situations, you play on your friend's server when you get started. Its not till later (or right away in my brother-in-law's case) that you venture into other realms and test the waters.

So, lets say you just started playing world of warcraft. What are the pros and cons of the different realms.

PvE

Pros
You don't have to watch your back constantly.
You can PvP in controlled settings.
No camping. Nobody is forcing you to play an alt.
You can have a horde and an alliance character on the same server.
Farming in peace.

Cons
Not as exciting. (that can probably be argued).
You don't get the real feeling that you are at war with the other faction (heck you can have an alt of the other faction - which might be a pro instead of a con)
fluff fluff fluff (at least according to those on PvP servers)
Get made fun by friends that you are on a carebear server (yes, that's what my guild calls it).

PvP

Pros
Okay sometimes it is fun to gank other players, especially if you had a bad day.
You really really hate the other faction which feeds in any RP you want to do.
Yes you have to watch your back, but that makes it more exciting.
You can make fun of your PvE friends.
More PvP skirmishes through out Azeroth.
The feeling you get when someone tried to gank you and you totally owned them!!!

Cons
Farming can suck.
Did I mention getting camped by some 14 year old undead rogue???
Sometimes you might decide to leave a zone because their is a jerk going around on a killing spree.
Running back from the grave yard, again.
Death Knights (unless you are one).


Did I miss anything? Any other Pros or Cons?

3 comments:

Brajana said...

I started playing on a PvP server because I wanted to experience PvP and at the time there was no such thing as a "battleground". But since then, I've learned that when I'm questing or farming, I want to quest/farm. When I want to PvP, I queue up for a fair fight.

Plus, technically since BC came out, Alliance and Horde and -kinda- on the same side, lore-wise. We're fighting against a common enemy most of the time.

That's just my take on things :)

Bob said...

@Brajana I agree, when you want to quest and/or farm then you should be able to do that. As for the fact that the Alliance and Horde are kind of on the same side, yes, but there are still enough tensions that I wouldn't be surprised that there are small skirmishes here and there.

Anonymous said...

That's about right, as far as I can tell. My experience on a PvP server was limited to about... oh, the 30s and 40s, on various characters. I never played more than that. It was too stressful for me. I had initially started on a PvE server, because that's where Blizz told me to go when I very first signed in, so my experience was an uninterrupted one, so I was paranoid while playing PvP, 'cause I was always expecting someone to gank me. Yes, I'm a wuss.