Hi all,

With launch around the corner, the decision to be made is on which server you will be playing. I guess "so many people, so many views".....
In order to make it somewhat easier, or to create more confusion, whatever you prefer, I have been roaming a bit over the Internet to see if I could find some (scarce) data to support your choice. Of course this is a “wet finger” exercise, but maybe it will give you a feel on which server you Do (or NOT) want to roll @ launch.

And if you don’t want to think about a server: board eXalted, a Community with relaxed weirdoes, we do the thinking for you over a beer! Cheers!

Living in the “Old World” and drinking a beer in eXalted, I have limited myself to Europe.

First the assumptions I have made:

• There will be the same server list to choose from as we had for BWE3.
• "Mouth to mouth" advertising within (game)communities/countries will enhance any perceived country/community server, eg Polish, Russian, Scandinavian, Italian, Role-playing, UK, etc.
• Given the fact that people were allowed to move freely between servers during BWE2-3 and thus already have started to build communities/Guilds during beta; at launch those people are likely to choose the same server again.
• The more populated a server is, the more “noise” there is to be found on the Internet, eg Guilds announcing “which BWE server”, indicative for the initial population at launch .

In order to reduce the list of available servers I have excluded the NA servers, as well as the French, German and Spanish designated servers.

Next I have tried to find information regarding the active communities on those servers, eg several Russian guilds, game website designated servers, established website for server communities, a spreadsheet made by Reddit, etc. Also someone did try to querie the server populations.
What I could find I have (consolidated) mentioned below under the specific servers to get a feeling what kind of community those servers might develop after launch.

Now, let’s see what this all is showing:

Aurora Glade
Guilds: (Czech) The Dragonguards (PvX), (Czech) Lex Mortis (PvX), (Czech), Legends of the Mists (PvX), (Czech) Black Angels (PvX), (Czech) Slzy Osudu (PvX)
Secondary claim of Spanish community following designation of official Spanish server Ruins of Surmia

Blacktide
Guilds: Midnight Mayhem (PvX), (Polish) guildwars.pl, (Polish) GuildWars2.com.pl, (Russian) goha.ru, (Russian) guildwars-2.ru, The Autonomy (PvP), Cult of Outlaws (PvX), ParadoX (PvP)
Will develop as unofficial Polish and Russian (Eastern European) communities?

Boreal Station
Guilds: Pandion Knights, DawN

Desolation
Guilds: The Dark Reavers (PvX), TheTyrianOrder (PvX), Semper Dius, The People's Front of Tyria (PvX), Sovereign (PvX), Hakuna Matata (PvX), Trix Lorena (PvX), Somnium (PvX), Destiny's Edge, (Finnish) Unseelie Court, (Finnish) Frozen Dawn, (Finnish) Frozen Banner, Full Hand (PvX), Eticus, Another Bites the [Dust] (PvX), Insanity (PvX), The Older Gamers (PvX)
Unofficial first UK server: mixture of UK, Scandinavian, German, Dutch.

Far Shiverpeaks
This server has been marked as an unofficial [url=http://www.farshiverpeaks.com/]scandinavian/dutch/belgium server[/url]. A result of a collaboration among the nordic GW2 communities and alliance

Fissure of Woe
Guilds: TKOT, (Italian) mmorpgitalia.it, Blade and Quill (PvX), Tempus Omnia Revelat (PvX), guildwars2gruppoitaliano.forumfree.it/
Will develop as unofficial Italian community?

Gandara
Guilds: (Gw2Guru-EU Eng Hub), Futilez (PvP), Get Stomped (PvP), The Guild Hall 2, Friskyttarna (PvX), (Turkey) Reaction (PvP), Minions (PvP), (Greek) Heaven and Hell (PvX), (French) Team Baka (PvX), (Finnish) Winter, Deadly Sinners, The Vasburg Armory (PvX), Beyond Control (PvX), Elysium, Hitmen Society, Minoans, Oneitonaut, SpartiansGR, Tartarus, Timeo Danaos, Astral Riders (PvX), Simul Proficimus (PvX), The Black Forge (PvX), The Oscure Brotherhood (PvX), NID (PvX), Dark Saga (PvX), Boneblack Brigade (PvX), International Fuzz (PvX)
Unofficial second UK server, mixture of EU countries represented

Gunnar's Hold
Guild: [KISS] Alliance, Equinox, Team Paradigm,Dark Reavers (UK), Status Quo

Lakeside County
Guilds: eXalted, Halcyon (PvE), Farstar Alliance, Mandalorian Forge(UK), GuildMag home server, Intrepid Gaming, Luck Catchers (Ru), Dragon Season (Gr), Mystic Spiral

Piken Square
Guilds: Guild Wars 2 Roleplayers community
Unofficial server claimed for roleplaying.

Ring of Fire
Guilds: The Bulgarians (PvP), Working as Intended (PvX), (Romanian Guilds x 4+), Fr-GuildWars2.net (FR), FACEPUNCH, The Elite Mercenaries [EM] (International), guildwars2.ro, We Are From Poland (PL)

Seafarer's Rest
Guilds: Siege Turtles (PvX), ST Alliance (PvX), Twice Avenged (PvX), The Order of Chaos (PvX), Sanctuary of Legendary Heroes (PvE), Owls (scandinavian)

Umbral Grotto
Russian claimed?

Underworld
Guilds: Portugal in Tyria (And other Portuguese guilds), Ashen Gates (PvX), Sanctuary, GW2Fans, Portugal Para Sempre (PvE), (Russian) Yin-Yang (PvP), Espirit De Corps

Vabbi
Guilds: DVDF, Atop Beacon's Perch (PvE), The Omen (PvX)(UK/US), mmorpg.pl, GWOnline.net, Atop Beacon’s Perch (PvE), Xispes Maria, MARA (UK/US) (UK Guilds x3), Bloodstone Keepers [BloS] (PvX) (IT), Dahun Öröksége [Hungarian Guild](PVX)

Whiteside Ridge
Guilds: Reddit, Imperium (PvX), Boon Control, Order of the Rose Croix (PvX), Raven (PvP), 7Kingdoms (PvP), be.inside, 2 Big Portuguese Guilds (PvX), (Israeli Guild x2), Imperium (PvX), GameTrailers, Team Liquid, Vgames (Israeli Community), Gamer.co.il(Israeli Community), ally Seth (IT), ally DRAG (IT), Legion D’Orr (FR), Guild Wars Insider, Raven (PL), Ordo Lupi Albi (PL), The Autonomy (PL), Variance (Hungarian Community), eXact

From the above one could say that some –named- servers may develop communities at launch with a focus on:
- Eastern European countries.
- Portugal (Iberian?)
- Italy
- Scandinavian/BeNeLux
- Israël(?)
- Role playing

The WvW debate may have its influence as well; after all who wants to be on the losing side?

It would be nice to have a breakdown (in %) from Arenanet into country IP addresses logging in on the named servers during BWE3, but we have to do without I guess.

So, what are your views on how named servers will, or will not, develop specific (country) communities as may be apparent from the listing above?
Has the BWE server choice made by people/communities a predicting effect on the server population and/or communities to be after launch? To some extent I think so...

Let's hear your views......Arenanet too?

For those looking for a cool Guild, there is room in eXalted a Community with relaxed weirdoes, the best beer tavern in town (to be) for GW2!

/Xarna, member of the eXalted Community
 

I think Arenanet would do the european community a huge pleasure, if they would make these communities vissible to players upfront.  I just dont want to be playing on a server with a mainly Russioan playerbase, as most of them dont or refuse to speak English in general chats.

Not communicating in europe about these different unofficial communities will ultimately lead to hate, trolling and many misuderstandings. Ignoring the problem as all other gamedevelopers have done before does not give the desired results of everyone being happy with their serverchoice.

Thank you for doing the research and giving some insight intoo the population plans.

For WvWvW, this will have no influence, in the end you cant allways be on the loosing servers as ultimately you will be matched with servers of equall strenth.  Fought a server with mainly French players during BWE3, and it gave me great pleasure killing them...

on a side note, the international MMORPG.com guild isnt listed.

Just a caution that Arena Net hasn't released the launch server list yet.

Originally posted by Delvie

Just a caution that Arena Net hasn't released the launch server list yet.

Yes Delvie, it is one of my assumptions.......

The list is far from accurate, but props for trying.

Most Russians went over from Blacktide to Vabbi; only [XAOC] (Chaos) remained from big RUS groups.

This means that most non-RUS guilds flee from Vabbi. Where - unknown.

Blacktide will most likely be the 'unofficial PL server', making most non-PL groups leave it as well. The PL community should have a poll in the upcoming days, but i'm pretty sure Blacktide will prevail.

The Greek community starts promoting Underworld for Greek guilds.

You totally forgot about Ruins of Surmia, which is an untagged unofficial Spanish server.

A lot of the info listed is simply outdated (my guild, Midnight Mayhem, has moved away from Blacktide and we're not going back onto any PL/RUS filled server).

I strongly suggest to use and promote this site - http://www.gw2guilds.org - as it's the currently most up-to-date and very coherent list.

Thanks for the info and further updates. I realize the situation is fluent up till launch and will change over time, so the value is temporarily, but hopefully helps people in choosing a server @ launch.

It will be appreciated if you could update this post further when new information comes available -eg "country communities' chosing a 'new' server before launch.

/Xarna

Originally posted by dr4kun

The list is far from accurate, but props for trying.

 

Most Russians went over from Blacktide to Vabbi; only [XAOC] (Chaos) remained from big RUS groups.

This means that most non-RUS guilds flee from Vabbi. Where - unknown.

Blacktide will most likely be the 'unofficial PL server', making most non-PL groups leave it as well. The PL community should have a poll in the upcoming days, but i'm pretty sure Blacktide will prevail.

The Greek community starts promoting Underworld for Greek guilds.

You totally forgot about Ruins of Surmia, which is an untagged unofficial Spanish server.

A lot of the info listed is simply outdated (my guild, Midnight Mayhem, has moved away from Blacktide and we're not going back onto any PL/RUS filled server).

 

I strongly suggest to use and promote this site - http://www.gw2guilds.org - as it's the currently most up-to-date and very coherent list.

Biggest problem in the end, every group gets its own unofficial server... leaving the general English speaking majorrity without any place of their own.

releasing what guilds are going to be on what server,etc just further encourages people to flock like lemmings to one server because ::insert random cool kid club guild who was good in a lolbeta is here::

eather way though,ill be rolling on whatever server a couple friends i knew from previous mmos are on.if theres a popular guild on it like team paradigm or whatever.then good for them,but i dont roll on servers just because popular guilds like team paradigm or whatever are on the server

Here is also a list on servers and what guilds are gonna play on them and unoffical countries servers.

http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/32389-world-choice-guilds-and-communities/

Not all BWE servers did make it to launch, who is going where now, which communities?

Any views?

Nice post. Thanks!

Originally posted by dr4kun

The list is far from accurate, but props for trying.

Most Russians went over from Blacktide to Vabbi; only [XAOC] (Chaos) remained from big RUS groups.

This means that most non-RUS guilds flee from Vabbi. Where - unknown.

Blacktide will most likely be the 'unofficial PL server', making most non-PL groups leave it as well. The PL community should have a poll in the upcoming days, but i'm pretty sure Blacktide will prevail.

The Greek community starts promoting Underworld for Greek guilds.

You totally forgot about Ruins of Surmia, which is an untagged unofficial Spanish server.

A lot of the info listed is simply outdated (my guild, Midnight Mayhem, has moved away from Blacktide and we're not going back onto any PL/RUS filled server).

 

I strongly suggest to use and promote this site - http://www.gw2guilds.org - as it's the currently most up-to-date and very coherent list.

agree, highly recommend reviewing this site for unofficial servers http://www.gw2guilds.org/