What Does Your Server Name Mean?

When I started playing World of Warcraft, back before any of the expansions were released, I was looking for the realm that my friends played on. Overwhelmed by the number of available servers and knowing only that the one I was looking for was a PvE server beginning with the letter T, I luckily chose the corrrect realm (Tanaris). Now that I know a whole lot more about Warcraft and its characters, organizations, and locations, most server names will stick with me pretty well.

For example, my current home, Executus, is named after the Majordomo located in Molten Core who summons Ragnaros far too soon. My old server is named after the desert zone where the Caverns of Time are located, and some of my friends are on a server named after a group of Shaman. Sure, knowing a bit of lore can help you remember realm names, but what can a realm’s name tell you about the server?

One of the lesser known facts of Blizzard’s server names is that each type of realm (PvE, PvP, RP, and RP-PVP) has naming conventions that can shed some light on the type of realm it is. Straight from the World of Warcraft game guide:

  • Normal realms are named after heroes, neutral characters or known places.
  • Player vs. Player (PvP) realms are named after demons and warmongers.
  • Normal Roleplaying (RP) realms are named after beneficial organizations.
  • Player vs. Player Roleplaying (RP-PvP) realms are named after evil organizations or cults.

Go through your realm list and see how much these four simple rules can blow your mind. Combine them with some basic knowledge of the Warcraft universe and you can figure out with high likelyhood what type of realm your buddies play on without even asking them. Talk about a way to impress your friends!

Of course, other games have other conventions for naming their servers, be they from their own lore, simple numbers, or just areas of the world in which they are located. What is your realm’s namesake, WoW or otherwise?

12 Comments

  1. The Forgotten Coast is a PvP realm that doesn’t exactly fit that description. It’s named off that strip of land in Feralas that is on the ocean.

  2. Yeah, I’ve seen a couple of the new servers breaking the old naming conventions, maybe they ran out of names in some of the categories and have to wait for Cata to use the new ones heh.

    As for my realms namesake: Argent Dawn! One of the originals ;)

  3. The Forgotten Coast is a PvP realm that doesn’t exactly fit that description. It’s named off that strip of land in Feralas that is on the ocean.

    It actually refers to the great Scourge of West Kalimdor, Coast The Demolisher, whose destruction is sadly lost to the annals of history.

  4. well well mr. Amatera, looks as if you know more about lore than meets the eye! well done m8.

  5. I’m on Chromaggus EU and as with Juggy, when I first joined the game I was looking for the realm my friends played on (otherwise I probably wouldn’t have gone PvP) and it wasn’t until I was level 80 probably that I actually came face-to-face with the colourful mut. Still, with a boss that I kill so little, the line “Oh no! We’re going to crash the server!” just before taking him out still isn’t old. =P

  6. Antonidas…without us, there WOULD be no more World of Warcraft. Orcs and Humans and Trolls and Gnomes would all be singing Kumbaya and toasting marshmallows. You’re welcome :P

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