Zek Server Merge -- I need a new home!

[Kentarre]

So I'm not sure how many of you have heard, but they are combining all the PVP servers into one big monstrosity, er, I mean one big server. Being a Tallon Zek player my entire life, but not an enthusiastic PVPer, I see this as my ticket out of town!

But now I'm faced with trying to figure out where to go... I play casually, enjoy tradeskilling, enjoy the occational raid, but certainally dont raid every day... The characters I play most are:

Kentarre - lvl 49 Wood Elf Ranger
Nurkina - lvl 22 Gnome Wizard
Kipie - lvl 12 Gnome Enchanter
Tadia - lvl 9 Barbarian Shaman

So I guess I'm looking for a server with an active population across all levels except the high end game. I may someday get to the high end game, but at this rate it'll be a while (I've already been playing for 5 years!)

I'm sure they are probably easier to come by on a blue server, but I'm also going to be looking for a nice, friendly, family style guild on my new server...

So, any help you may be able to provide to help me find a new home for my clan, I'd be most appreciative.

[Elyssanda]

So I'm not sure how many of you have heard, but they are combining all the PVP servers into one big monstrosity, er, I mean one big server. Being a Tallon Zek player my entire life, but not an enthusiastic PVPer, I see this as my ticket out of town!

But now I'm faced with trying to figure out where to go... I play casually, enjoy tradeskilling, enjoy the occational raid, but certainally dont raid every day... The characters I play most are:

Kentarre - lvl 49 Wood Elf Ranger
Nurkina - lvl 22 Gnome Wizard
Kipie - lvl 12 Gnome Enchanter
Tadia - lvl 9 Barbarian Shaman

So I guess I'm looking for a server with an active population across all levels except the high end game. I may someday get to the high end game, but at this rate it'll be a while (I've already been playing for 5 years!)

I'm sure they are probably easier to come by on a blue server, but I'm also going to be looking for a nice, friendly, family style guild on my new server...

So, any help you may be able to provide to help me find a new home for my clan, I'd be most appreciative.

Torv Server is decently active lately.. moreso than a few others I visit... FV is good IF you're into RPing...

[JMorgana]

Based on the levels of your characters I should think you'd want to consider one of the newer servers that isn't quite as "drowning" in higher level players...Stromm perhaps. Just random thoughts tumbling through my head.

[Akishka]

I'm on Fennin Ro and the one thing that strikes me there is that almost all the lower level players are alts, very few true newbies. I don't know if that would be a plus or a minus for you

[Scuzz Zilla]

I'm also considering moveing to a non PVP server from my Zek home.

Do certain servers have certain personalities?
Or are all servers pretty much the same? (Save the new servers and special servers)

Like is there any reason to move to Brell instead of bristlebane besides i like underground gods?

[Kakg]

It's difficult to compare servers as most people only have experience of one or two. It would be a very rare person indeed who could give you an unbiased view of all of the servers. But it is true to say that they all do have thier own personality brought about by the personalities of the current players and the legacies of the previous players. That's the same with any human community.

Given the levels of your characters the recomendation to look at newer servers is a good one. Stromm has the added advantage of still being labelled as "Newbie Server" meaning that the few true newbies (not alts) that are entering the game are gravitating towards that server.

I can't give you an unbiased opinion of Stromm as I am a resident but it seems to still have a reasonable low to mid level population and it's still very common to see groups of lowbies xping in Crushbone and the like although Orc Hill in Gfay is a lot quieter these days. There are two independant server boards Stromm Tavern and EQStromm.org although I would strongly advise you to avoid thier rants sections as they are most definately sewers.

For those of us who prefer small family guilds there is a network of guild alliances and a large open raiding culture permitting planes flagging for the higher levels without having to up sticks and join a hard core raiding guild. Stromm does suffer from an inferiority complex in that the residents still think of themselves as newbies due to the server label. However it does say something for the players that they recently took down the CoD Bertoxxulous event with a 39 person open raid mostly consisting of people who had never done the raid before and with only two enchanters and two necros for crowd control.

[Silverfish]

Maybe I'm Wrong...

...but I was under the impression that Stromm was labeled a "newbie server" because they don't allow incoming transfers. If that's the case, it would rule out that possibility. FV only allows one character per account last time I was there (admittedly a while ago) so that would let that out too.

The two servers I've experienced personally are Bristlebane and Morden Rasp, and they're as different as night and day. Bristlebane is an old, very established server. It's crowded, and the economy is stuffed tight. Getting really good twink gear in the Bazaar is simple, there are many, many tradeskillers, and it's easy to find groups. On the down side, every place is crowded, the newbie areas and hot zones are sometimes unusable due to spawn competition, and getting into a raid guild is tough because the higher population means that guilds can be choosy.

Morden Rasp, on the other hand, is a newer server. While it has its share of high end players, there's a decent contingent of lower end players, and a lot of newbies. The newbie zones and hot zones aren't overpopulated, and there's not a lot of competition for raid targets or camps. Of course, this means that it's much harder to get a pickup group, raids tend to be harder to populate and run, and the amount of really top-notch twink gear available is very low, with what is available being amazingly expensive.

What I always suggest to anyone in checking out a new server is to go to the Bazaar, and shop around for a bit, then go sit in the PoK and listen to the chat for a few hours. The prices for stuff you want to get, and seeing how many folks are asking for/providing buffs and groups, will give you a feel for the place without having to take the time to level a toon up just to try it out. Plus, if the place is crawling in trash-talk, you can decide to avoid it (or in your case, coming from a Zek you may prefer that).

Silverfish

[Kakg]

...but I was under the impression that Stromm was labeled a "newbie server" because they don't allow incoming transfers.

Nope, that used to be the policy but Stromm was opened and has been taking incoming and outgoing transfers for several months now.

What I always suggest to anyone in checking out a new server is to go to the Bazaar, and shop around for a bit, then go sit in the PoK and listen to the chat for a few hours. The prices for stuff you want to get, and seeing how many folks are asking for/providing buffs and groups, will give you a feel for the place without having to take the time to level a toon up just to try it out.

Good advice there especially for anyone who might not be in the core EQ timezones of EST to PST.

[Ravenswood]

Aye, good advice indeed. I'm not sure I'd be that concerned about it though. It's true that no one person has enough experience on different servers to give an objective opinion on the matter, but unless you join FV, or one of the two newer servers, I get the impression from talking to people on varous boards that the rest of the servers are pretty similar. Same problems with people leaving and guilds failing, same problems with a high-end level concentration, and similar bazaar prices. I can tell you that on Tunare there aren't many "true newbies," but there are plenty of people playing alts to group with my 14 Necro, 15 Shaman, 20 SK, 23 Warrior, 23 Druid, and 48 Rogue.

I guess if I were considering another server I'd first start researching guild websites to see what's out there.

[Maevenniia]

One thing that differs a lot is pick-up raids & raid-councils or alliances governing rotation of high-end content (although with lower populations,, this might not be an issue atm.)

Some servers have them, whether loosely or highly organized, and some don't. If this is important to you, it pays to look into it.

[Tillinghast]

While I don't think Quellious would be a good choice for you as there seems to be fewer Mid level players. However, something to look for that Quellious has is a meta guild, a guild made up of other guilds, for big raid. Organized Raiders of Quellious is a brilliant group with a truly outstanding representation of the best guilds on the server. If they were less focused on the high end game it would be perfect for newer/lower players like you.


Tillinghast
Vendor Mule
"I am not really a Shadow Knight...though I do play one on Everquest."

[Nefertiti Nazguul]

Well we all may be combined with another server. There are just too many servers out there that are under populated. So we will be seeing new faces across the board. I am sure that some of you may not want to believe that but a little bird told me.