Guide:New player guide/Picking a server

Picking a Server
There are a few things to keep in mind when you pick a server to play on.

Where are Your Friends Playing?
With each character you create, you can only interact fully with people on the same server (realm) as your character. You can create characters on different servers if you like, but then they cannot support each other by e.g. swapping gear, money, supplies or mailing items to each other, etc.

You are allowed limited access to other servers. There is, however, the possibility of server transfers. Server transfers however cost real money when bought from Store.

Other than that, the only way for people on different servers to meet is through the cross-realm Instance Matchmaking dungeons. However, there is no guarantee that two players who would like to interact will be put into the same dungeon group.

What's Your Time Zone?
Playing on a server with a time zone similar to the one you live in means more people will be on around the time you're going to play — assuming you play during peak hours, which varies but is usually between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on during weekdays. This affects the game in several ways, some of which might not be immediately apparent or affect you until you reach higher levels.

Your server's time zone can affect your TERA experience in following ways, among others:
 * The number of people who are available for you to group with. This is critical for instanced dungeons, and if you are interested in endgame you may find that this is your most important consideration as you will want to be active around the same time that the people in your guild are playing.
 * The amount of buying and selling that is going on and the prices in the trade broker at peak hours.
 * The amount of competition for resources that are out in the wild. The more people playing, the more might be looking for the same herb or quest monsteri that you're looking for.
 * The amount of activity going on in Battlegrounds.

People who are usually unable to play during peak hours often try to play on a realm in a different time zone than the one they live in. If you tend to be available earlier than peak hours, you might want to look for a server that is in a time zone earlier than where you live. Similarly, if you tend to be available later than peak hours, you might want to look for a realm that is in a time zone later than where you live. This will generally maximize the number of people who are around when you are also looking to play.

Which Language Do You Prefer to Speak In?
The European Realms are divided up by which language is primarily spoken on them. No rules exist that ban you from speaking other languages on the servers, but you may feel more comfortable on a server where the majority of players speak a language that you understand.

What's the Server Population?
Each server has a population listed on the server selection screen. Each realm is characterized as having Recommended, Low, Medium, High, and Full population. Recommended servers are what En Masse/Gameforge thinks will give a new player the best experience, while the rest are categorized based on how many players are currently logged on.

You will want to play MMORPG with other players, so it's usually best to pick the most populated server, despite what publishers thing.

En Masse/Gameforge occasionally opens new server so that players can experience TERA on a completely new server. New servers, instead of displaying population, display the "New" status. New status means the server has just recently been put online and characters will be lower levels on average and the population of course starts very low. This generally means less resource competition and also a small economy so trading at the trade broker will be reduced.

When these new servers are populated, everyone starts at level 1, but after a month or two there will be many hardcore players at the level cap and endgame will begin to pick up from there. Down the road, there is also the possibility of entire high level guilds transferring onto the server, giving it a kick start. However, players may not pay to transfer to servers flagged as New for six months.

What Kind of Experience Are You Looking For?
This is probably the biggest choice you have to make while playing TERA. There are three types of servers.


 * PVE (Normal)
 * These servers pit player versus the environment; on a PVE server, you cannot be attacked by another player. This may be the least stressful gaming experience especially if you are new to the game, because of this it may be good idea for your first realm to be in a normal server so you can learn how to play as well as enjoy the story of the game. You can PvP if you want, but you are not required to. On these servers, most PvP takes place inside the Battlegrounds, but can also take place anywhere else. Attendance to the battlegrounds is completely optional, as is any other PvP experience.


 * It is worth noting that PVE servers are stigmatized as "easy mode" by those who believe that PVP is the only correct way to play the game. This includes use of the derisive term carebear for players who choose to play on PVE servers.


 * PvP (Player vs. Player)
 * PvP servers are identical to PvE realms in the various races' starting areas (the level 1-11 zone, Island of Dawn).
 * Many players believe that PvP is required in order to have a truly fulfilling experience in TERA. However, a PvP server can be much more stressful and frustrating to play on than a PVE server, due to the constant risk of being attacked.
 * In current TERA killing other players requires flagging yourself for PvP. Open World PvP is limited to players level 65 or higher.


 * RP (Role Playing)
 * "RP" is a meta-category for servers; so far there are only RP-PVE servers. If you are more interested in being immersed in the game world than leveling up or getting cool items, these servers are for you. In these servers, you don't have a character to power-level. You are the character. People accept you if you talk like your character (with whatever accent, whatever vocabulary), and you're also able to act like your character. You are much less likely to get griefers on this server. Also, character name rules are stricter and out of character speech on public channels or in /say or /yell can earn you a visit from a GM who will require you to behave, etc.