Baja, Sonoma or Napa Valley?

[Calla Lily]

I'm currently on an East Coast shard but am thinking about branching out to a West Coast shard since that's where I live, and it'd be nice to have more people around late at night when I play. Which of these shards has the best RP? Which has room for housing? Which is more populated? I play PvM exclusively, and I enjoy crafting and working magery-related skills.

 

[Nok]

Hi Calla Lily,

Of course most people are going to say their shard. And I do have to admit I play Baja (for 10 years, still there).

In all honesty though, it depends on what "type" of RP you are looking for. If you want traditional, in-character RP... I would say Pacific is likely your best bet, Napa Valley & Sonoma tying for second place, and then Baja coming in third. If you are into event RP, then flip that around... Baja would be the best bet for events, and the others tie equally.

They all have room for housing. Pacific and Baja are both average medium populated shards, Napa and Sonoma only slightly behind. Any of them can flip-flop on any given day.

PvM? Baja. For the reason that Baja of course has a lot of US players (being a US shard), but it also pings really well to Asia... and for a US shard has a lot of English-speaking Asians that also play there. The diversity of players and playstyles makes Baja the place to learn strategies & tactics especially for PvM... and even PvP if you want to get into it.

Any of the four would be a great shard to play on, there are great players on all of them. Make a character on all of them... and give each a try.

 

[Basara]

Don't forget that there is a 5th west coast shard as well, Lake Austin (despite the Texas name, it's in the same facility as the other 4, in California).

Lake Austin has plenty of open space for housing, and a strong crafting community. There is a small RP community here as well (UMP), and the folks are real friendly (at least, outside of Fel).

To give an example, during the battles with Melissa, the mages and tamers here went out of their way to keep the crafters of people they didn't know alive, and inflicting enough damage to get their event reward.

 

[Calla Lily]

I didn't know Lake Austin was a West Coast shard, and I feel silly for forgetting Pacific

Thanks for the good info. I think I'll follow your suggesting and visit each one

 

[Nok]

Yup, I always forget about Lake Austin too. lol