Selecting a realm to play WoW has become more complex, with numerous realm options and the introduction of a new tier, Seasonal, coinciding with the Season of Discovery.
When logging into WoW Classic, it’s crucial not to confuse regular realms with SoD realms. SoD is a seasonal game mode, and its servers are likewise seasonal. Unless you have a friend awaiting you on a specific realm, it’s advisable to choose an SoD server based on your location and the current server population. Opting for a bustling realm increases your chances of finding fellow players to team up with and provides ample farming opportunities, especially if you’re adept at changing layers.
WoW Classic server populations for Season of Discovery servers
IronForge.pro, the website, maintains trackers of Season of Discovery server active character populations based on raids uploaded to Warcraft Logs. While these figures may not be 100 percent accurate for each server, they offer insight into server population density.
There are a total of 14 seasonal servers across Europe and the U.S., with eight in the U.S., including two designated for Australian players, and eight in the EU, with two for Russian players.
Below are the current active character populations for each SoD server as of Feb. 17, 2024, according to IronForge:
| Server Name | Server Type | Alliance Population | Horde Population | Total Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crusader Strike US | PvP RP | 13,015 | 12,160 | 25,175 |
| Living Flame US | PvP | 11,051 | 9,203 | 20,254 |
| Lone Wolf US | PvP | 10,509 | 9,961 | 20,470 |
| Wild Growth US | PvE | 12,305 | 5,677 | 17,982 |
| Shadowstrike US (AU) | PvP | 3,528 | 3,175 | 6,703 |
| Chaos Bolt US | PvP RP | 1,823 | 1,290 | 3,113 |
| Lava Lash US | PvE RP | 1,679 | 872 | 2,551 |
| Penance US (AU) | PvE | 591 | 172 | 763 |
| Living Flame EU | PvP | 12,888 | 12,789 | 25,677 |
| Lone Wolf EU | PvP | 13,041 | 11,771 | 24,812 |
| Wild Growth EU | PvE | 12,506 | 5,677 | 18,183 |
| Crusader Strike EU | PvP RP | 5,402 | 5,877 | 11,279 |
| Chaos Bolt EU | PvP | 2,863 | 2,702 | 5,565 |
| Lava Lash EU | PvE RP | 1,008 | 261 | 1,269 |
| Penance EU (RU) | PvE | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Shadowstrike EU (RU) | PvP | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Overall, PvP servers are notably more popular among Season of Discovery players, mirroring a trend observed in regular WoW Classic and Wrath Classic servers. On average, WoW Classic SoD servers have an approximately 60 percent Alliance and 40 percent Horde player split.
With the exception of the Crusader Strike U.S. server, RP servers are generally less popular than non-RP ones.
