What Is PVE in World of Warcraft?

PVE Servers

• Players who create characters on PVE servers may travel to almost any zone without fear of being attacked by players of the opposing faction. The capital cities of each faction are the only exception; any player of the opposing faction who enters one of these cities will be automatically flagged as available for PVP combat as long as he remains inside. Players may also voluntarily flag themselves as available for PVP combat by typing "/pvp."

Solo PVE Content

• Solo PVE content primarily consists of quests. Although it is possible for players to gain experience and level up without completing any quests, questing rewards players with equipment, reputation and gold. Certain quests may also reward players with alternative currency types, such as Marks of the World Tree or Champion's Seals; this currency is required to purchase more powerful equipment or vanity items such as mounts and non-combat pets. Additionally, several achievements are directly linked to quest completion, such as "3000 Quests Completed," an achievement that rewards the title "the Seeker."

Group PVE Content

• Some PVE content requires small groups of up to five players to complete, including quests that target enemies who are more difficult than normal. Similarly, enemies and bosses found within dungeons require a well-organized group of five players to be completed at the intended level; of the five players, one must take the role of tank, one the role of healer and the remaining three the role of damage dealers. Some dungeons are available in an additional difficulty, heroic; this difficulty increases the health and damage of the enemies and adds complexity to fights, but rewards players with more powerful equipment.

Raid PVE Content

• Raid PVE content is usually available in two difficulties, normal and heroic, although some very old raid dungeons such as Molten Core and Blackwing Lair do not offer a heroic difficulty. Raids are intended for larger groups of players; most have a 10-player version and a 25-player version, although some old raid dungeons were designed for groups of up to 40 players. Raid content generally rewards better equipment than solo or group content of the same level; the fights in raid dungeons are very complex and require specific strategies to defeat. Ten-player groups consist of two tanks, two or three healers and five or six damage dealers, while 25-player groups consist of two or three tanks, five to seven healers and 15 to 18 damage dealers.