WoW Private Servers

[Evel Muffen]

If you did not know: WoW=World of Warcraft

Ok i want the real deal...are Private servers illegal?

Ive recivied multiple answers to this and i dont know what to belive...therefor i want proof if you post yes or no. Ive always wanted one but i dont want to break the law. Please post an answer...Thank you

 

[ragingspeedhorn]

I don't think it's elligal to play on Private Servers, it's elligal if you haven't payed for the game, but not using Blizzards servers isn't elligal (atleast that's what I have heard).

 

[Kaitech[SanD]]

I wan't to play on private servers, but I dont know if you have to pay for them.

 

[iristle]

My brother bought himself WoW and plays on the live servers, he installed it on my computer to play because his computer was broken for awhile. I found myself a private server, http://www.titaniumo.com/main/ and now I play on it. I don't think thats illegal.
EDIT:The server i play on is 'free to play'

 

[GST_Nemisis]

its not illegal to lay on private servers if you have paid for the game.

would it be possible for someone to write a brief toturial on how to use private server, what ones are best for what (fast levelling, most people, insane drops, best custom content etc.) and where to get all the programs needed for them?

(i will +rep, and hopefully many other people will, if anyone does)

just so u know i have never used a private server before but im looking into it right now and if i get it working i might make a tutorial.

 

[1337D00D]

It's not illegal, but Blizzard can sue you for hosting one.

And I don't think this is a supported topic here....

 

[demonsofdante]

Normally to play on private servers you ahve to find their website and register on that site. The site will then give you an IP or address for their server. You open up the World of Warcraft folder and look for a notebad file called Realm list. You then replace the preset location with the private server's. Load up WoW and enter the information you put into the website and that should work.


The site will usually tell you what changes there are in the server, whether they support BC or not etc.

Heres a site with many many private servers whos quality can vary:
http://www.wowstatus.net/

 

[Jacek]

I play on wow.hav0c.net


private servers ARE illegal!!! Even if you had bought the game, blizzard loses money because you don't pay the subscription fee.

most of the private servers are free, there are some paid ones, but they aren't any better than free ones

 

[Kaitech[SanD]]

A few of my friends play on private servers... They haven't been told off by Blizzard at all!

 

[Evel Muffen]

Ok i asked for proof so im not beliveing any of you until i get proof. and Jacek how do you know their illegal, if you give me saficiant proof i will belive you.

ragingspeedhorn:

I don't think it's elligal to play on Private Servers, it's elligal if you haven't payed for the game, but not using Blizzards servers isn't elligal (atleast that's what I have heard).

You spelt illegal wrong, not that im the grammer/spelling king but i just wanted you to know you put it wrong 3 times so it couldnt be a keyboard error.

demonsofdante:

Normally to play on private servers you ahve to find their website and register on that site. The site will then give you an IP or address for their server. You open up the World of Warcraft folder and look for a notebad file called Realm list. You then replace the preset location with the private server's. Load up WoW and enter the information you put into the website and that should work.


The site will usually tell you what changes there are in the server, whether they support BC or not etc.

Heres a site with many many private servers whos quality can vary:
http://www.wowstatus.net/

Now are you saying we have to registure with Blizzard?

Oh and also if i made my own private server i would get in trouble but if i joined someone elses i wouldnt?

What people have said so far.
Not illegal:4
Illegal:1

 

[GST_Nemisis]

no you have to register on the website of the private server.

 

[Evel Muffen]

And that makes it not illegal?

 

[GST_Nemisis]

well i think its not illegal because the websites are privately hosted on grounds where no money is exchanged for playing on them. i cant think of any other example to link it to, but i think the fact that it is free is what makes it legal.

 

[Evel Muffen]

If it is Illegal, i would guess because Blizzard looses money cause people can just go their and abuse all of Blizzards hard work. I think somewhere in the Terms of Use for WoW it says if their Illegal or not.

Is their any way they can find out you have one though? Its like Limewire, its illegal, but millions use it. No one stops them eaither cause they can track you down...can they?...anyway the cops dont have time to find every computer that has somethin illegal on it they should be out in the city shooting a bank robber or somthin.

 

[GST_Nemisis]

well i just did a yahoo search and got mixed results from forums mainly like here. tbh if you are worried about them being illegal dont play on them, but for people like me who isnt phased by such things it doesnt matter (A. because where i live and B. because paying £15 for a album and £40 for a game is a rip off)

 

[Evel Muffen]

Well, im kinda worried cause i dont wanna get arrested. If i got fined then im not as worried. And theirs like a 1% chance you will get in trouble for useing one. I mean its illegal to hack right?

Ive hacked befor.

 

[Mikentosh]

private servers ARE illegal!!! Even if you had bought the game, blizzard loses money because you don't pay the subscription fee.

From the Terms 'O Service:

Exceptions to Informal Negotiations and Arbitration. You and Blizzard agree that the following Disputes are not subject to the above provisions concerning informal negotiations and binding arbitration: (1) any Disputes seeking to enforce or protect, or concerning the validity of, any of your or Blizzard’s intellectual property rights; (2) any Dispute related to, or arising from, allegations of (hint hint)-->theft<--(hint hint), piracy, invasion of privacy or (hint hint)-->unauthorized use<--(hint hint); and (3) any claim for injunctive relief.

I don't think you'll get arrested, Evel Muffen.. And yes, it's illegal to hack.

.. Except Runescape.

 

[Jacek]

they won't be chasing u, eventually the server owner

Statement from Blizzard Entertainment to the GotWoW? Community

As many of you already know, Blizzard has taken steps recently to stop the development of unauthorized emulator servers for the World of Warcraft™ beta.

While we appreciate the devotion and enthusiasm the GotWoW? community has shown for World of Warcraft, the development of emulator servers directly contributes to the illegal copying of the beta game client and creates
the opportunity for people to continue to play on unauthorized servers after the completion of the World of Warcraft beta test.

Some individuals may have helped develop emulator servers under the belief that Blizzard was not opposed to the existence of illegal copies of the World of Warcraft beta game client. However, this belief was incorrect. Blizzard places a high value on its intellectual property and does not condone illegal copies of the beta game client or software that facilitates or encourages the use of illegal copies of the beta game client.

Leaders from various emulator-server development teams, including StormCraft, Vibe, and Khaos, have turned over their code and stopped development of emulator servers. We are asking that those of you who are continuing to operate unauthorized emulator servers for the World of Warcraft beta take this opportunity to voluntarily stop these efforts and turn over your code to Blizzard as well. For a short period of time, Blizzard will grant amnesty to those who comply with this request. Please contact us at *email removed* for more information.

Thank you for your understanding and for helping us to ensure the integrity of the beta-testing process. We look forward to seeing you in game when World of Warcraft is released!

 

[demonsofdante]

They wont enforce it, don't worry about it. I know people that do it, and I've done it. At the worst, the server will get shut down, but that wont ever happen because blizz doesnt wanna spend the money and time on it. Besides, if you shut down a private server, how does that encourage those playing on it to actually buy the game, if anything the fees and cost of the game are what keep oeple from playing it. Blizzard would be losing money if they took any major action against private servers

 

[GST_Nemisis]

even if it were illegal, do u know how much illegal stuff is on the net?!?1 i mean the hundreds of millions of dollars of software that is being spread around the globe for nothing? the probably billions of dollars of music and video that is out there?! i mean u dodge $10 by not paying for wow and another $15 for not playing monthly. the MPIAA dont really care about that, just like the police and drugs dealers, its all about the big fish not the small fry.

anyways, the people who are target are the people who are actively selling things without a licence, thats why that boy was arrested after the police found he sold over $5000 of music to random people on the net (this was about 8 years ago). anyways he had to pay back all the $5000 and do a little community service but that is the only time that i have heard of anyone being procecuded because of something like that. even places like torrent spy and isohunt are target but so long as they are onyl search engines and they dont make any money they are perfectly legal no matte rhow hard the MPIAA tries. i know alot of the police online effort is to try and crackdown on peadophillia and that sort of thing. playing a little wow and downloading some music should leave you fine.

 

[demonsofdante]

Besides i DLed the trial BC to my account but now play on a friends account, so I got BC for free.

 

[Evel Muffen]

So we all agree that Private Servers are infact Illegal? Because we have proof posted by Blizzard (the company that made WoW) saying it is Illegal.

Final Result of Post
________________________________________________
PRIVATE SERVERS ARE ILLEGAL
________________________________________________
Thank you guys for your time and posts. We may still talk about private servers but i got all the proof i need.

Sooooooo other than that anyone know of any good Private Servers? That would let me be a GM?

 

[GST_Nemisis]

Thank you for your understanding and for helping us to ensure the integrity of the beta-testing process. We look forward to seeing you in game when World of Warcraft is released!

um..how old is that statement? im sure they probably do care about their intelectual content and rights but apprently their to lazy and too rich to care.

 

[demonsofdante]

Dude, who cares? They may be illegal they may not, the ambiquity of the rules regarding to whether it is illegal or not depending on if youre the host or a participant shows there will be no legal action taken. Its up to you whether you want to do it. Its obviously morally wrong but how big of a deal really is it?

 

[Evel Muffen]

To join them do you have to download anything? Like if you joining someone elses?

 

[demonsofdante]

Nope, just sign up on that servers website and chang the realm list

 

[GST_Nemisis]

you gotta have the same version which at the moment the most popular is 2.0.12 or 2.1.0, which i think are very new anywyas.

 

[Reager]

playing on private servers is pointless, believe me, ive played on private and blizzard's legal ones and private servers are very (sorry the word) shitty, they are the 0.1% of real ones. First of all many quests dont work, the servers continuosly fall down, few people are on private servers compared to the real one (getting parties or raids going can take you an eternity), you run the risk that the server breaks (they loose ur character information and bye bye u need to restart) or they get closed when they are caught for illegal purposes (this reasons are why the majority of people that play in private servers and not the legal ones say WoW sucks, when they didnt really play the real game).

Conclusion: Just buy the game and pay it monthly, if you dont have the money or dont want to pay, play another game. Playing in private servers is just a waste of time.

 

[GST_Nemisis]

no playing on server is good when u play on a fun server where u get lvl 250 in 30 seconds and then you can buy all the epic weapons that you would never get on a public server. i really enjoyed that anyways.

 

[Evel Muffen]

I Agree, private servers look amazeing...instant hacks, custom vendors, custom weapons, level 255 in a second, tier 6 armor, whats not to like?

 

[Mikentosh]

I Agree, private servers look amazeing...instant hacks, custom vendors, custom weapons, level 255 in a second, tier 6 armor, whats not to like?

I'd love to be a level 255 with a +1337 Str Chuck Norris blade of Asswhooping.
But then what? Kill mobs that are glitched halfway to hell over and over to get XP 50x the normal speed? Interact with the 15 people who are on that server? What are you going to do when it's down, which most of them are all of the time?

playing on private servers is pointless, believe me, ive played on private and blizzard's legal ones and private servers are very (sorry the word) @&#*$^, they are the 0.1% of real ones. First of all many quests dont work, the servers continuosly fall down, few people are on private servers compared to the real one (getting parties or raids going can take you an eternity), you run the risk that the server breaks (they loose ur character information and bye bye u need to restart) or they get closed when they are caught for illegal purposes (this reasons are why the majority of people that play in private servers and not the legal ones say WoW sucks, when they didnt really play the real game).

Conclusion: Just buy the game and pay it monthly, if you dont have the money or dont want to pay, play another game. Playing in private servers is just a waste of time.

Quoted for the truth.

OH AND GRATZ TO THIS POST FOR BEING VIEWED 100 TIMES!!!

 

[Evel Muffen]

i do have World of Warcraft the real 15$ a month thing, And i would make videos. And for all who cant make videos....GET FRAPS,GAMECAM,HYPERCAM, AND IF YOU HAVE A WINDOWS YOU CAN JUST USE WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER.

OH AND GRATZ TO THIS POST FOR BEING VIEWED 100 TIMES!!!

 

[GST_Nemisis]

i personally like checking out all the gear. i think thats fun. i tend to do it on other games too, like on some games i like to try out every gun, on wow i would like to try every weapon. especially those that are impossible to get on normal servers (legendary/artifact items)

 

[Shados]

Look, playing on private servers is not illegal, but it might be against wow's TOS and/or EULA. Hosting a private server is illegal in most countries though.

-*meow*

 

[Kimbo]

It aint illegal to play on one, making/hosting one is though.

 

[Mecheon]

What Wulf said

They also need some sort of modding central communities like Warcraft 3 has, but they don't have them. A pity, seeing as they could actually make those servers worthwhile if they pooled their resources into making something good...

 

[GST_Nemisis]

isnt it legal in some countries like sweden?

 

[Jacek]

WoW private servers are illegal no matter what, playing on them is illegal as well

about lvl 255 stuff... depends the server you play on ... these are called funservers

There is a server Mmorpg4free.com. it had around 600 players online at time, low pings, barely any bugs and everything fixed realtime, max level 60 etc. experience rate was 3x so you don't have to spend few months leveling your char, week or two is enough.

why I don't play on it now? stupid GMs, who were giving items to their friends, and lag which occured after merge with other server. out of that, server was great, and I don't understand your 15 people bullshit

 

[DarkKnight]

Ok so It's illegal to host one and is legal to have one, If i'm right, Blizzard had send out private servers themselve (but I could be wrong,) I've heard it somewhere some time.

 

[GST_Nemisis]

WoW private servers are illegal no matter what

it wouldnt be illegal if you owned your own country, im asking about sweden because i know their copyright laws are quite relaxed. im fairly sure its legal to share games for free out there.

 

[Kaitech[SanD]]

It's not illegal, it's for the people who can't pay for the game, its against the Terms and Agreements, but the police have not said anything about it, it is not against the law!

 

[lorothrigs]

WoW private servers are illegal no matter what, playing on them is illegal as well

Actually, United States copyright laws don't apply in some countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands. Well, to a certain extent. Hosting a private server is probably legal there though. You could host it on a computer in Sweden from the United States.

 

[Reager]

no playing on server is good when u play on a fun server where u get lvl 250 in 30 seconds and then you can buy all the epic weapons that you would never get on a public server. i really enjoyed that anyways.

i dont see fun in that, playing alone and after 2 minutes u can already solo dungeons? pft thats why people that dont play the real game say it sucks, plus there is a 200% difference when you do a real dungeon with a raid of clan members and with your character that you worked your ass off to be leet, you feel superb because youve accomplished something hard in the game and everyone gets excited, you dont feel those emotions in those type of servers.

 

[Evel Muffen]

Its not about being better in private servers it about exploring the World of Warcraft out of its digital bounds.

Post Update

We are still unsure about the answer to this post.

 

[GST_Nemisis]

i play on both private and public servers, i prefer public servers but im not the sort of person who will play for hours to get a weapon, just to see what it looks like. i enjoy raids and instances on public servers tho.

 

[Evel Muffen]

Which server do you play on----

I would also like to know if anyone knows of any good Private servers that would let me have the powers of a GM or is just fun to be on.

 

[Shados]

About what countries it's legal to host a private server in, keep in mind that Albania has no computer laws. Of course, it also has no computers.....

-*meow*

 

[rulerofiron99]

Which server do you play on----

I would also like to know if anyone knows of any good Private servers that would let me have the powers of a GM or is just fun to be on.

Do a google search. Goto a private server and ask the managers.

 

[VGsatomi]

The topic of legality can vary, but overall there is nothing they can do to you if you play on a private server. They may ask you to stop if you are hosting one, but like with gold selling, there are loopholes that really tie blizz's hands from preventing it altogether.

The way I see it, Blizz already got your money when you paid $40 for the game and another $40 for the expansion. I would see no problem with playing on private servers. I would probably ber one one too if I knew how.
-VGsatomi

 

[Jacek]

The topic of legality can vary, but overall there is nothing they can do to you if you play on a private server. They may ask you to stop if you are hosting one, but like with gold selling, there are loopholes that really tie blizz's hands from preventing it altogether.

The way I see it, Blizz already got your money when you paid $40 for the game and another $40 for the expansion. I would see no problem with playing on private servers. I would probably ber one one too if I knew how.
-VGsatomi

but they don't get money from subscriptions... and that is more than 80$ for the game

@Shados: that was quite offensive, doesn't fit a moderator