WoW Classic server queues: the busiest servers, from Whitemane to Herod

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Were a few days in after the launch of World of Warcraft Classic, and the server queue wait times are still significant. If you're looking for the latest WoW Classic server queue news, across both the US and EU, you've come to the right place. You'll find here the current stats for each server, from busiest server to almost-empty ones.

To be frank, the WoW Classic server queue wait times haven't been this demanding since World of Warcraft (and the MMORPG genre as a whole) was at the height of its popularity.

In some ways it's fitting – a historically accurate glimpse at what it was like to play World of Warcraft at its most popular, warts and all, including the long wait times you'd experience when Blizzard lifted the lid on something new. Some players looking to go back and re-experience vanilla WoW are having to wait up to three hours in order to enter the realm of their choice, with players estimated to number more than 2 million looking to get online at once. 

In the most extreme (and, to be fair to Blizzard, likely buggy) cases, some players were looking at wait times of more than 11 hours. As you'd imagine, it's got some fans of the game very rankled:

A post from developer Blizzard's World of Warcraft Classic forums.

A post from developer Blizzard's World of Warcraft Classic forums. (Image credit: Blizzard)

So, what do you do if you want to quickly get levelling in WoW Classic? Below you'll find a quick guide to what servers are experiencing the most strain at the moment, and which you'll be able to jump into straight away.

WoW Classic server queues: high wait times

Note that the below WoW Classic serve queue wait times are accurate as of 16.45 BST, August 28. We've updated to include EU server stats across English, German and French-speaking servers.

Picking a server, especially on WoW Classic, is a delicate art – you want it busy enough to feel alive (and one that your friends are on, as there's no transferring if you want to team up later), but not so busy as to be a chore to enter. A server that's too busy could lead to problems with quests as you queue in-game to find spawning monsters and quest-specific items.

So consider steering clear of the over-populated ones for the time being. Listed below are the insanely-popular servers, according to the excellent Wowhead.com, listed by server name,  number of players queues, and Blizzard's estimated wait time:

US Servers:

  • Whitemane (9,390 / 212 mins)
  • Faerlina (9,493 / 208 mins)
  • Herod (6,745 / 114 mins)
  • Fairbanks (5,573 / 91 mins)
  • Stalagg (4,104 / 62 mins)
  • Bigglesworth (3,107 / 52 mins)
  • Skeram (2,397 / 38 mins)
  • Grobbulus (2,110 / 33 mins)
  • Blaumeux (1,919 / 18 mins)
  • Incendius (1,292 / 18 mins)
  • Thalnos (1,219 / 14 mins)

EU Servers:

English

  • Firemaw (11,456 / 110mins)
  • Gehennas (10,065 / 407 mins)
  • Golemagg (9,953 / 269 mins)
  • Mograine (5,656 / 195 mins)
  • Shazzrah (9,839 / 293 mins)

German

  • Lakeshire (9,674 / 348 mins)
  • Venoxis (2,922 / 90 mins)
  • Everlook (1,620 / 30 mins)

French

  • Sulfuron (6,119 / 196 mins)

All other servers should either have a) a more palatable wait time, while still having a decent server population, or b) have no wait time at all, with very low player counts.

WoW Classic server queues: low wait times

If you're looking for a server where you can get playing straight away, check out these servers below, where there's currently no wait time at all. Remember, of course, that World of Warcraft is best played with pals, so make sure you've got a crew with you before venturing out into the more desolate servers, as you may struggle to finish some of the group-based activities otherwise.

The following servers, at the time of writing, have zero players in their queues and zero minutes wait time:

US Servers

  • Ashkandi
  • Atiesh
  • Azuresong
  • Benediction
  • Bloodsail Buccaneers
  • Deviate Delight
  • Kirtonos
  • Kromcrush
  • Kurinnaxx
  • Mankrik
  • Myzrael
  • Old Blanchy
  • Pagle
  • Rattlegore
  • Smolderweb
  • Sulfuras
  • Thuderfury
  • Westfall
  • Windseeker

EU Servers

English

  • Ashbringer
  • Dreadmist
  • Flamelash
  • Gandling
  • Hydraxian Waterlords
  • Mirage Raceway
  • Nethergarde Keep
  • Noggenfogger
  • Pyrewood Village
  • Razorgore
  • Skullflame
  • Stonespine
  • Ten Storms
  • Zandalar Tribe

German

  • Dragon's Call
  • Lakeshire
  • Patchwerk
  • Razorfen
  • Transcendence

French

  • Amennar
  • Auberdine
  • Finkle

As the launch period settles, Blizzard adds more servers, and (inevitably) players drop off as the rose-tinted glasses fall off and they start to realise just quite so hard WoW Classic was (or should that be is?), these numbers will start to look a bit more sensible. But if you're desperate to get playing straight away, those tips above should help you get out and into Azeroth far more quickly.

Gerald Lynch

Gerald is Editor-in-Chief of iMore.com. Previously he was the Executive Editor for TechRadar, taking care of the site's home cinema, gaming, smart home, entertainment and audio output. He loves gaming, but don't expect him to play with you unless your console is hooked up to a 4K HDR screen and a 7.1 surround system. Before TechRadar, Gerald was Editor of Gizmodo UK. He is also the author of 'Get Technology: Upgrade Your Future', published by Aurum Press.