With the launch of Sunstrider's TBC realm, Shadowmoon, just around the corner, we've got a bit of information to share and a few questions to answer before the portal to the magic world finally opens.

We are excited for the journey to begin on Friday, March 25 at 16:00 CET!
If you haven't created your personal Sunstrider account yet, now is the time! Our main goal is, and will always be, to provide the best possible environment for everyone to experience The Burning Crusade and all its content. Working towards that goal means we must listen to our community and be willing to adjust where adjustments are needed – and so we are! That said, it’s also important to emphasize the need for actual data before adjusting some aspects of the game.

Let’s get to it.

Player Population

It’s undeniable the private server scene has taken a hit after the release of B.’s own servers, and to some, it may seem like a bold move to launch a TBC private server at this time around. However, we find it even bolder to think there’ll be a better time in the foreseeable future, with the direction B. has taken.

From player attention and a rapidly increasing number of accounts being created, we’re confident we’ll be able to share our journey with many like-minded players in a healthy populated environment when Sunstrider launches this Friday.
We’ll continue to spread the word and raise attention for the server through various channels going forward.

Faction Balance

A subject that has always been lively discussed throughout the history of World of Warcraft, especially the early expansions. It’s a tough nut to crack and something private servers and even B. themselves have tried to solve for years.
Our attempt to solve this issue relies on the few extra perks we give alliance players. Bonuses we believe will help find a better balance between the two factions.

Recently we allowed players to reserve their favorite character names on our “Name Reservation” realm.
Data shows us a 51-49 split in favor of the alliance. While that’s no promise faction balance won’t become an issue, it’s at least an indicator that, for now, it looks healthy. We will continue to monitor faction balance closely and act accordingly.

You can still reserve your favorite character names by following these instructions.

Cross-faction Content

It's important for us to retain faction identity when possible, and therefore, full cross-faction content is not something we've settled on for now. However – at the end of the day, the game is about playing with friends and making memories together.
We won’t hesitate to hit the button if we find overall cross-faction content is necessary to achieve that goal.
We’re currently polishing our cross-faction system to be ready if needed.

Experience Rate

We’ve seen concerns about the experience rate being set to x5. After thoroughly discussing the subject and asking our community, we still understand that the majority prefer the higher experience rate to the lower.
The higher experience rate is not intended to rush players’ journey towards end-game content but rather as a quality-of-life feature. We want to allow players to experience the leveling process at their phase and on their terms, hence the opportunity to reduce the account-wide experience rate manually.
You can reduce the experience rate from your personal ‘Characters’ panel when logged into our website.


We hope this answers some of the concerns we’ve seen.


We recently upgraded the Sunstrider server to a more powerful version in preparation for launch, and we’re still working on the last gameplay adjustments to be completely ready for Friday. We’re super excited for the launch, and we’ll be right on the sideline making sure everyone is in for a smooth beginning.

We have left a little easter egg you may discover on your journey. We hope you’ll like it.

See you on the battlefields!