Some major cities in the World of Warcraft always have tons of players interacting while others simply died out or have never really been of use to players. Today we set out to research what separates a functioning city to a ghost town. Thunder Bluff, the home of the Tauren, is relatively dead, with a max of 11 players during peak hours. From our observations and interviews it seems that most people came to Thunder Bluff to use the auction house. Many of the characters interviewed were merely “bank alts,” or characters who only sell items mailed to him by other characters on the account and does not quest or attempt to achieve a higher level. Two out of the four high level characters I interviewed visiting Thunder Bluff (both Druids) came for the re-specification, which can only be done for their class there. Lastly, when asked why they chose to come to Thunder Bluff over another major city there was an overwhelming mention of aesthetic appeal. It was also mentioned by several people that it was easier on their computers, and that the auction house was closer to the mailbox, which was both convenient and faster than other cities.

We then went to Orgrimmar to compare an active major city to a relatively dead one. Orgrimmar had many active characters queuing for battlegrounds and arena matches in the battleground room, trading in the valley of strength, browsing the auction house, in the bank, and around the mailbox. When I asked players what business they had in Orgrimmar, most players responded with “checking the A.H.” or “trying to sell some materials I have.” Others responded that they prefer Orgrimmar because it has “less lag […] compared to Dalaran.” Since other major cities also provide these things, we then asked these players why they prefer Orgrimmar over other major cities. Out of various responses, we concluded that players tend to choose Orgrimmar because most consider it a center for trade and it generally proves to be an “unnecessary hassle for players to go to other cities to, say, get something enchanted.” We can see the general trend that players prefer Orgrimmar because it has an auction house (compared to Dalaran) and is the widely accepted center for trade and professions, as well as offering less lag (again compared to Dalaran).