As an avid League of Legends player and data analyst myself, I‘ve dug deep into the key differences between the EUW and EUNE servers to help fellow European summoners decide which server is right for them. In this guide, I‘ll use statistics, insights from expert players, and my own experience to compare EUW and EUNE in terms of competition, gameplay feel, climbing viability and overall vibe. Let‘s dive in!
A Brief History of League of Legends in Europe
To understand the current landscape, we should first look back at how the servers came to exist in the first place. When League originally launched in Europe in 2010, there was only one regional server initially. As the game exploded in popularity across Europe, this single server couldn‘t handle the increasing playerbase and Riot made the decision to split into two separate servers with the launch of EUNE in July 2010. This was done to reduce instability and login queues.
The original European server was converted into what we now know as EUW and centered around Western European players. EUNE was created to cater more to players in Nordic and Eastern European countries. The rough breakdown is:
EU West: UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, etc.
EUNE: Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Nordic regions, Baltic regions, etc.
This history helps explain how EUW developed more of a western European identity and culture, while EUNE consolidated Eastern European players. Let‘s now look at how the servers have evolved since then.
EUW Has More Players and Higher Ranked Distribution
One of the most telling differences is the pure size of the ranked playerbase on each server:
- EUW: 3,092,342 ranked players
- EUNE: 1,994,652 ranked players
(Statistics source: LeagueOfGraphs)
EUW has well over 1 million more ranked players than EUNE and this has consistently been the case for many years now. The distribution across ranks is also indicative of EUW sporting more dedicated and skilled players:
EUW Ranked Distribution:
- Iron: 28.56%
- Bronze: 29.27%
- Silver: 24.85%
- Gold: 11.63%
- Platinum: 4.28%
- Diamond: 1.18%
- Master: 0.16%
- Grandmaster: 0.05%
- Challenger: 0.01%
EUNE Ranked Distribution:
- Iron: 24.7%
- Bronze: 33.83%
- Silver: 26.18%
- Gold: 10.44%
- Platinum: 3.49%
- Diamond: 0.99%
- Master: 0.26%
- Grandmaster: 0.08%
- Challenger: 0.02%
(Statistics source: LeagueOfGraphs)
EUNE has a higher percentage of players in Iron through Gold, while EUW sees a bigger chunk of the playerbase reach Platinum and above. This suggests EUW houses more of the die-hard, highly skilled veterans of the game. EUNE is likely more popular with casual players who don‘t take ranked as seriously.
EUW Server Location Enables Lower Latency
A key technical factor in the EUW vs EUNE debate is the physical location of the servers themselves. This has a major impact on ping and latency for players depending on their country.
EUW‘s servers are located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. EUNE‘s servers are located in Frankfurt, Germany. Generally speaking, western European countries like the UK, France, Spain and Italy will experience lower latency playing on EUW. Eastern European players from Poland, Hungary, Greece, etc. will see faster response times on EUNE.
Let‘s look at some sample ping comparisons:
- UK: EUW 9ms vs EUNE 28ms
- France: EUW 13ms vs EUNE 25ms
- Netherlands: EUW 6ms vs EUNE 16ms
- Poland: EUNE 19ms vs EUW 45ms
- Greece: EUNE 35ms vs EUW 55ms
(Statistics source: WonderNetwork)
The above shows how geographic proximity to the server centers gives certain countries a noticeable ping advantage on one server versus the other. For competitive players, getting the lowest ping possible is a significant priority.
Comparison of EUW and EUNE server ping from various European countries. Lower is better.
Now keep in mind these pings are just samples from large population centers. Your specific ISP, location within country, and other factors can influence ping too. But generally speaking, western countries favor EUW while eastern countries see better EUNE latency.
EUW Players Are Considered More Skilled
Reputation and perception is an important factor as well when choosing a server. Ask any high elo EUW player for their thoughts on EUNE and they will likely tell you the skill level is lower and games are less difficult compared to EUW.
The consensus across the European League of Legends scene is that EUW houses most of the truly elite players, while EUNE is seen as more casual-friendly. Challenger tier on EUW particularly is viewed as extremely competitive and high level compared to EUNE.
This perception is supported by the fact that many top EUNE players or streamers will create secondary accounts on EUW to test themselves and face stiffer competition. The reverse is rarely true – EUW players don‘t often feel the need to prove themselves on EUNE.
There‘s also the frequent phenomenon of high elo EUNE players hitting Challenger on EUNE, then transferring to EUW and being unable to maintain the same rank. This exemplifies the skill gap.
However, it should be noted there are still extremely talented players on EUNE of course. The best EUNE players could likely hold their own on EUW. But the density of world-class players is higher on EUW on average.
Toxicity and Language – EUW Is Considered More Negative
When it comes to player behavior, EUNE generally has the more positive reputation. Anecdotal reports from players indicate EUW games have a higher frequency of verbal toxicity, intentional feeding, and abuse of the report system.
Some theories as to why EUW fosters a more negative environment:
- The ultra-competitive culture breeds toxicity and ego.
- The mix of languages and cultures leads to more misunderstandings and clashes.
EUNE on the other hand has fewer instances of extreme toxicity from what I‘ve gathered. Players indicate EUNE Chat is more peaceful and relaxed compared to EUW.
That said, both servers still exhibit unacceptable levels of toxicity at times. But based on player sentiment, EUW takes the crown for most negative in-game chat experience overall.
EUW Dominates the European Esports Scene
When it comes to professional and competitive League of Legends in Europe, EUW is where almost all the action happens. This applies to both the LEC (EU League Championship Series) and amateur scene.
The 10 LEC teams all compete exclusively on EUW servers. All European Masters teams use EUW as well. The vast majority of top scouting, tryouts and competitions for aspiring pros utilize EUW.
Even major EUNE organizations like Poland‘s Ultraliga host their events on EUW servers. Riot‘s EU offices and competitive team are also based on EUW.
In other words, if you have ambitions of playing professionally in Europe, you need to be on EUW. The infrastructure, competitions, scouts and talent pool are vastly more developed compared to EUNE. Any aspiring pro will benefit hugely from the EUW solo queue environment and proximity to the LEC ecosystem.
Climbing Ranked Is Faster on EUNE
For players focused on grinding LP and climbing the ranked ladder quickly, EUNE is likely the faster option – at least in the lower and mid elos.
The combination of a more casual playerbase and less insane competition means skilled players can steadily rank up at a faster pace on EUNE. EUW‘s ultra-competitive environment slows down the climb and rank inflation quite a bit.
Seasoned EUW veterans constantly restart fresh accounts on EUNE servers to quickly accumulate ranked wins and new division achievements. The skill disparity between a Diamond EUW smurf and the average EUNE plat player is significant.
However, once reaching very high elo such as Grandmaster+, the skill ceiling on EUNE starts to close the gap substantially. At that point, EUW‘s rankings become more meaningful and inflated compared to EUNE.
So for quickly boosting LP and surpassing milestones, EUNE is a happy hunting ground for talented smurfs and boosters. But reaching the top 0.01% of Challenger truly requires EUW‘s harsh competition.
Server Transferring Lets You Swap for 2600 RP
Riot provides the ability to transfer your entire LoL account from one regional server to the other and vice versa. The cost is 2600 RP which equates to roughly $20 USD if purchasing RP credits from the shop.
The transfer process will migrate your champions, skins, summoner rank, match history, and everything else to the new server. The only exceptions being your RP balance and social contacts do not carry over.
This allows players to enjoy the best of both worlds potentially. You can start off on EUNE for the easier early ranked climb, then transfer over to EUW once you hit higher elos to challenge the best of the best. It provides flexibility in your League progression.
Keep in mind there are transfer cooldowns in place – you can only swap once every 3 months. So choose wisely when deciding to jump back and forth between the two main European servers!
In Closing – EUW Is Better for Competition, EUNE for Relaxing
So in summary, while EUNE offers a viable server alternative, EUW remains the king of competitive European League of Legends. For any player who strives to reach the highest skill echelons and face top-notch opposition, EUW is the clear choice.
The combination of superior playerbase, esports ecosystem, and intensity of competition make EUW more ideal for improvement as a player. EUNE leans more casual and relaxed in comparison.
Of course ping and friends are also factors for choosing a server. But when it comes to chasing mastery of the game itself, you simply must be on EUW to play amongst Europe‘s best. That said, EUNE can be a nice change of pace to unwind and farm some LP after grinding hardcore on EUW!
I hope this deep dive proves useful for new and experienced players alike when deciding which server to call home. Let me know if you have any other EUW vs EUNE questions! Always happy to share additional data insights and chat League.
