There are currently three servers available for Western players. North American players have the choice to play on either a standard server or a specifically PvP oriented one while Europeans only have the standard option. All three game servers seem to have a modest population but I did see several people in the starting areas which gave me hope. Character creation is a generally simple affair in 9Dragons, players chose from 8 face styles, 21 hair styles and 3 outfits than allocate 10 stat points among the game's 5 stats; Strength, Essence, Wisdom, Constitution, and Dexterity. The final step is selecting which of the 6 starting locations to start in. Each area represents the home territory of one of the six clans of 9Dragons.

Though players start the game as classless vagabonds, it's important to decide what class and clan you'd prefer during character creation. Each class type has primary stats and each clan its own starting location. It is possible to move from one area to another once you start playing but it's more of an inconvenience. The clans are all quite similar, they all have the same four class archetypes but give them different names. A Wu Tang healer, for example, is called ‘Red Phoenix' while a Heavenly Demon warrior is called ‘Blood Demon.' Each clan has different weapon preferences and fighting styles along with slightly different entrance exams. For more information on the clans, their classes, and weapon preferences please see the Overview tab.