What is Alliance Server?

3 main types of alliance servers

Highly coordinated and controlled

coordinated without significant control

and organic, organic meaning randomly formed on a server through random or mostly random encounters

The purpose ranges from completely cheesing most things in the game to just people having fun or trying to play with less pvp/hostility, generally less risk and less combat unless it's specifically made for combat. It's where people try to completely control all the boats on the server or a majority
Different ways to go about that, people hopping servers, people asking for boats on servers, etc

The alliance feature makes it incredibly profitable for people to play and grind pve in alliances which is a huge incentive for people to do it.

There are community disagreements on how common they are and how much negative impact they have on the environment.

Not all people have access to custom servers or connections for them (or want to use them) so some use alliance servers to run events, community stuff.

@wolfmanbush So is this why several times players have requested I join the Alliance and when I don't I get attacked?

@foambreaker said in What is Alliance Server?:

@wolfmanbush So is this why several times players have requested I join the Alliance and when I don't I get attacked?

In a random environment there is no universal code so that could have been anything.

Within randomness with other people there isn't necessarily a predictable outcome or a reason that makes much sense to someone.

You have no obligation to join an alliance and how others will react to that will vary, some will be cool, some aren't cool, some will abide by agreements and some won't

All you can do is minimize your losses along the way and give yourself space so you don't regularly get in situations where others are in control of the situation.