will have to apologise to anyone that assumed this wasn't a rhetorical question.
I'd like to start off by giving my personal opinions on the matter.
PvP comes in Three Types True PvP, Duel, and Realm vs Realm.. I will give an example of each
True PvP:
Player Vs. Player seems to be what everyone lumps all forms of player vs, player combat into regardless of the actual mechanics but for me I just can't, Player Vs. Player isn't what many have reduced it to. PvP is a struggle between players both in combat and out. You can only find true PvP in MMO's or servers that allow full looting of the player you kill and a no safe zone approach with the exceptions of towns. Some may disagree but as I said this is merely my opinion on the matter. PvP in this since does many things, on one level it makes the high end crafting community an integral part of the community which in turn need large amount's of materials, The material needs gives way for lower end crafters not only to make a profit while skilling up there respective crafts but also makes them a needed part of the community. This as a byproduct fuels the economy. Crafter's then compete heavily in the open market. Besides all this factions begin to form as far as good and evil. The Evil ones go around pk'ing new players and people out minding there own business while the Good guys feel the need to punish them for doing these actions. Thus forming a need for community on both ends of the spectrum and everywhere in between. True PvP attracts many Role-Players as well as hard core PvP'rs but it also attracts many casual players and PvE players as well. The casual players generally come for the crafting and a lot of the freedoms this style of game offers while the PvE players mainly come for the extra challenge involved. There is a certain amount of excitement to be had knowing that every minute you stay and fight more and more mobs filling up your bag with goodies that some random pk'r will come by and attack you. There's a chance the PvE'r may even defeat the PK'r depending on both parties skill adding a tad bit of pride. One of the greatest things about MMo's like this is that the community itself tends to add content of sorts on there own adding to a usually large list of content already in place by the developers.
RvR (Realm vs. Realm)
These style of MMO's tend to focus on the more large scale PvP battles where there isn't much of a penalty if one at all for dying. These MMO's tend to have set bad guys for the race that you pick and give rewards of a different kind upon defeating an enemy race such as a points system or special PvP items you may acquire. Maturity factor can be a bit of a problem in this system at times due to the fact that there really isn't a penalty for death and that numbers matter more than maturity or quality for Guilds/Clans. However the RvR style games seem to add a bit more focus on PvE content than True PvP focused MMO's. There's also a good amount of replay value in MMO's like this since each Realm is limited on races and classes you may pick from. RvR is also a good place for players to get some PvP action without being the leetest since you tend to have support in the majority of your battles. They do tend to be more item based rather than skill based adding to the PvE side of things by requiring you to go on raids and such to get the best PvP gear.
This is a much more relaxed PvP environment, yes there is conflict but it's generally consensual and there's no major penalty for defeat. This isn't my ideal PvP system personally but it is good for those that enjoy the epic battles without the consequences of a True PvP MMO. Communities tend to do well in games like this as well and seem to stick together more often than the next style of PvP'r.
The Duel style PvP MMO's mainly focus on PvE content and are more for the casual gamer because PvP is just something else you can do if you choose. PvP is generally consensual only, this is not always the case but they seem to only allocate a few servers that allow open PvP, In any case there is no penalty for death or such a low penalty it really isn't worth mentioning. These tend to attract mainly PvE players some may play on the PvP servers but it tends to be a very low population. If there isn't a server dedicated to Open PvP or has PvP zones they tend to have mini games that allow people to challenge others or compete in PvP to some extent. In general these tend to be grind games mainly. The content is focused on PvE aspects, There isn't alot to say about this style of PvP honestly because there isn't much to it. It can be fun but never really meaningful.
I'd like to start off by giving my personal opinions on the matter.
PvP comes in Three Types True PvP, Duel, and Realm vs Realm.. I will give an example of each
True PvP:
Player Vs. Player seems to be what everyone lumps all forms of player vs, player combat into regardless of the actual mechanics but for me I just can't, Player Vs. Player isn't what many have reduced it to. PvP is a struggle between players both in combat and out. You can only find true PvP in MMO's or servers that allow full looting of the player you kill and a no safe zone approach with the exceptions of towns. Some may disagree but as I said this is merely my opinion on the matter. PvP in this since does many things, on one level it makes the high end crafting community an integral part of the community which in turn need large amount's of materials, The material needs gives way for lower end crafters not only to make a profit while skilling up there respective crafts but also makes them a needed part of the community. This as a byproduct fuels the economy. Crafter's then compete heavily in the open market. Besides all this factions begin to form as far as good and evil. The Evil ones go around pk'ing new players and people out minding there own business while the Good guys feel the need to punish them for doing these actions. Thus forming a need for community on both ends of the spectrum and everywhere in between. True PvP attracts many Role-Players as well as hard core PvP'rs but it also attracts many casual players and PvE players as well. The casual players generally come for the crafting and a lot of the freedoms this style of game offers while the PvE players mainly come for the extra challenge involved. There is a certain amount of excitement to be had knowing that every minute you stay and fight more and more mobs filling up your bag with goodies that some random pk'r will come by and attack you. There's a chance the PvE'r may even defeat the PK'r depending on both parties skill adding a tad bit of pride. One of the greatest things about MMo's like this is that the community itself tends to add content of sorts on there own adding to a usually large list of content already in place by the developers.
RvR (Realm vs. Realm)
These style of MMO's tend to focus on the more large scale PvP battles where there isn't much of a penalty if one at all for dying. These MMO's tend to have set bad guys for the race that you pick and give rewards of a different kind upon defeating an enemy race such as a points system or special PvP items you may acquire. Maturity factor can be a bit of a problem in this system at times due to the fact that there really isn't a penalty for death and that numbers matter more than maturity or quality for Guilds/Clans. However the RvR style games seem to add a bit more focus on PvE content than True PvP focused MMO's. There's also a good amount of replay value in MMO's like this since each Realm is limited on races and classes you may pick from. RvR is also a good place for players to get some PvP action without being the leetest since you tend to have support in the majority of your battles. They do tend to be more item based rather than skill based adding to the PvE side of things by requiring you to go on raids and such to get the best PvP gear.
This is a much more relaxed PvP environment, yes there is conflict but it's generally consensual and there's no major penalty for defeat. This isn't my ideal PvP system personally but it is good for those that enjoy the epic battles without the consequences of a True PvP MMO. Communities tend to do well in games like this as well and seem to stick together more often than the next style of PvP'r.
The Duel style PvP MMO's mainly focus on PvE content and are more for the casual gamer because PvP is just something else you can do if you choose. PvP is generally consensual only, this is not always the case but they seem to only allocate a few servers that allow open PvP, In any case there is no penalty for death or such a low penalty it really isn't worth mentioning. These tend to attract mainly PvE players some may play on the PvP servers but it tends to be a very low population. If there isn't a server dedicated to Open PvP or has PvP zones they tend to have mini games that allow people to challenge others or compete in PvP to some extent. In general these tend to be grind games mainly. The content is focused on PvE aspects, There isn't alot to say about this style of PvP honestly because there isn't much to it. It can be fun but never really meaningful.
True PvP is any moment during which you(and/or your group) engage or are engaged in combat with another player(and/or their group) with the sole intent of killing each other no matter what, how or when.
