I hate PKers.
No, I did not say I hate PvP, I said I hate PKers. And despite what others might say, in my opinion, there's a difference.
When PvP is handled properly, and is balanced enough to give all classes something to offer on the battlefield, it's an absolute blast. There will never be an AI programmed that can match the challenge, ingenuity, or sheer insanity of a real human player. And winning a challenge against an army of human controlled opponents is a testament to anyone's playing ability. Guild Wars pulls this off with a huge degree of success. So I am a big fan of structured PvP. It promotes teamwork, community, and heightens the sense of being in a living, breathing virtual world.
PKing, or player killing for the uninitiated, is in my experience, griefing. Most people who like games where there's open world PK are not interested in a level playing field. They simply want to feel a false sense of power by attacking someone much more underpowered than they are. If someone shows up who can give them a decent challenge, they turn tail and run.
PKers in games are always bitching in the forums and world chat that there needs to be a system where people drop gear and gold when they die. Why? Essentially you'd have a pack of overpowered meatheads robbing everyone they saw for a quick buck, rather than taking the time to level/farm/buy the stuff themselves. Who in their right mind would think that dropping that Darkblade of something-something +X when getting PKed would be cool? They don't. The virtual thugs reaping the rewards do.
I guess if open world PKing were a little more defined (race vs. race, faction vs. faction), then it would be more tolerable. However, having a PK system just for the sake of PKing is stupid and pointless.
PKers...if you really are that bloodthirsty and action oriented, then MMOs aren't your genre. Go play FPSs or something and leave the legimate PvPers and RPGers alone.
