Little late to the PVP discussion, but I'd like to add some insight to the appeal of it. I started on Tallon Zek originally as a druid, made it to possibly 30 or so, then sold ALL my gear for rogue twink gear and made my dwarf rogue Hinadurus. I started EQ at my friends suggestion and even joined TZ with him, which is ironic nowadays because he no longer enjoys competition and basically avoids pvp at all costs. Even the mention of it gets him all bent out of shape. Well, I love it. I thought having four factions was brilliant and I haven't played a game with such loyalty to factions since then.
PVP isn't about being a pker who goes around ganking noobs for shits n giggles. People who hunt noobs are generally crap to their peers so they have to do SOMETHING to feel better about themselves. That's why it's hilarious being the noob in those situations, but having access to a high level or having high level buddies to come back you up. Suddenly, that big badass is tripping over himself to get away.
PVP is the thrill of earning your right to territory or passage through an area. It's the paranoia and risk of going to enemy lands and making it out alive. PVE simply doesn't instill that kind of fear that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end when you see figures approaching in the distance, or hear footsteps behind you in an otherwise desolate area. PVP brings people together to fight for their guilds with a fervor unmatched in the PVE realm. It's another layer on top of the game that your character can climb upon to show they are to be respected and feared.
To this day I still remember major players of the PVP scene on TZ. These people were BotB winners, they were menaces on the battlefield, and if you encountered them alone.. what a rush! I remember I had been climbing the ladder of my guild which at the time was probably 3rd, struggling for 2nd in the raid scene, and we had just fought the top guild for rights to slay the Dain. Well we got our asses handed to us and were beginning to scatter, I ended up playing zone tag a bit with a human monk by the name of Gylen. He was beyond me in both gear and skill, I was losing at a quick pace, but hanging on for all I was worth. I wanted to show this guy that in a one on one I wouldn't just sit down and wait to die like many other players did when faced with odds that weren't in their favour. We were circle strafing around eachother and he whipped out a 2h and we began the joust, which for rogues was tough as hell but it was still possible to land backstabs. We went on for another two minutes or so and I managed to land a few on him, but I was nearly dead. Then he stopped and backed up, so I did the same because I knew he had something to say. Then he asked when I was going to join their guild, this is a guy who I had never fought prior to this point, and certainly never grouped with. To me, this guy was a legend in the flesh, and he was leading me down a new path. Well, we had a short conversation, and in the following weeks I slowly made the transition out of my guild to this strange new guild who, to my roleplaying horror, was infested with darkelves, trolls, ogres, and iksars. This was a crossteaming guild, something that was an extreme taboo at the time on TZ. They were powerful, dominating, and fearsome.. and I had gotten there by a battle of chance with a lone monk. This entire event was something PVE could never replicate and the feelings it stirred, the panic and rush of that duel, the moment of peace where we talked about our successes and loyalties, and finally the pride and anxiety of joining a new crowd. Without PVP this never would have been possible.
The point of that little story is that PVP is what you make of it. If you are going to roll over and play dead or downright quit because someone is OBVIOUSLY griefing you, well you probably weren't in the right mindset to play PVP at the time anyway. It's not for everyone, but it shouldn't be downplayed just because some people have bad experiences with it. It's a completely different world, with it's own players, factions, and intangible rewards which PVE, in my opinion, will never be able to replicate.
