On PvP and PvE Servers

I started playing WoW with a group of co-workers about a month after the game was released. we all rolled horde on Stormrage, a PvE server. we played together for a couple months and then started to drift apart due to IRL obligations, new games, loss of interest in WoW, etc. I was the only one from the original group that stuck with WoW; ended up moving to another PvE server, falling in with a small, good guild and leveled up my first 60.

fast forward 6 months or so and a series of unrelated events all happened around the same time:

1. a big patch for WoW was on the horizon. I forget which one, but it had so many major changes to each class that it was enough to rekindle interest in WoW in my co-workers.
2. Blizzard was rolling out several new servers to keep up with growth in the player base.
3. the masters of the penny arcade and pvp online web comics decided to bring their long-standing "feud" to WoW by rolling opposing factions on one of the new PvP servers. they chose Dark Iron.

I was a long-time reader of both comics and when they made announcements about their new guilds in their forums, I suggested we all re-roll on Dark Iron (alliance - since we'd all played horde already). I'd never played on a PvP server and we thought it might spice things up a bit; add a new element of challenge to the game. PvP servers held a certain mystique for me. only the hard-core players rolled PvP. not only did you have the environment to contend with, but you also had hostile players to deal with as well. players on PvP servers had to be a cut above the rest, I thought.

I've been playing on Dark Iron for the better part of two years. I know all the major guilds and I've been in a few of the better ones, I have a feel for the markets, I've got 4 70s here, I've raided the old stuff and the new and I've made good friends along the way (most of my old co-workers have long since stopped playing). despite all this, I still question my decision to roll on a PvP server to this very day.

why? I guess I was a bit naive about what PvP servers were really like. I thought that the added element of danger, of having to always be looking over your shoulder, would make the game more interesting; more fun. I thought that there would be more large scale conflicts, like the old SS/TM battles or the raids on Org and SW that used to happen on my PvE servers. I thought that each faction would be more tight-knit, helping each other and watching their backs.

what I found instead were roving bands of lvl 60 (and later, 70) gankers that merrily stomp your lvl 20 ass just because they can (and then teabag your corpse and corpse camp you - because they can), raid/arena-geared 70s setting up shop in lowbie zones, killing anyone and everyone they can (players, quest mobs, npcs, etc.), entire zones where questing on some nights can be nearly impossible due to the on-going gankfest and more ass-hattery, even amongst members of the same faction, than I ever expected.

now, that sounds like a whole lot of QQing and I guess it really is just that. I just don't have the ganker mentality and I think you really need that to enjoy a PvP server. if I see horde my first thought is to just ignore them, not run up and turn them into paste. more often then not, if I come across a hordie getting mauled by mobs I'll save his sorry butt. sure, if you're mining an adamantite vein I might make you fight for it. even if I kill you, though, I'm not going to /rude, /spit and /lol over your corpse and then camp you for the next 20 minutes. I don't even begin to understand what compels people to do that.

I'm all for fights on somewhat even ground, like getting jumped by someone within 2-3 levels of me; take your best shot and good luck. three of us and three of you and a rare spawn between us? bring it on and may the best group win. this is the kind of pvp I was expecting, not having a ?? rogue ambush me when I've got 3 mobs on me, have 1/4 health and no mana. where's the skill in that?

so here I am on a PvP server with what I've realized is a PvE mentality. I've got great friends here and I really don't want to leave them, but when my alt (or even one of my 70s) gets ganked repeatedly it really takes the fun out of the game. I could just suck it up and go about my business. I could say goodbye to my friends and guild and transfer servers. I could even re-roll on a fresh server and retire my Dark Iron characters. none of these are ideal solutions, however. what's the right choice? no clue.