Would you PVP if PVP worked better?

To be honest I don't play much PVP in the MMO environment and when I did, it was not the open zone kind. My few positive experiences with PVP in an MMO come from some of the map control type PVP that Guild Wars has. I found Guild vs. Guild to be not my style, but I would go play the Kurzick/Luxon PVP now and then and have a genuine good time. I think that if there were multi-team Blue vs. Red large map battles I might be enticed in.

I'd PvP if the rewards were sufficient regardless of the mechanics. Right now it's just not worth it IMO. That 10 minute cool down on top of the rare percentage for a recipe drop is nonsensical.

Then there is the issue of certain sets being close to useless in PvP, sadly they make up a majority of my toons.

Re: the thread title - yes, I would.

Note that my definition of PvP that "works well" is PvP where I win 100% of the time.

The developers don't seem to understand that, nor do they soliciet the response from players when it comes to PvP.

I'd like to say yes, but no. There's nothing they can do to make me actually interested in PvP.

I haven't PvP'd for a good while - I guess since before i16 hit.
I have been in PvP zones, but I haven't combated another player in the zones that I was in.
I have done some PvP'ing in PvP zones.
I have done some Pvp'ing in the Arena, but that was over a year back at least.

I have done some Gladiator PvP in the Arena, and that can be a truly balanced if players take in the same team of gladiators. I have never heard of anyone setting up any kind of PvP contest with "same build" Gladiator teams.

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Originally Posted by Prof_Backfire But PvP is different. Before and after the changes, PVP is a completely different game, where your powers do different things, and balance is incomprehensible. You have to go out of your way, radically alter your playstyle and mindset, and make a lot of effort to PVP in this game, and most players don't want to bother. Not to mention, even if they make a good build, they can be beaten by a richer player with the fancy gear anyway. For all I know it's the funnest thing ever, but I just can't get my head around the effort.

There you go.
It is a complete lack of balance across the archetypes.

From a team standpoint, the mechanism changes completely between PvE and PvP.
A team in PvE can enter combat in a way that squishes are fairly safe from attack.
A team in PvP always targets the squishes first.

That is pretty much why PvP is broken. Of course, you are going to take out the weakest enemies first. Why not? Some of us do it when we fight PvE. The melee archetypes simply aren't built to protect the squishies in PvP situations.

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I can't really consider myself a carebear; I just don't enjoy the PVP in this game, even though I love the rest. Maybe in a different game, I'd be happily ganking away. What are we missing?

From where I come from ganking is a negative term. Gankers prey on who they can kill easily and kill them repeatedly - often mocking them as the do so .. sometimes stopping them from being able to play the game and log out because they can't defend themselves or get away from being ganked repeatedly.
I certainly hope this is not a goal that you would strive for. It certainly isn't any fun for the gankee and is seen in harassment in some MMORPGs.

Ganking people is certainly not a way to get people interested in PvPing. As I have said, it is no fun to get ganked. There is no reason to return to get ganked in PvP in CoH - unless you are trying to help someone else get PvP enhances...great fun, eh?
The rest of the game is much more fun so why PvP? - especially if other PvP'rs goals are to "gank away".

And calling someone a "carebear" is an intentional insult to try to harass another player into a PvP situation where they are probably under-skilled, under-powered, and likely to get ganked!

Honestly, players can PvP without insulting each other.
That would be one of the key things "to make PvP" work better - after balance, of course.
Unfortunately, I have run into this kind of juvenile behavior far too much in a PvP zone.
So for now, "same team" Gladiator matches seem to be the way to go for those that want a fair fight.
I have the feeling that many hardcore PvP'rs really don't want a fair fight in the first place.

I just wanted to comment on some of the suggestions in this thread, and make a few more in addition to the earlier post.

I second the idea of "mayhem matches" and other objective-based PvP scenarios. To some degree, this already exists in the zones, like how you can steal ore samples or launch codes from other players in Bloody Bay and Warburg instead of getting them yourself and get your Shivan or Nuke that way. Or even a more explicit objective-based scenario in the territory-control aspect of Recluse's Victory. Putting those rewards in the PvP zones was partially a way to lure players in, but it was also to give PvP'ers an objective to pursue in their battles with each other beyond simply fighting for its own sake. The idea is already there. It's simply the execution that's lacking.

I already mentioned that I'd like to see the I13 changes rolled back, but I also understood a few the balance issues they were trying to correct, namely damage type imbalances and overuse of kiting tactics. Unfortunately, the changes did more harm than good for PvP. To address the issue of overuse of slows to keep a melee AT at bay, Instead of Travel Suppression, which only made the problem worse despite all melee AT's getting inherent debuff resistance, I'd add Speed Debuff Resistance to Luck inspirations, like how Sturdies have TP protection and Insights give Perception.

I'd also revamp the bases in all the PvP zones to be more like those in Recluse's Victory, with a few extra amenities that would alleviate some of the concerns.

First, I'd have them all completely indoors so that people don't have to worry about being TP-Foe'd into an ambush while talking with the zone mission contacts and such. In addition to that, I'd add in a contact for the PvP Tutorial that has been suggested by others. I don't know how one could create a structured tutorial that'd effectively teach about the unstructured nature of zone PvP, but it is a sound idea.

To address the issue of some types being less heavily resisted than others, instead of giving everyone equal resistance to all types of damage inherently like the I13 changes did, I would borrow an idea from another aspect of the game and put Empowerment Buff Stations in the PvP Zone bases so they can more conveniently craft themselves temporary patches to the holes in their build. This would solve the problem of type advantage, while still requiring skill on the player's part in recognizing their weaknesses in order to counter them instead of just giving it to them for free.

Finally, I'd put Arena Terminals in the bases, so that the "fightclub" PvP'ers can have an easily accessible way to conduct their duels without fear of interruption. I do realize that the same thing can be done without actual terminals now since the Arenas can be accessed from anywhere via the main menu, but the Terminals would be there more as a reminder of their ability to do so.

I avoid PvP like the plague. No matter what game it is, no matter how good that incarnation of PvP is, I do not enjoy it and I will not partake in it.

If you want me to PvP, add, say, a small % chance of PvP recipes dropping from mobs in PvP zones, or any other form of good drop to justify the nerfage of my characters and the lack of mez protection when I enter the zone, and I'll be there Shield Charging like a moron at everything in sight (player or not) for days and days

I wouldn't mind the added difficulty of the PvP rules and mobs and players if there was something decent to show for it. A minuscule chance of a recipe from players on a timer really isn't enough. Shivans and Nukes really aren't it, because they seem designed to do "hit and run" kind of combat, I'd rather have the reward come steadily during mass chaotic combat instead of the directed missions/events; several rolls at the luck ticket instead of one sure fire while looking over one's shoulder, if you will.

I'd quite like for PVP to be left alone. I don't want to invest time & energy into a whole bunch of characters (again) just to have the entire system completely revamped. This isn't COV BETA anymore guys. PVP has been live for YEARS now.

I understand MMO developers like to chase the timesink. They need long arduos tasks to lock players into subcriptions. But continual revolution of the PVP system would be completely over the top. At some point your players will realise that their time is wasted here if they're constantly having to respec their characters / level up new characters / farm / spend billions on IO's due to PVP overhauls.

I absolutely positively despise with the utmost hatred those people that get off by ganking others. ('Ganking' defined as a particular player seeking out and killing other players who have absolutely no chance at winning the battle, typically followed by boasting to, and jeering at, those defeated in this manner.) I am really trying to hold myself back here, because just the thought of it does bad things to my blood pressure, temperature, and headache. ('Nerdrage' doesn't even begin to cover my response to ganking, whether it be done to me, or to a friend, or even spoken of around me... or even me speaking of it myself.)

Sadly, there is a PvP subculture that focuses on this type of PvP, and also, sadly, this subculture is what I have encountered every single time I've stepped foot into one of the PvP zones here. Originally I was stepping out to partake of the PvP, then I was stepping out to attempt to get badges and leave as quick as possible... now I have a hard time even considering trying for the badges.

I don't dislike PvP. I am, however, of the mindset that when I happen to not be in the mood to PvP, I don't want it anywhere near me. If I only want to, for instance, do some questing, and someone jumps me, it irritates and/or angers me enough to usually result in my logging out...and if it happens enough, I quit completely. For that reason I avoid Open PvP games/servers/etc. 'Consensual' PvP is fine with me- which is what we have here- SORT OF. You have to go to a zone that you are aware is PvP- you can avoid it if you want, or take part if you want. I am really irritated by the fact though that Villains have several Accolades that require getting badges in PvP zones. Bleh. So I don't have those badges. Nor do any of my characters have Shivans. Oh well.

I absolutely love large-scale PvP battles, though! Original DAoC keep battles were, and remain, the most fun I have ever had in a PvP situation, and I am constantly looking for something I will enjoy as much as I enjoyed that. I've found other forms that are also fun, but nothing that's beat the fun I had years ago in DAoC. It wasn't just the combat that was great, it was also that your battles mattered to your entire realm as well.

So, would I PvP here if things changed? There are so many things against the PvP here, from the character builds to the irritating parts of the community, things that I don't think can ever change (and I know the whole PvP community aren't bad apples, I've just not met the good ones).