Let’s push gear to the side for a moment.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say something controversial, there’s more skill involved with PvP than PvE. The same goes for RvR.

I’ve been thinking about this topic for a little while now, debating with myself on what’s involved in each realm of play. PvE definitely involves skill. As so many raiders have said, you can’t just go into a tough encounter and “faceroll” your way through it and hope to succeed. There’s a particular amount of depth to that type of thing.

I settled on this opinion based on a couple of things.

First and foremost, PvP is reactionary whereas PvE is not. Well, mostly. Sure, you must respond to the skills and scripting of boss encounters but unless you’re doing a world first run, you’ve probably read up on the fight beforehand and have a good idea about what to expect. PvPers can’t say the same thing. Encounters between two players are dynamic and ever changing. You can’t read a guide on how to beat another player and expect the battle to play out exactly as the guide said. Each opponent must anticipate and react to the actions of the other. PvP is ever changing.

Second, PvP requires more from each player; the only exception being zerg battles. When you’re in a PvP tournament, and really want to win, you have to know what your opponent is capable of and how to push the classes on your team to their maximum potential with their combined synergy. Knowing your opponent is the only way you’re going to be ready for what they may throw at you. If you’re prepared with solid knowledge, you can plan counter attacks and strategies for whatever combination of players you may face.

In PvE, you have the classic triad of Tank, Healer, and DPS. Larger encounters simply bump up the amount of each required. Since there are generally more people involved in an MMO’s higher end encounters than those typical to PvP, the necessity of each player to master a bosses skills decreases. If a couple of people know what to expect and have a way to communicate with ease, they can essentially walk everyone else through the battle. Though the same could potentially be said of PvP, I’d levy that due to the lessened amount of people involved the chances of success are much lower.

Now, to step into the PvE circle a little bit, it *does* require a lot of knowledge and effort unto itself. Players have to determine and acquire sets of gear to make sure they can survive. Most players need to look into the skills bosses will be throwing out, otherwise their own chances of success are cut far down too. They have to be able to follow directions.

And raid leaders? These guys have as challenging a task as the hardest of PvPers. These folks have to know the capabilities of the classes they’re bringing and be able to coordinate everyone to respond and react at the appropriate times and ways. RL’s are in-game managers and deserve kudos and respect.

If you enjoy PvE, more power to you, so do I. If you’re into PvP, same thing. Each domain of play requires unique skill sets. The difference lies in the ability to anticipate and react independently instead of based upon direction or an internet guide. Reaction requires more than memorization and when we’re talking by community percentage, putting aside loot disparity, PvP definitely requires more of players.