Quote Originally Posted by ThirdChild_ZKI View Post
It seems we can also thank it for:

Farmers
Botters
People who generally just don't care for the content beyond a quick stop for whatever they want
Even less knowledgeable newer players, who now have no intent to learn (see above item)
People quick to give up if victory isn't guaranteed (Hint: It never was)

There's nothing wrong with the raw concept of allowing players to level through PvP, but we clearly have people with no desire to actually PvP because they like it, exploiting it for their own selfish gain, and too many others bear the brunt of that. I actually LIKE the idea of PvP offering XP, but if it comes with these kinds of detriments, something's got to give, and as someone who enjoyed it when leveling in order to PvP was my own concern to work out, I can be fine with letting it go for the greater good.
Give and take I suppose. I've been 95% PvP'ing since I resubbed to this game about 2 months ago. That's because PvP now offers experience. If it didn't, I probably wouldn't have touched PvP at all. I'm enjoying the XP as a side benefit - my goal is to grab some mounts and titles. I might stick around in feast to give my hand a try at ranked next season, or maybe to get some of those 5,000 win titles.

Experience in PvP draws in players. It draws in bad players (and botters/cheaters), and it draws in good players. I guess it depends on whether or not the net change is for better or worse, but that's really hard to quantify. It's easy to see the damage as everyone has pointed out, but it's not as easy to see what new players have joined in PvP and been positive contributors to the games and community. I've been having a blast - probably more fun than if I had only been doing PvE. Adding experience to PvP not only attracted me to the mode, but directly increased my overall enjoyment of this game by doing so. I know that's anecdotal, but it's something to consider.