being a pvp adicted player, while i played WOW open beta i noticed that there is no real penalty when u r killed by an oposing faction memeber, except the time to get back ur corpse and a little bit of dignity
the gain is null too ... except for a little bit of pride
i heard something about an Honor System which will grant honor point when u kill a player of equal or higher lvl and take honor points when u kill much lower lvl character. There was something about a "protector of the race" player who will be granted extras for being with highest honor from his race ( some portal to capital i heard ). (the last info's just rumors, so i might misguide u)
most mmorpgs are like a big single player (PvE) and there's no joy in interacting with other players except for the social aspect of it ... and in some, maybe a good trade system ... where everybody kill monsters to take loot or craft items and exchange amongst them to get stronger and kill better monsters etc. etc.
in ultima (the best pvp oriented mmorpg i played so far) the loot was enabled (which is probably a little too harsh), and one of the best things u get from the oponent - his head
since looting in my opinion will have big disadvantages
why not just take their heads, or some mark that u killed someone...
what do u think about penalty and gains in pvp
and is there anything else to fight for in the game ... like land ... and what if one of the faction holds control over that land ...
in my opinion a purpose is much needed when it comes to pvp