Hardcore PvP and why I don't like it but finally get it

I'm not a fan of hardcore PvP and I never have been. This blog exists in large measure because I needed to write this post declaring my hatred for the mechanic.

But it was something I always struggled with. I enjoy PvP immensely and I always wondered why I could be fond of something while being so utterly opposed to hardcore something.

It all made sense to me recently, by which I almost mean two months ago. Syncaine was writing about hardcore PvP which he calls (somewhat more sensibly) "impact pvp". One of the comments caught my eye.

I believe that the extreme aversion to PvP on the part of some is sometimes due to an over-inflated ego and an unhealthy sense of entitlement. That is the only explanation I can devise for someone to go these lengths to avoid a gaming-death and perhaps the loss of some e-loot.

It’s not the interference or any other of the lame excuses, no. It’s just people who can’t stand to be on the receiving end of anything. People who are too full of themselves that cannot handle defeat even if it’s just a game.

So they prefer to play pure PvE games where the risk is minimal and their egoes are safe. That version of the PK’er Strawman that consists on the 12 year old ganking you for hours also is often evoked. That is the worse of it: a big shot real life successful dude getting ganked by a little kid who lol’s his ass off and calls the noob, noob. The bearz all gnash their teeths…

These guys will never play any game where they can measure themselves against an oponent and actually lose something. It would be too much.

It's all total rubbish, of course, but I enjoyed the unbridled, hateful enthusiasm. I nearly responded, "so, do you need to throw a twenty down on TF2 to make it worthwhile?"

Then it occurred to me : what if he said "Yes"?

It finally made sense to me. Why I like PvP but don't like Hardcore PvP. Why people like Hardcore PvP even though (because of death penalties) it means less time spent actually doing PvP.

(Funny, too, that this comment made me think of gambling, and not Syncaine's final paragraph when he likens hardcore pvp to poker)

Hardcore PvP is not hard, ultra super intense PvP. It is PvP with gambling. Hardcore PvP afficionados often talk about loving the uncertainty and the thrill of it. They are probably people who like gambling (or at least the idea of it) in real life.

And I finally understand why I don't like hardcore PvP. I don't gamble and I've never even liked the idea of it. It's just never seemed like any fun to me, and whatever it is, that's the same reason I don't like hardcore PvP.