As some of you already know, if I were able to design my dream MMO, there would be zero PvP in it. I've played nearly every major MMO since Ultima Online, and I've always hated PvP,. I still do.

Nonetheless, I'm an achievement hound so I decided to give Midyear Mayhem a go. Here are my observations so far:

1. PvE combat does virtually nothing to prepare you for PvP combat. As in every other game, it's an entirely different animal.

2. Knowing my class and skills did mean that, if I didn't die instantly, I could usually stay alive long enough for someone else to kill my attacker. I, on the other hand, stood no chance of getting a kill.

3. It's possible for a player who has no interest in learning PvP-specific mechanics, investing in PvP-specific gear, or leveling PvP-specific skills to still contribute significantly. As a PvE completionist, I have 299 skillpoints. Even though I'm usually either a tank or DPS, and have 100+ skillpoints in crafting, I still had plenty to max out light armor and Resto Staff skills. All I had to do was join a large raid, heal constantly and I was able to do my part, and earn AP, without having to learn how to be a 1337 PvP'er.

4. Nearly all of the victories I saw came from overwhelming force. From how it looked to me, PvP in Cyrodiil is about forming as large of a group as possible, communicating effectively, and working as a single unit to overpower smaller forces at various objectives. If the group did not communicate well, or was smaller than the OPFOR, we died. Period.

5. Most people were very friendly, and actually more eager to communicate than some of the folks in PvE zones (many of whom seem to think they play a single-player game, and some of whom won't group up when they're standing right next to you working on the same quest). I assume that, because collaboration is so crucial to success, effective PvP'ers have to be able to communicate. In PvE that's really only true for end-game content.

6. There were some people who clearly take the game way too seriously, and some people who were patently vulgar and rude, but on the whole I didn't find the PvP community to be any more toxic than zone chat in PvE. Some folks obviously didn't like having a PvE-only achievement seeker along for the raid, but most of them went out of their way to be helpful and supportive.

7. There's a LOT of wasted time, especially if you find yourself in a group that can't collaborate effectively. Also, the human element introduces so many variables into the likelihood of success in a particular task (e.g. capturing a keep).

At the end of the day, PvP still holds no appeal for me. I want to collaborate with, not against, other players. I don't like the playstyle, the downtime, or the possibility of a large zerg ruining twenty minutes worth of work. Nonetheless, I'm very grateful to the PvP players for letting us PvE'ers come play in their sandbox for a bit. You made the experience much, much less painful than it could have been. I still need a few more boxes, and a battelground win, so I'll likely be back a few more times this week. Feel free to wave as you're standing over my corpse.