One of the most common problems in MMORPGs today is PKing, or player killing. With good reason, most people oppose to being ruthlessly slaughtered by high level characters when they are just starting out. To prevent this, Blizzard has made the vast majority of the world free of PvP combat. In fact, 90% of World of Warcraft's zones will not be PvP enabled. In this way Blizzard has made PvP combat consensual, you can enjoy the game and never enter a PvP zone if you choose not to.

"What! Only 10% of the world is PvP!" you say, but it isn't what it seems. World of Warcraft is going to a massive game, as it is now it will have more content at release than Asheron's Call 1 has now (and AC1 is known for its massive content).

There are two types of PvP in World of Warcraft, arena fights and battlegrounds.

The first type of PvP in the World of Warcraft is the Arena. Numberous arenas are located throughout the world (Stranglethorn Vale and Orgrimmar to name a few...) and attract large crowds. Not just anybody can watch the fights though, you must first purchase a ticket to attend. The Arenas will have many types of fights. Player vs. Player battles will of course be included, as will large group vs. group battles. Guilds can purchase 'Guild War' tickets and invite other guilds to fight in the arena. Besides Guild vs. Guild and Player vs. Player, there will be Player vs. Monster fights as well. People can buy tickets to watch a dragon fight, or even purchase a ticket to join in! Think of the arenas as being like the Spanish bullfights...

The World of Warcraft features a heavy Horde vs Alliance theme, and this will be reflected in mass PvP combat as well. What would Warcraft be with out some big battles, right! This is the "frontier" style pvp, seen in other MMORPG titles. Blizzard staff have said it is larger than in any other competing game on the market. Still thinking 10% of the gaming world being PvP isn't enough?

It is believed that this "pocket" Battleground PvP system will revolve around fighting over towns and forts. Players will battle for control of border towns, towers, and other buildings of war. Towns will be guarded by NPCs, which can be killed by attacking forces. In keeping with the strong Horde vs Alliance nature of the game, attacking members of your faction will be impossible in the Battlegrounds, as will grouping with members of the opposite faction. "Because the whole game is based on those two opposing factions, it would kill the storyline to have them able to ally." said one Blizzard Representative.

Quote from the October issue of Computer Gaming World:
Yes, you will be able to battle other human players in WOW. Associate designer Jeffrey Kaplan says, "PvP will be entierly consentual. No player will ever get attacked withought willingly entering a designated PvP area or committing to a duel. The current plan is to have Arena-style PvP fighting (group versus group, player versus player). We also want to have 'pocket' Battlefield zones. In these zones, players will fight for their alliance with some strong objective in mind. We want players to quickly get back into the combat without long downtimes. Our spawn system will also allow players to fight alongside NPCs, take over towns, and convert them over to their alliance. As for 'within-faction' duels, we hope to support this."

There will be different tiers of PvP zones depending on your level. Combatants within a certain level range (1-10 for example) will be allowed into a PvP zone specifically for their tier. Once this player has passed the limit, they will have to move on to a new PvP zone that fits their new level. There will be some questing in PvP areas, and items attained in a PvP zone will have a unique look to them. These special items won't be any more powerful, but will be un-tradeable and somewhat of a status symbol.