I think it's perhaps unfair to jump to the "that's what all MMOs are like" conclusion, especially given what we know about how the PvP system - and the game in general - so far.
The first really important thing worth noting comes in the form of a question: in all the hours you played SWTOR, how many times did you actually see a load screen? I can't remember ever having to wait for something to load, except for when I was travelling from planet to planet. Instead, you had those green and red "forcefields" blocking off particular areas; beyond that, you moved seemlessly from place to place.
Since one of the most common griefing techniques is to attack people while they're contending with a load screen, they already have countermeasures in place for that. All they need to do is stick a faction-specific forcefield over the entrance to the starport / loading area, and not only do you have a safe place to load: you have a safe place to retreat to as well.
Further credence to that theory is added by taris and Balmorra. While the Republic and Empire visit those worlds at Level 16 (immediately after their capitol) respectively, the opposite faction visits the planet much later in the game - at around Level 32. That's a kind of level disparity that you can't overcome with dumb luck; even superior numbers would make it tough. That suggests that it is possible to play through those planets without excessive death, even when there are high level enemy players around.
On top of that, worlds are instanced. Another common griefing technique is to form a posse and attack enemy players with superior numbers. The fact that each planet is instanced means that not only can the game limit the number of players per instance in total, it can also limit the number of faction members, preventing one side from vastly outnumbering the other. The instancing will also make it logistically more difficult to form a mob: ganking would take a lot more coordination, and it suddenly starts becoming harder than the legitimate Warzones, rather than easier.
Speaking of legitimate Warzones - while you do recieve experience and credits for a PVP kill (note: there is no mention of "loot" in any of the released information on PVP), you also recieve Tokens and Valor. Tokens are like the starter world Tokens you got on Korriban or Hutta: they can be exchanged for special items, in this case PVP orientated ones. Valor meanwhile is a social type score, which allows you to acquire extra titles and such. You can only earn Valor and Tokens while you're in Warzones; so there's even less of an advantage to griefing players outside of those areas.
That effectively leaves just the one reason for griefing people - because you're an asshole. And yeah, as we all know, MMOs attract a lot of those. However, SWTOR has measures in place to protect you from them as well. In an effort to cut down on the immature squabbling and insult-tossing between factions, the World/Planet channel is faction-exclusive; and there is no way to tell or email an enemy player. (This also stops people "cheating" by emailing equipment from a high level Imperial account to a low level Republic account and visa versa: but that's good for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with PVP)
The only way to insult someone is to their face; and for every second they spend typing /say commands, that's an extra second you have to snipe them in the face.
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Originally Posted by Droo
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