PVP in games like WoW

Player versus player combat obviously has a great deal among people who play modern video games. Being able to be matched against a human opponent is one of the oldest key features of gaming, regardless of medium or genre. Games like Call of Duty, Halo, etc. - first person shooters, whole not lacking complexity (I know this from experience from countless hours of Halo parties that took place at our house in high school), are entirely more straightforward than MMO's. Arguably, easy to learn, hard to master.

If you haven't had experience playing videos such as this one showcasing PVP strategies are probably going to be pretty alien. I myself can hardly make heads or tails of any videos that aren't about Warlocks, the class I've been playing. This video is about a macro which the rogue class can use to achieve 1 hit kills sometimes, under specific circumstances. A macro is simply a keyboard shortcut

Many people make their own videos of WoW using screen capture software (the program FRAPS is a good example of this) and upload them to sites to show their strategies, other cool things, etc. Popular musical used includes metal, alternative, and metal core. Videos are often timed with the music, overlayed text is almost always applied, and they're probably not really that fun to watch unless you know what you're seeing.

Games such as the popular League of Legends (that I play) also have some of the same aspects; videos are made of specific scenarios, but as a rule are more accessible to the average viewer than WoW videos are, simply because the game is less complex (not that it doesn't take as much skill, though).

With game such as WoW, you have the dynamic of multiple classes interacting with each other, which can likened to an elaborate game of rock-paper-scissors. Typically it goes like this: Warrior beats Rogue, Rogue beats Mage, and Mage beats Warrior. However, with WoW this is further expanded, because with the latest expansion Mists of Pandaria, there are 10 classes to choose from, depending on which race and faction you roll a character as (the term rolling being a holdover from games like Dungeons and Dragons, where you would roll dice to randomly choose your character's starting attributes).

Something like this would probably be a bit easier to follow than most WoW PVP videos. LoL has really taken of as an e-sport (yeah, that's a legitimate thing). This is a novel way of thinking about it.

source: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2013/01/18

Personally, I cannot stand sports anything. Unless I am directly involved in the activity, it doesn't interest me unless it's a direct combat-style sport, like fencing, boxing, or mixed martial arts. Other than that - no sale, and I have less than zero interest discussing anything like soccer or football, ever. Even if it's a video game like FIFA, I would literally rather kick a ball around by myself. Seriously. I guess I just can't make the connection to that and fun.

 I also can't stop saying soccer when I'm outside of the U.S. It's always been soccer to me!

I would assume that online e-sports and PVP might be viewed similarly to people who haven't been into it. I actually don't like the e-sport aspect though. The game is still only really fun when I'm playing it. Watching videos might be a good way to find the best strategy, items set, skill order, or whatever, but unless it's at least a little original, playing seems pointless to me. You might when, but is it really fun?