I was a fan of starcraft many years back. I did fairly good on starcraft pvp (of course that game is a pvp based game).
I started to play wow several month ago only. The reason I started wow is because I wanna new challenges for a new pvp game. Not something for kids shooting games but some serious pvp.
I admit I am not a expert on wow pvp yet, cuz i didn't hit 2000+. but considering the time I started and my class is a mage. (I enjoy it though).
But after talking to many friends of mine, I finally realize that this game's pvp system is never going to be as good/balance as some RTS games like starcraft and warcraft, which is pretty understandable.
Aside from that, the pvp seems never going to be as popular as other games, like some pro-league games in Korea ans Asians. The wow pvp is hard to watch/understand by general people, and very fast compared to other games.
I know there are some activities going on for professional pvp and competitions including real-money rewards. I just feel it wont' go any further.
The reasoning goes:
1. 1v1 fighting is like a state machine. If you ever played "king of fighter" you will understand. (except "king of fighter" needs more skill on keyboarding)
You use your skill based on what class/spec your opponent is. Every single skill you use, is predictable. Not much space to improve after you getting to a certain level. It limits the key thing for pro-gaming---creativity. That's why wow pvp isn't as excited as other games.
Noob wow pvpers suck, mostly simply because they don't know the fight.
Mage doesn't know trinket is used for blind against rogue, and blink is saved for kidney.
After some basic understanding and practice, everyone can be decent pvper. (Arena is bit different as it depends on team/comp)
As opposed to starcraft and warcraft. (fans knows every basic thing in the game, but they can't be pro simply because they can't...)
2. global CD limits the action you can do. Multi-tasking is limited by it. It all comes down to the reaction/team coordination, not multi-tasking. Even you know every single detail in the field, you can still cast 1 spell every 1.5 secs.
3. wow pvp is not a spectators sports.
fight is fast, and not designed for people to enjoy watching.
In warcarft, or starcraft, people can just sit there watching 5 hours live games between pros, and enjoy, or even sit there watching 5 hours of replays without any comments. people enjoy them. That's why they are so successful on getting fans.
Wow pvp is for the player itself. No spectators, no market.
Then why wow pvp has so many sucky players? Simply because the player base is so huge compared to other games, not because pvp itself is complicated.
after all, wow is still a pve based game.
Please do not flame. I am not writing this because I am stuck at pvp. I am still progressing, and I am not complaining anything. it's just the way the game is.
I just thought it makes some sense to stop, think, and compare the pvp game mechanisms.