Originally Posted by
Zirusianna
The strategy behind it.
What you see is, for an example, one dude walking up to the other, dancing around each other for some time, before swinging a couple of times and then one of them wins.
What you don't see is that every second they dance around each other, they are looking for openings in each others defenses. One simple little opening, like lowering your shield to attack at the wrong time, can mean that you are dead. Plus there are so many different playstyles, fast characters, Dex characters, Backstabs, ripostes, STR characters, people who like to block, people who like to dodge. And every weapon is unique in its own way, making it very deep in ways of combat mechanics and movement.
Whenever you PvP in Dark Souls, there's so much going on. How the enemy moves, what weapon he uses, the pros and cons of that weapon (For an example a Zweihander might be very hard hitting, but are slow and easy to parry, or the Black Knight Greatsword is very very hard hitting and will stunlock you if you get hit, but if you miss then you're totally open to damage since its swings are so slow).