PvP MMORPGs

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Sometimes you just want to play a game that lets you revel in your bloodlust: PvP MMORPGs, the go-to for combining merciless fighting and a big world. The following list is composed of games that are released, meaning you can play them right now. We will update this list as more games come out if you leave a helpful comment below telling us what we missed.

World of Warcraft

xMight as well get this one out of the way. World of Warcraft lets you show off primal dominance through a number of PvP options: battlegrounds, arenas, and (my favorite)—if you play on a PvP server—factional world PvP. You can earn rewards for fighting in the pits as well, including flashy gear that says, "I'm your Grim Reaper."

EVE Online

xPvP in EVE Online can be brutal. "Don't fly what you can't afford to lose," because if you get ganked by another player your ship is turned to dust and anything in your cargohold is easy pickings for the attacker. If you don't want to be a pirate, or be attacked by pirates, you can join a corporation and wage war for territories, sometimes pitting thousands of players against one another, making for some of the most attractive PvP stories in any MMORPG.

Ultima Online

xThis ones an oldie but if you're a masochist but wants to live in a fantasy universe, then look to Ultima Online. Don't let its simplicity belie its brutality. When you die, you drop all your gear. And a team of four players can strategically box in a fifth, and shank him down to reap his loot. It doesn't take long for everyone to be on a near even playing field, meaning victory is equal to reaction time and tactics.

Guild Wars 2

xIt doesn't appeal to everyone but Guild Wars 2 has an established competitive PvP scene, with an annual World Championship touting a whole banner of sponsors. Not that you have to be competitive. Guild Wars 2 offers objective-based conquest, team deathmatch, strongholds, and world versus world with hundreds of players vying to be the best.

Blade and Soul

xBlade and Soul has my personal favorite 1v1 arena PvP, thanks to its mixture of fighting games and traditional MMORPG combat. When you lose, you know it's cause you goofed: should've done this or that. It's a skill-based game that feels so good when you stomp on an opponent. You can also enter the 3v3 arena, or don a costume to join a faction and participate in World PvP. It's an interesting system that allows players who want open PvP and don't to share the same land.

Dark Age of Camelot

xNot one I would recommend to players who didn't grow up in the era of EverQuest and Ultima Online, but Dark Age of Camelot is still fondly remembered for having one of the best open world PvP systems. Three factions clash in huge zones, where winners reap realm-wide rewards. And if you die you actually accrue a penalty, so you value your life, a necessary aspect to make PvP meaningful.

Black Desert Online

xIn an MMORPG with limited endgame PvE, the PvP better be good, and Black Desert Online's intense guild-verse-guild PvP rewards those who want to completely immerse themselves in the game's world. But if you want to take part in a siege you better work for the right gear. Or make the right friends. A karma system prevents bandits from killing players who just want to be pacifists.

Archeage

xLike many other MMORPGs, Archeage touts a factional war between two parties who can't get along, resulting in open world PvP both on land and at sea, aboard mighty vessels complete with cannons to fire fusillades. If grandiose battles aren't your style you can also duel other players to assert your dominance, or become a sociopath criminal and murder players of your own faction.

Elder Scrolls Online

xRemember Cyrodil, from Oblivion? Whether you do or don't doesn't matter. What does matter is that Cyrodil is where all of Elder Scrolls Online's PvP takes place, in a factional fight for the right to rule Tamriel (iron fist not included). Siege castles and towns, and run faster than your friend to survive. You're not just fighting others in the PvP zone, but can take on quests, public dungeons, harvest resources to craft, and help NPC's all while looking over your shoulder.

Honorable Mentions (For Now):

Revelation Online
Crowfall
Albion Online
The Exiled

I've been playing games before I could walk, and MMOs since Earthlink 5.0, a terrible way to play. I bounce around between games a lot, from EVE Online back to Vanilla and forward to whatever Indie title can keep my interest.