I am so freaking sick of people wanting to opt out of PvP so I say, just give them that option. We wont hear the whining anymore. Split the game into 2. Split the forums into 2. I never wanna hear or see someone that doesnt believe PvP should be in this game again.
No switching between worlds, one choice only. Players when creating a character are asked to choose Hardcore, or Pansy. There is no interaction between the 2 worlds. In one world, gold and exp gain are reduced by 25% but there is no PvP. In the other, there are no penalties and things continue as normal.
In 6 months when the marketplce in the Non PvP world reaches 500k each, the PvP world will still be at or near its current level. Enjoy your doomed life in a boring world with no danger.
What's the point of badmouthing people who would choose not to participate in the PvP side of the game? You obviously have contempt for such people, but that problem is yours, not HCS's or any other player's. You're doing more whining in this one post as 5 opt out threads put together. If someone's wishes on a *game* differ from yours so much, and you disagree with them, please find a more civilized way to state it; otherwise you risk sounding childish and petulant as you do here.
About the actual opt-out: I like it. Not allowing opted out players to bounty would be a good penalty for being protected from XP loss.
However, could an opted-out player gain PvP rating if they are attacked and the attacker loses? You wouldn't just have to set the opted-out players' rating to 0, you'd have to lock it there to avoid the trading.
I think it would be best to opt all players out by default, then, with every ladder reset. This way, near-inactives can't be farmed for rating, and newer players wouldn't come back to find some of their levels gone after a long absence. However, this would go hand-in-hand with an idea I've been cultivating, so I'll save it for when I post it.