It would be interesting to compare PvP leveling in games with "opt-in" such as SWG's system or CoH/V's zone-based PvP. With the any "interference barrier" taken away, you might see even more extreme results.

From my own experiences there, you would. A general rule in PvP is to give your foe no quarter. That means insuring that you're using the most effective gear at the most effective level available.

In SWG, it's always been suggested by the PvP community that you max-out a template before ever entering a PvP zone.

In CoH, it's a little different. Zones are level-specific. Everyone higher than level 24 that enters "Bloody Bay" gets taken down to an effective level 24. Everyone under 24 (must be at least level 15 to enter) is given the hit points and accuracy of level 24, but not the added powers.

Since this zone is a level 15-24 zone, you'd expect the majority of the players to be in that range. In reality, few under 24 would bother to enter- the missing powers mean too much.

It's much the same for siren's call (level 30). If you're under the cap, you're participating at the foe's advantage.

Maybe the PvPers are higher level because for PvP, higher level is equivalent to being a more effective killer.

I don't think the potential to be ganked has much to do with it.

The higher level you are the easier and more effectively you can PvP.

I would say that PvP players level to 70 quicker because it's the only level eligible for Arena points and by far the most effective way to get Honor points.

If you want to PvP competitively, all the targets are at level 70 waiting for you.

I doubt Eric's hypothesis or your last one are correct. It doesn't matter what level you are, you WILL be killed by players you have absolutely no chance of beating. If you're 20, the 40's kill you. If you're 70, you'll be ganked by 70's in full Arena sets. Until you get to the very tippy-top of the heap(And let's face it, you probably wont), no amount of leveling will protect you from people that just want to mess up your session.

My own hypothesis for this phenom could be summarized as "More experienced players play on PvP serverS".

1. Anecdotally, I've noticed that those new to MMO's tend to shy away from PvP. Fighting monsters is hard enough, they can't imagine fighting another PLAYER. A more experienced MMOG'er wouldn't waste time struggling to figure out basic, universal concepts that a new player would be stumped by.

2. People who play on PvP servers will generally be playing an alt. That is, they rolled their first char on a PvE server, got to 70, and then rolled another one on the PvP server. Thus, they will be armed with knowledge that lets them bypass worthless content, addons that make life easier and leveling faster, reflexes that let them take on tougher quests, etc.

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Speaking of PvP vs PvE servers, have you ever run a survey of what zones people spend time on PvP vs PvE servers? You'll probably find that low level players spend much less time in certain zones popular with player killesr(e.g. Stranglethorn Vale), while high-level players actually spend more time in those zones.

Well I guess I did it backwards then lol I've leveled 10 toons on PVP realms before I recently moved 3 of them to PVE. I started on PVP unknowingly and got fed up eventually with the relentless world PVP ie ganking. I enjoy the lore and the storyline of the game more so than the PVP aspects of it. Anyone who plays on a PVP server knows that PVPers will hamper your group summons to instances and will always attack at the most inconvenient of times. In the year and a half I've played WoW I have never once been in a "fair" fight in world PVP. I can't say that I agree totally with the comment of more experienced players on PVP servers. I play with some very good toons on PVE, I think PVE lets you work more with your class talents and own your own terms. IE Battlegrounds and Arena.