Fiesta Online is the first MMORPG I've ever played.  I began in October 2007, and it's really the only one I've stuck with long enough to get to a really decent level.  It's where I met all of my current MMORPG friends, and where I actually met two of the guys I dated.  (Yeah yeah, internet relationships, blahblahblah, that's not what this is about.)

A while back, they introduced a few new options for PVP.  They already had a guild warring system in place, but they introduced the "Abyss" areas and the Free Battle Zones.  They're referre to as "Abyss" areas because all of their names have a form of the word "abyss" in them.  "Dungeon of the Abyss."  "Relic of the Abyss."  etc.

For anyone who doesn't play Fiesta, the Abyss areas were level locked PVP areas.  They mimicked Dungeon maps for levels 2x, 3x, 4x, etc.  Previously, the level locks were set from 20-29, 30-39, etc.  In one of their recent updates, they increased the level lock.  So now, in the Abyss that was formerly a lvl 2x Abyss, anyone from level 10 up to level 36 can get in.

Another thing about the Abyss is that most of them are known for their good exp and high drop rates.  (I say most because it seems that only the 2x, 6x and 7x Abyss areas are blessed with these things.)  Even though they are intended for PVP use, people end up grinding their for exp or to get money.

In Fiesta, when you die because of a mob, you lose 1%.  This is true in the abyss too.  At first, you only lost exp in Abyss if a monster got last hit on you.  If a player killed you, you didn't lose any exp.  After a recent patch, however, you lose a fraction of 1% if you get PK'd.

Which is where the problem begins.  Many people do not seem to like the fact that you can be killed while grinding.  They whine about this in the forums.  It always starts off with "I was minding my own business, grinding in the abyss when..."  Followed by a harrowing tale of how they were PK'd repeatedly, called a noob, forced to retreat from the area and unable to continue grinding in the Abyss.  Some of them complain about the attitude of the PKer.  Others, the majority of them, will complain about the fact that they were killed and prevented from getting good exp and drops.  They then demand that the ability to PVP be removed from the Abyss and that it be treated like any other map in Fiesta:  No PVP unless in Guild War.

These people know that when you enter the Abyss, you stand a good chance of getting killed by another player.  Whether you want to fight them or not doesn't matter.  If they want to kill you, they will try.  (And often times, if you're lower than they are, you will get killed.)  Still, the lure of good exp and lots of drops is too much for them to resist.  So they go in and get killed.

When people post on the forums, the reply they get is usually, "If you don't want to risk dying, don't go in."  Some have responded with, "Why should I have to risk losing experience?  I shouldn't have to risk anything."  And no, they don't have to risk anything.  They could just sit in town and talk.  When you grind out in the other maps, there's a risk that you'll lag, your HP stones will fail, your pots won't work and you'll die.  Everything you do, there's risk.  If you don't want to risk dying in an MMORPG, then sit in town and Do.  Not.  Move.  Ever.  See how fun that is?

This is a game that has no real-life consequences, and they're whining about risk?  In the time it took them to post their whine thread and monitor it for replies, they could have earned back the exp they lost.  Yes, I realized you worked hard to get to level 25 but come on.  Log off, take a break, cool down.  You'll get that exp back.  And you learned a lesson!  Yay!  Make sure you write that down, because it will be on the test: "Going into the Abyss areas can be deadly.  Enter at your own risk."

Now, I'm the far from being a PVP Goddess, although I have been accused of acting like one.  (Because, you know...stoning and potting in a desperate attempt to stay alive while stunned is the mark of a PVP Goddess.  /sarcasm)  I've died many times in Abyss for various reasons, but I would not think to ask them to remove the PVP ability from the Abyss.  Ever.  After all, it's the threat of being attacked and having the opportunity to fight back that makes things exciting.  If they're in a PVP area to grind and level up, then they've completely missed the meaning of "PVP" and obviously do not belong there.

I really hope Outspark never caters to these whiners.  They're probably part of the generation that grew up playing T-ball games where there were no winners so that the other team "wouldn't feel bad."  It'll definitely be a shock to them when they grow up, enter the real world and find out that not everybody wins.

But why listen to me?  I'm probably just anti-social and unsympathetic because I once lost a softball game in 7th grade.  That experience scarred me for life.