Just like it says above, I remember this from GW and it was great. There were two types of characters, a PvE char and a PvP char, the PvP one could use any skills and gear you unlocked, and you could access all the PvP types and outposts immediately. GW2 is similar, but not the same, a new player has to do the starting introduction quest and enter an explorable zone first. This gets in the way of a person who wants to play multiple chars in sPvP. If people did not have to do the starting quest they could use a single nickname for playing sPvP and remake new characters anytime. It would be a lot more convenient, and it’s something I really liked in GW.
Anet likely didn’t want to remove the armor stats entirely because…well,
we’ve all seen what happens in games where there’s no disadvantage to taking your pants off.