We have many great systems in-game for competition, yet there’s nearly zero recognition factor for winning, and without that the purpose for participating goes out the window for many people.
You could display the top 100 PvP players on each server. And you don’t just have to list them by kills, have a separate list for battles won, a list for damage done, etc… the more lists you have, the more players will compete to chart themselves on one of them.
You already use this exact principle for endgame (players play to acquire new “skins” to show off), so an extension of providing individual and server recognition for PvP seems to fit well within that foundation. After all, this is what motivates players to play, as many of us are wired to compete.
And the best part of all is – you guys should already have most of these stats in your database. All you’d need to do is make some outward facing interface (i.e. a webpage, or in-game component) where players can see their rankings. I think this would really help keep people playing for much longer, I know it would for me.
This is an area where WoW really shined, having “Server Firsts” for everything challenging in-game, and this extended from individuals to guilds.
Love the game guys! And I admire your passion, you’re probably the only game developer I’d work for (I’d apply if I lived in Seattle… alas..). Have a fantastic day!