While I’m not exactly one of the many people who feel strongly enough about the limited FOV to be consistently vocal about it, here is how I feel about Jon’s explanation.
1) The default FOV could remain the same, while creating a slider would give those with the hardware to accommodate it — and those who feel ill playing with the default FOV — the option to change it. PC gamers love having options, and MMO gamers love them even more.
2) Expanding the FOV via windowed mode stretching has not resulted in texture/art distortion to a large enough degree for me to notice it, but even if it did, this is another example of how allowing each individual player the option to decide for him/herself what is most important to them in how the game runs and appears on their setup would be as close to ‘everybody wins’ as you could get.
3) I disagree with how this was explained. Positional awareness IS important in combat, and the game already suffers because the limited FOV and camera make it more difficult for players to be fully aware of their positioning. You say the game would suffer with expanded FOV because it would diminish the importance of being positionally aware…I say the game would improve because it would actually allow players to BE aware of their surroundings, thus putting any lapses in player awareness solely on their own shoulders rather than allowing them to blame it on the game itself.
Of course, hardware discrepancies between players will result in some playing with an expanded FOV having an advantage over those who cannot, but let’s be honest here — those with the better hardware and connection are ALWAYS going to be at an advantage in competitive PC gaming, and the same is already true in this game. Players with triple-monitor setups and more current specs (or those playing on large HDTVs with enough screen real estate to play in widescreen windowed mode) are probably destroying those people with older specs or single sub-24" monitors as it is.