Thanks for the props on the stories Callenmore. It's what I came here for... the immersion... the realism you spoke of I might call "societal" realism.
I'm annoyed that folks that choose a murderous lifestyle simply run a few packages and they're good again. I think I'd like something like MO1 from what I've heard. I never played it, but those that play the part of murderous robbers should be marked as so and barred from guarded cities/towns upon penalty of death. I think the realism you were speaking of is the societal realism. Too loose a controls and it becomes harder to appreciate as a microcosm of a society... rather becoming a microcosm of chaos. I think most players in MO2 lean towards the former, even if they're not hardcore. They appreciate the societal realism even if they're robbers and murderers. There are also, as mentioned, the opportunists, though I think even a good number of them appreciate the immersion MO2 provides, even if they're not die hard RPers. They at least have an understanding of why others would choose that playstyle and fight honorably, only murdering and taking what they need or adding a flourish of RP to it by offering you a chance for last words while you're in mercy before ending you.
There are also, however, a healthy handful of those that just want to bully. MO2's environment is so permissive of this currently that I fear it threatens the very immersion that is it's selling point for a majority of the population, even the pvpers. The griefers could give a damn about any other playstyle at all and will destroy immersion through needless griefing while yelling, "it's full loot game crybaby" because they know it is annoying. Full on trolls. IMO, there need to be more disincentives to do this. Never played MO1, but I love what I hear about there being red tags. Choose a damn side or get fancy with it and hover in the middle, but it should require some thought and effort that lends to the immersion. Not just "I KILL YOU BECUZ I BAD GUY YOU SUCK HAHAHAH GO CRY" while still enjoying all the comforts of civilized and guarded cities/towns by delivering a few packages. I hope this is improved on in the future. It can really make a difference for the long term health of the game imo. Griefers can easily destroy the depth of societal realism by scaring off new players that may have otherwise stuck around and added to that depth.
People are not afraid to be killed and loose all their shit in immersive combat. But they get annoyed as hell by a turd repeatedly ganking them with janky gameplay mechanics to show off their leetness and leave. Can't say I haven't felt that way at times with this game, but I temper my annoyance by remembering this is a small staff working on an incredibly complicated game. There's bound to be jank stuff unless they greatly expand their operation. The trade off is that I get a game that stays more true to it's immersive, full-loot vision than a larger, more shareholder driven game might do.
I really enjoy how many different people from different places play this game. I hear so many different languages. That just blows my mind on a daily basis. Helps add to the societal realism.