For any game to have a level playing field in PVP, the depth of the gameplay mechanics need to be good.
For example:
- It needs to be fun to improve your own skill level
- Improving should be challenging, so it's more rewarding as you improve
- There needs to be a high skill ceiling
MMO's generally don't have all those qualities, which is why there is gear to reward players who play more and make it easier to beat people with lower end gear, who may be equal if not better in skill.
While I applaud bioware for leveling the playing field, and making this game not so much about who has the better gear, I don't think it's going to work too well in an MMO because they lack the depth of skill required.
To illustrate my point, consider the following skill level requirements of the following games to be played at their highest level:
- Quake3/Quakelive (any of the quakes really)
- Starcraft/Starcraft 2
- Original counterstrike
- UT2k3/2k4
Compare the mechanics of those games to MMO's, and you'll see a huge difference. MMO's with an even playing field can get boring very fast because there isn't as high a skill ceiling and it's not too hard to get very good.