High Level PvP & Community Questions

[Mattgbg]

Greetings, Sarlona Forum.

Some of you may know me in-game as Zorrr, the level 9 Barbarian that frequents the Wayward Lobster and likes to challenge random level 20's to arena death-matches (and promptly get destroyed.) I am very curious about a few aspects of PvP endgame in DDO, and Sarlona's PvP community itself:

1. Is there an active community of PvP'ers on this server? I can see that the Wayward Lobster typically has an abundance of level 20's looking for a fight, but what about people that do deathmatch / CTF arenas? At level 20 can I expect to join the arena queue and actually get placed in a group? (This is certainly NOT the case at level 9...) Do level 20's form pre-made groups and compete with each other on a regular basis?

2. Do people typically build / optimize characters in this game purely for PvP? Would it be a better idea for me to have two separate characters for Raiding and PvP, or will one probably suffice? (Keep in mind I am using a Barbarian)

3. Is Trip useful in PvP at higher levels? Currently as a level 9 Barbarian, tripping never seems to fail me in a duel. My +6 strength modifier (Higher when raging) and vertigo weapon almost guarantee a successful trip against another level 9, which often provides me enough time to destroy any lightly armored character. Potentially I could improve this going forward with additional feats, but I would like to know if this strategy scales well at higher levels (Due to itemization, Higher Balance Checks, etc.) or if I should not waste my time seeking to improve it.

4. Why don't people ever use the brawling tavern in Deneith? It's layout much less clustered than the Wayward Lobster... Yet to this day I've never seen anyone using it. Am I missing something?

I know this game's primary focus is PvE, and I enjoy that aspect of the game, I am just a curious newcomer who likes a good fight.

-Matt