[citation][nom]doorspawn[/nom]In this context, skill is a heirarchy whereby persons with higher skill should routinely beat those with lower skill, and which meets the following criteria:1. Skill is independent of persistance. IE, any current status (levels, gear, whatever) about online chars etc is irrelevant. This also goes for social groups. Being in a good team/guild/clan doesn't increase your skill.2. Skill is independent of localised prior experience. Knowing how to beat a boss does not mean you're more skillful than someone who doesn't - although PvE skill isn't really true skill IMO.3. Variability (or adaptability) must be part of a skill. A simple press X when Y happens is not adaptable. However, clicking shoot at enemy players is variable because you have to adapt it to where they are on screen.Also, the difference in skill somewhat measurable (albeit not linearly) by the predictability of the outcome. A 95% chance of winning shows a significant skill difference.So, compared to RPGs, FPSes and RTSes place enormous importance on skill.That's all just made up off the top of my head so it's a bit random. I might think about it a bit more.[/citation]
Check out Tera then, particularly the PvP. Gear still helps (as it does in any MMO) but skill plays a significantly larger part than your average MMO. Other than that maybe you should just stick with FPS games if you want purely skill driven combat (I'd recommend TF2 but the items in that game make entry for new players kind of difficult).
Anyway, this just seems to be Marvel Ultimate Alliance online to me. Not that they weren't fun games.