I have to say that going up against a char who's player I don't know is much more exciting than fighting an ooc connection. Simply put, and i'm sure many people will agree, when your fighting someone's char who you know, you dont really go all out to try and kill them, and you would probably return gear when you normally wouldn't have. I'm a sinner when it comes to the later.

However, I don't think anyon can dispute the fact that knowning(*) who your allies are played by takes a lot of stress off your mind. Simply put, if i'm ranking I want to know that my tank has done his defs/weapons and can tank. If i'm hunting, I want to know that my groupmate knows what to do given a situation without me telling him what to do. But, theres something to be said for grouping with someone you don't know ooc, and having them be completely competent and do exactly what they should when they need to, ultimately winning a pk etc. In my opinion, cf is a much more 'majestic' or mystical experience when you actually don't know who the players behind the characters are.

Romanul.

(*) Knowing != ooc talking, simply knowning which forum identity plays what char.