Tried the demo thinking of subscribing to the game. Trying to get an idea of what higher level play is like, is there a good deal of PVP going on war/pirate wise? Also, are there still many active guilds out there, particularily group PVP focused?

EDIT:

Also, my main toon is currently UIT, would I be better off switching Serco if I was looking for more combat focused gameplay, or are there some merc units on the UIT side?

Unfortunately there isn't much spontaneous collaborative PvP going on these days. End game stuff is being actively implemented by the devs but isn't quite in place yet.

Still, PvP does happen and it is fun and happily dependent on player skill more than anything else.

For a sense of what group PvP can be, check out the weekly Nation War.

CLM is the most active pirate guild.
VPR is anti-pirate.
ONE is Serco Nationalist.
Itan is Itani Nationalist.

Unless you want to do the nationalist thing there is no need to reroll. Pirate/anti-pirate PvP is probably more prevalent anyway.

The war in Deneb has increased significantly in the last few weeks with the introduction of Dynamic Warfare there.

Pirates/Anti-Pirates continue to be a standard conflict of the game, and many Nationalist and/or Trade Guilds become involved in that as well.

UIT is officially a neutral side of the war, profiting from both sides needs. UIT players can join the Serco or Itani militaries independently, but your chances of being recruited into a guild dwindle rapidly because of your non-nationalist character. For example, ONE, the Serco Nationalist guild that I belong to, will not admit UIT or Itani's in and thus you would be unable to join ONE even if you were Serco loyal.

If you're looking for combat, Serco is the way to go, trade is for UIT, and Itani is another combat group. Itani favor light fighters, while Serco favors heavy fighters bristling with armor and weapons. Depends on which you prefer to fight with, a paper-airplane, or a Abrams Tank.

Here's a list of other guilds to consider:
ONE: Serco Nationalist Guild (Big Red One)
ITAN: Itani Nationalist Guild
SKV: Itani Nationalist Guild
TGFT: Multi-national Trade Organization (The Guild of Free Traders)
CLM: Pirate Group (Cargo Liberation Movement)
Syn: Pirate Group (The Syndicate)
VPR: Anti-Pirate Group (Vipers)

hi serith78 just say "hi i am peytros friend" on 100 and you will find all the pvp you need

PvP is, IMO, the only reason to subscribe to this game. Now that the devs are working on multi-player ships, things should get even better in the PvP area. I can't wait for the time when we can buy Tridents, have multiple gunners and go toe-to-toe with larger ships.

I wouldnt bother, with all these pirates lurking around it will be really hard to find some 'consentual' PvP. Mostly you will be killed by 2 CLM at the same time

Yeah, it really is too bad that those bastard pirates blockade sectors and shoot people who trespass without paying. We should just abolish CLM entirely, since they won't let people just hang out and play Carebears In Space all the time.

its a space combat game lardon not a space pirate game... oh i made myself laugh

Yes, space combat. With rainbows and hugs for all!

peytros you crazy man, you just crazy