2 handed makoto swings faster than LSoM, so I hit first and disrupt their attacks, and it has farther reach than blind (yet another important PvP factor, the reach of your weapon).

The build I have is very good PvP, my losses usually stem from: making a dumb move (like swapping my weapons out too early), or lag, getting hit/backstabbed when I'm not at the location anymore.

I disagree that most matches are short. Mine are rarely shorter than 5 min (unless bad lag occurs). I can imagine the short matches are the ones where 2 brutes run and swing at each other and whoever is luckier, ie weapon hits first, wins. That, to me, isn't playing the game.

so what would happen if they used the large sword of moonlight? you would have to abandon your shield tactic (it goes right through apparently, the Blind included), then rely on your stamina and a decent weapon. so you're pretty well covered. especially with a spear so you can poke em from behind the tower you're holding. :P and because you can roll a hyper mode mage would have a hell of a time hitting you.

if you're talking about a sword fight, you must also consider the reach of your weapon as well as speed. which is why the BBS is so godly. a kilij has no chance vs a BBS because the BBS has comparable speed but superior range. a two handed pole weapon can strike quickly with great range. so it outclasses other weapons of a similar reach. so in theory a low damage weapon with great range and speed with a lot of stamina could destroy any big sword-wielding foe. i've got a holy knight which uses a blessed claymore. completely useless in pvp, for those reasons. any spear, pole or quick sword will tear him apart. also health regen is irrelevant in pvp because (most) matches are so short.

so yeah, high stamina builds have more to work with for sure.

I think the order of importance is: Stamina, ability to roll, swing speed, damage output

Here's a hypothetical questions
You have 2 weapons.
1 swings slow, uses 100 stamina and dishes out 1000 points of damage.
1 swings fast, uses 10 stamina and dishes out 100 points of damage
Which would you rather have? In the end, they both dish out the same amount damage/stamina used. I'd rather have the fast swinging weaker one.

Here is how most of my PvP's start:
They come running in with cursed dragon bone smasher/2 handed power house weapon. I put up my tower shield. They swing their stamina gone into my shield, where I take no damage and still have stamina left. I take 1 step forward, 3-4 swings of the baby's nails, they're plagued.

So I say stamina is most important because as people are wailing on my shield, depleting both our staminas, I'm getting a couple pokes in with a spear (I use scraping spear). The ability to roll is second most important because if I find they are still swinging and my stamina is almost gone, I used that last bit to roll backwards and out of range. If I can't roll, they'll still hit me. Next important is swing speed. If they have a slow swinging weapon, I'll move in with Makoto (which swings rather quick), hit them a few times before they can hit me. Again, when my stamina is almost gone, I use the last bit to roll backwards so it can refill.

Lastly is damage output. Because the above doesn't relly matter and the battle will last an hour is you're doing all this with claws.

meatcleaver, pure caster with 3 viable catalyst choices (tob, wooden, icat), kilij, baby's nail, secret dagger, fatal estoc, winged spear, knights sword, NR and some more….

demon's souls actually has a huge variety of viable weapon choices. its often not the weapon alone but also the weapon combinations that open up alot of possibilities.

its just that some of them are not "flavor of the month". there will always be weapons that are more common then others ofc. especialy flexible weapons like bbs and katanas will allways be seen often. but a kilij for example that deals a huge amount of damage with very low stamina cost and stuns faster than BBS isnt seen as often because its not that flexible. but if you combine it with a other weapon for certain situations and matchups, then its actually a huge force.

back to topic:

for me the factors are the following…

1. either maximum stamina or a huge manapool ->(everyone does that)
2. flexible set of weapons and spells ->(some builds lack flexibility as i experienced)
3. a proper balance between vitality and your dps stat(s) ->(everyone does that)
4. the skill to pull riposte/backstab, well timed rolls, well timed blocks, well timed attacks/spells off
5. enough brains and experience to play mindgames and dominate a fight

Here are some of the factors I expect people to come back with:
-Damage output: how much can you do in 1 blow?
-Health regeneration: the more you regenerate, the longer it takes to kill you
-Weapons that go through shields: you are unblockable
-Fast swinging weapons: you always hit first and can disrupt other people's attacks
-The abality to roll: dodging a strike/magic attack can mean 0 damage

In my opinion, it's stamina. If I can deplete your stamina before mine is gone, I get at least one free, unblocked hit to you. If that's with a flame weapon against a Brushwood shield or a magic weapon against a drak silver shield, that is huge. That means you are delivering maximum, unblocked damage in a single hit. From what I've seen PvP wise, if one person is depleting another's stamina first, consistantly, the other person goes on the defensive, and usually loses.

If anyone has been following my posts, they will see I'm a huge advocate of the tower shield +5, for it has the highest hitres. Match that with an eternal warrior's ring and armor with no stamina regneration penalty, and I am neigh unhittable. People can attack me with all their might and their stamina will be long gone long before mine. In PvP, I use that extra stamina to attack with the scraping spear, knowing I'm taking little damage to no damage in exchange for damaging their equipment.

The downside to a tower shield is the 60% damage reduction against magic. In that case, the second most important factor is the ablility to roll. That last strike, the one that puts your stamina to 0, I roll away from. That will 1. create distance between us and 2. you can't attack because you're stamina is gone. Thus, I have time to eat a grass and now all that damage you've done is gone, and my scraping spear's damage to your weapons/armor remains.