[quote=@Doc Doctor]
[@MelonHead]

Hey, maybe it's just me then. I do love high risk/high reward. I'd imagine that it is possible to go either way depending on how confident one player is on their ability to get a fast kill. 

Typically though, I see folks playing up high tiers to be extra durable, hence longer fights. Clock a man in the jaw real good and he goes down. Watch two superheroes have an exchange, they shrug it off with perhaps but a moderate bruise to show.
[/quote]

Well, that's more of a fictional thing. People tend to be just as durable as they need to be for the most satisfying cinematic or narrative experience. In reality, some people are extraordinarily tough, even without armour. They carry a lot of mass and muscle and know how to roll with the punches and that's where you get twelve round boxing matches or absolute brawls in MMA matches, two trained fighters hitting as hard as they can, neither going down. 

In other words, there's no particular reason why a low tier fight has to end after one or two blows. Maybe you're fighting unarmed, in which case the human body can take a lot of punishment, maybe you're fighting with weapons, in which case you should really have some armour.