I am actually quite intrigued by the new pvp system in the game, but I can see why a lot of people would have problems with it. If the pvp system goes through, I have a couple pieces of advice and some information to tell you.
Go join the Way of Blue covenant. The Way of Blue is a covenant that is connected to the Blue Sentinel covenant(like the Darkmoon). If you are invaded while being a member of the Way of Blue, a member of the Blue Sentinels covenant will be automatically summoned to help you fight off and kill the invader. You can also summon a white phantom as well, so you should have plenty of help fighting off invaders.
One thing to note, is that many items, including armor, now have stat requirements. I am unsure how upgrading will work in this game, but from what I understand, being ganked by a person with high quality armor and weapons is unlikely. What would be interesting, is if the stat requirement for a weapon increased as you "level" the weapon up. This would force people into leveling their stats to keep up with the weapons stat requirements, thus killing the chance of ganking under geared players(if the pvp invasion system works roughly the same way as in Dark Souls).
There are now several mechanics in place to prevent people from "turtling" as well. From what I understand, there is now a move in the game, which looks a bit like a slap or backhand that helps break the guard of a shield. Also, if you run out of stamina while blocking, you will be knocked down on your back end in a stance that allows the aggressor to use a riposte. Keeping this in mind, managing your stamina will be paramount to succeeding both in pve and pvp, even more so than in the original game.
If you play a spell caster, there are now items you can use to replenish your spell charges. This is great news, but I can see it being abused if the game was hacked.
The game is now on a dedicated server as well, so lag will be substantially reduced.
Last bit of info, there is always going offline. I know the suggestion almost sounds like an insult to some people, but the option is there if you really do not like pvp and just want a pve experience. Know that the game was designed this way on purpose though; invasions fit in the lore and are an important part of the game. You do not have to like the design decision, but remember it was in the developers vision.
If you(or anyone else in this thread) ends up playing Dark Souls 2, I hope to see you all there! Whether we kill or help each other, let us all have fun in the strange new world we will be sharing.
