So I thought I would try this server out (outland) and have a bit of fun. After about a week I achieved level 70. Since leveling was quickened I figured pvp rewards were increased as well. Turns out this isn't the case. I went into some BGs to see what I can expect to earn through farming honor. Well, after a bit of (rough estimations)math if I get 300 honor per 15 min game it will take me about 212 hours assuming each piece cost around 15k honor reach. Of course this is farming AV so you must ignore the token requirments on gear which could double or triple your time per game, but lets pretend they are all fast AV games for fun! So if you treat this game like a job it would take you 5.3 weeks at 40 hours a week to get geared enough to compete. This isn't even counting current season arena gear. Also with no world queue, you can not farm while you wait meaning once you are 100% geared you then have to farm for your epic mount, enchants, gems, and maxing professions. This alone would probably take another month. On this server you are looking at a 2.5 month grind to simply do some arena games.
Why does all of this matter? Well it matters because if you make something so tedious and time consuming you are begging for bots to take over, which is exactly what has happened. As somebody who has actually used BG bot in the past (live servers during cata) I can spot them very very easily. In the few games I played no less than 1/3 - 1/2 of the players were botting. They were following simple routs, dismounting instantly upon combat, rogues not stealthing, sitting at graveyards no longer relevant to 'guard' them (AV).
How can we fix this? Make pvp gear free. Every single piece you can get outside of arena should be free. It is crap in pve so it won't change that, other than helping fresh 70s get started. If gear no longer costs honor, there would be no reason to bot BGs.
Keep in mind I am well aware of my ability to purchase these items in store for over $400 (17 pieces at about $27 a piece = $459). I am also aware that this would fix my issue with grinding, but what YOU need to be aware of is that there is no point in me getting this gear if all I fight are bots. I want to go into a BG and have fun. Mindlessly killing bots is a waste of time. So as of now, even if I were to buy all the gear I still would not want to play this game. To those worried about BGs being less popular without the reward, I agree, they will be. BUT I would rather wait 5 min for a game with real people then get instant queues and just fight bots.
So please, think about it. As of now, me and my group of friends that started this are going to quit and I am sure there are many others who feel this way. Other than this, I do appreciate the nostalgic trip back through BC, I had some good times here. Take care.
