Xrealm pvp proposal

Dear Warmane players,

I know these topics seem a bit tired, but I've put a good bit of thought in this thread and would consider most of it win-win.

First things first - I am all for cross realm BGs. The faster the queue, the better. It can't really imbalance a lot considering there are ppl in low gear and in bis or near bis gear on both servers, so the 2 will even themselves out.

In terms of arena, which is the more important topic, I believe that Xrealm should be considered only in the 3v3 and potentially 5v5 bracket (if anyone still bothers with that one anyway)

Now, hear me out. The reason for that is that the 2v2 bracket hasn't been considered balanced or competitive in retail for the past 8 years anyway. Plus it evens out the playing field in terms of gearing on Lord and IC. That bracket is probably best left as it is, so focus can be shifted to 3s and therefore that one should be left without any gear restrictions.

In terms of 3s, that would benefit from being crossrealm, but only under certain gear limitations in the vein of old AT. Those would be up to the 264 meta, which is the current cap on Blackrock, and what a lot of ppl reach on average in Lord judging by a quick armory browse. Now, i can already see the pitchforks and torches, with ppl yelling "BUT MUH SMOURNE AND HC OFFPARTS". And that is where the rationale comes in. By all means, use those in the 2s bracket and bgs, but concede to those restrictions in order to get a more balanced, active and competitive 3s scene. Imo, the only 277 ilvl items allowed in 3s should be the T2 pvp weps (which should be made available on blackrock) and the ashen verdict rep ring.

To answer some common criticisms to the whole debate:

- You don't need gear to be good in pvp. Its all about leet skeeelz. A: True, if you can dominate with Smourne, surely you can do that with he T1 axe. And if you consider yourself a skilled, competitive PVPer, you should have no problem farming it in no time.

- Lord n blackrock have a gear disadvantage, no RS gear. A: True, but by 2s staying within their server, the gear difference is nullified to the point where its all obtainable by the same players. In Xrealm 3s, the gear diff is nullified again by implementing those restrictions.

- (For IC donor players) "I paid good money to get this gear, why should i get to not use it in game." A: Ok, this one is a bit tricky. This is the one that made my brain hurt. If you are into competitive pvp, then surely this would give you something to do in the time before implementation. I.e. Forming ICC 25 runs with similar situation guildies, to obtain your nm DBW, or Bauble or whatever. Please note, that I appreciate the fact that your donations are helping the server and a lot of you have done it, so you don't want to or have to grind for the gear all over again, this is just a small compromise to make for a more active pvp comunity.

These are my thoughts on the matter, I don't know if the staff have similar ideas in mind, but it would be possible in this way to revitalize 3s and improve most ppl's pvp experience.