It's not, though. This is the sort of problem that cascades downwards.

If Blizzard has to assume that the top-end players have X legendaries, they have to balance content around that assumption. In so doing, they end up placing the content out of the reach of guilds that don't have X legendaries. In fact, the balance issues are a problem for the normal guilds more so than the cutting edge ones.

Like you I don't compete in the top tiers (realm firsts, rank 1 gladiators, etc), but I'd like to have a fair chance if I ever wanna compete. I play arenas and rated BGs and even at lower brackets (I'm playing around 2k mmr) I feel the pain of the Dragonwrath procs and it definitely can turn the tide of a match.

Must I be forced to grind a legendary to compete on PVP? I thought blizzard stance was not to force any player to do what he does not want to. I don't wanna grind raids for months to get a legendary or being face-rolled by someone with one.

Imagine RMP (Rogue Mage Priest) trios with two legendaries. Doesn't sound fair to the other teams who just wanna PVP.

Hal, I agree totally with your first paragraph. For me, balance issues are meaningless - I don't care if class X or spec Y is more or less powerful than my discipline priest. An item that is, well, legendary, *should* be better than other items.

In the same vein, I thought all the post-release QQ about DKs was totally unwaranted. They were supposed to be a hero class - the very name implies they would be more powerful.

What another class or spec can do or get has no influence on my game choices. I do (and would) play the class and spec I like, regardless of balance issues, and no raid or guild or BG leader is going to tell me otherwise.

Obviously, I'm in the minority when it comes to how I feel about class balance, but I do see a growing number of players who seem less content with the "we're all the same" philosophy that has permeated the game the past few years.

Make legendaries and their component parts accessible in the LFR, and all the guild drama disappears. It becomes a selfish, solo effort, therefore making everyone happy.

That's just it though, the balance problem isn't purely for raiding, it's a big issue in BGs. If a caster with Tarecgosa or a rogue with even the first tier of their legendaries has you in their sights, you'll need a minor miracle to survive. Even with lots of resilience, if they get lucky with procs, they can burn you down in seconds.

Hmmm. make it so that those who are top-tier raiders (but not necessarily good PvPers ...) get an advantage in BGs so they can come in, roflstomp and strut over players who are probably better than them but will NEVER have access to that level of gear.
Yep, Blizzard, you really do want me to find another way to spend my time.
When someone shows up with the current season gladiator weapons, they are ALMOST certainly better than me anyway. And their faction will probably win, other things being equal. Just like I am *probably* better than the people turning up in a mix of vicious and ruthless. And when the opposing faction shows up in less than full ruthless, i have fun - until they start focusing 3 or 4 people on me. And my faction usually wins in those cases. But having the PVE WEAPONS be an advantage in BGs is stupid.