Alterac Valley in Classic

[Ziryus-doomhammer (Ziryus)]

Sure they do, it was not uncommon for people in WSG or AB to give up after an initial bad start.

And this is not ‘successfully playing’ the BG. If you avoid PvP in post-1.11 AV, you have a better chance of winning by committing completely to the final boss. If you avoid PvP in AB and WSG, you will not win the game.

No you are conflating reinforcement values with 1.11 AV values. Playing D or at least breaking the zerg was a very successful strat in 1.11, it didn’t become a bad idea until after reinforcements.