While I agree for the most part, with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 seasons, the gear disparity has always existed. Having said that, it’s obvious Blizzard wants PvPers to have some sense of character power progression, and just like we have in PvE, the way they implement this is by awarding players who are more devoted/skilled/etc., with greater power rewards (higher raid difficulty = better power, higher m+ = better power, higher arena difficulty = better power).
While the above is never really ideal in a purely competitive PvP game, WoW isn’t a purely competitive PvP game, and until they make tournament realms that everyone can play on whenever they want, this is what we have to work with, and having said that, the gear disparities ARE NOT KEEPING ANYONE FROM REACHING THE RATING BRACKET THEY BELONG IN / DESERVE. They just aren’t. If you can’t break 1800 despite your absolute best efforts right now, YOU ARE A CHALLENGER (it doesn’t matter what you were in another expansion, you are a challenger now for the time being). If you can’t break 2400, YOU ARE A DUELIST, etc., etc. Despite the gear gaps, the bracket you end up in is still an accurate reflection of your skill on that class for any given season.
Accepting this is the first step towards the process of improving your own gameplay. If you think you’re only (or mainly) held back because of your gear, you are just running on the treadmill of denial, which ultimately gets you nowhere.
I also like what someone else brought up before. Think of life. With some exceptions of course, WoW basically follows the model of life. You get what you put in. Those with the drive, determination, and ability will succeed in most cases, whereas those without will likely not. Not everyone who is obsessed and in love with playing football will become an NFL player regardless of the time invested in becoming better, only the best of the best will achieve the highest tier, just like in WoW.
1600 is the WoW equivalent of making the cut for your middle school football team, pretty much anyone without a disability can do it, yet some will still fail for one reason or another, whether it be drive, ability, etc.
THE ONLY THING HOLDING PEOPLE BACK FROM REACHING AT LEAST 1600 IS THEMSELVES, IN PARTICULAR THEIR INABILITY BE SELF-CRITICAL OF THEMSELVES AND ADMIT THEY AREN’T AS GOOD AS THEY’D LIKE TO THINK THEY ARE (NOT GEAR, NOT META, NOT THE TYPE OF KEYBOARD THEY USE, NOT PLAYING WITHOUT A RAZOR NAGA, NOT PLAYING X CLASS/SPEC, NOT A JOB/WIFE/KIDS/PETS, NONE OF IT, AT BEST THOSE THINGS MAKE IT TAKE A BIT LONGER TO REACH THE RATING YOU BELONG IN, BUT IN THE END, NONE OF THOSE PREVENT GLADS FROM GETTING GLAD, DUELISTS FROM GETTING DUELIST, ETC.).
