No, actually, rated is where you have fun too, most of us don’t even care about rating, just the fact that you’re fighting another team that is in voice and prepared to fight at an even playing field is why we play the game mode. Keep in mind the Rated BG title has been the same since the very first season and is even account-wide now. Incase you had any doubts.
Legion is often regarded as one of the best expansions for pvp by many players, and even expansion in general, I’m not really sure why they changed it back to gear, but I don’t remember anyone complaining about it.