I have to speak up, as a long time PvPer in this game:

Not since the original Wolves' Den did gear matter quite so much. It DID matter, but with Frontlines, we got the ilvl sync, and as long as you were (ideally) wearing i190 or above with your preferred secondary stats, you were just fine. Back in 3.x, someone who had full Alexandrian/upgraded Shire gear would hold no better advantage over someone wearing PvP gear, provided they had the right secondaries.

As for PvP gear, it was already behind current tiers each time new stuff was added. Garo gear - the last PvP gear with stats - was i235, at a time when i250 was our lowest current gear available. And even then, not all of it was all that useful. There were some really useful pieces, yes, but largely, we optimized with anything as low as i190 that had secondary stats we needed. I used the old Law tome top as a MCH because it was the best stat wise at the lowest ilvl.

Now, here's the thing: this information wasn't really explained anywhere, though it was well known among PvPers. We had no issues sharing the information, but often times, we were met with indifference or worse. The stereotypical "you don't pay my sub"-type responses. It wasn't that we were trying to lord over anyone or tell them what to do. We were trying to help them be competitive. We were trying to help them be properly prepared, if only so that they might have a better experience, and while it's unfortunate that SE did little to provide this information, it's worse that it was rejected and shrugged off, and ultimately led to what we have now.

I'm not saying making gear irrelevant is so terrible. It's not a bad change, honestly. But I do believe it was an unnecessary one. PvP gear never gave any advantages one bit after the original WD, but being properly geared - just like in PvE - most certainly did. And if someone was already properly geared for PvE, they were all set for PvP.