Uncapped AoE is ruining PvP Frontline/Rival Wings

[Nubrication]

If we followed the theory of 'just run away if Guard is CD' then you would spend the entire match just running away which...

I didn't word my previous post properly: running away and backing out are two different things in regards to PvP. Let's say you're playing a melee class, if you still have purify, you can still be in mid range (not deep into the enemy but close enough to hit an enemy close to your ball of death) and try to pick off one of their tanks or melee that's closer to your group then their own. Also, let's say in Onsal, your Guard is down but both teams (yours and 1 enemy team) are fighting for one of the side nodes, if you have teammates near you, you can literally use a dash skill to jump in, hit the person trying to cap and then back out. You should be good as long as you have purify and teammates near you. If a DRK death ball is right on top of the node fighting your team, it's not longer your job to stop the cap - it's the ranged peeps on your team. 1 MCH can plant a well placed turret and literally stop the enemy team from capping for 10 secs.

Running = actually leaving the fight.
Backing out= being in the vicinity (but not smack dab in the middle) and doing what you can from a safer distance.

But if the enemy team DID wipe out your frontlines, yeah you lost that node, just let them cap it. It's better than feeding them more BH. If you're in Seal Rock, you can always recap it later. If you're in Onsal, there's nothing much you can do at that point. Because if you're ranged (or if your guard AND purify are both down) = you're squishy = you just delaying them a few seconds but feeding them BH. They're still going to get the node. Of course there are different scenarios, there's always a chance that you might get reinforcements in time. But be situationally aware and use your best judgement.

Guard CD is 30sec. Salted Earth is also a 30sec CD.
So, following your suggestion:
DRK uses Salted Earth, the target team Guard, they then have to avoid conflict while Guard is on cooldown. During this time, the DRK team grab an easy node with minimal competition...

Most DRKs (except good players in premades) won't even salted earth more than a few players if people don't clump up (which is only difficult in the middle of Onsal). If you're in a good position before the DRK even jumps in, it's easier for you to get out. Good players are aware of their characters positioning (which actually matters more than most people think) and aware of enemy DRKs. To be prepared = higher chances of survival. Obviously the DRK isn't gonna catch the ranged unless they're dumb enough to be in melee range when they DON'T NEED to be. And most DRKs don't catch the ranged, so the ranged can hit the cappers (this of course won't work in every situation). Obviously there's so many nuances, it'll take an entire book to write down every different situation and how to prepare and react to it for every job. But the general idea is = BE SITUATIONALLY AWARE: have your map open, know where the good enemy DRKs are, see if the other alliance is missing from the map, etc. Most of this comes from experience but if you're situationally aware, you can be better prepared and LASTLY: react better. Reacting to a DRK dive that's already happening = usually already too late.