The question was why the Savage Gladiator set required any Arena points at all. Kalgan responded that there needed to be something for players who rate 1500 or below to play for. He then explains that "requiring" Arena play was no different from other aspects of the game which players are seemingly required to participate in for them to excel. He contends that some Arena enthusiasts might dislike the Battlegrounds -- a near unthinkable scenario in my experience -- but are required to play it for the boots, bracers, and belt pieces.

In a later response, Kalgan shoots down the contention that Arenas were created for the purpose of professional competition (eSports). He says that this is irrelevant from a business standpoint, something I tend to believe. eSports have always been shaky from a business perspective, and a good majority of the WoW community doesn't even pay attention to what's going on in professional scene. If anything, eSports are a marketing expense, and not even one that's targeted at the paying market -- some pro players have stopped playing the live realms altogether. With the vitriol often spewed in the comments section here at WoW Insider, it's apparent to me that some players don't even like Arenas. So I trust Kalgan when he says that Arenas as an eSport endeavor is a mere "cool side-effect" of the format.

Arenas are another aspect of the PvP gameplay in WoW, and I personally appreciate the fact that it's there. There are tons of PvE aspects to the game, from regular quests to 5-mans to raids. In fact, aside from the Battlegrounds, Arenas, and pitifully few World PvP objectives, everything about WoW revolves around PvE. As a PvP enthusiast, I greatly appreciate that Blizzard is expanding the PvP aspect of the game, particularly with Wrath of the Lich King's Lake Wintergrasp.

Kalgan reassuringly states that the voices of players who rail against the seeming over-emphasis on Arenas is "heard and understood". Making high-end gear available through the Battlegrounds is planned for the future, but owing to the complexity of implementing a measure of "skill" in the format, it's difficult to make appropriate gear that isn't just a reward of time invested.