So I was thinking back to a few years ago when PVP and GVG used to be more popular and more accepted by levelers and 1 thing that has changed is the gear people where when offline.
People used to have some degree of comfort when they went offline, as everyone used to have their own offline sets usually just a bunch of defensive items or high armor items... Than 2 things happened
1st. Epics were introduced while at the beginning these items were actually useful for offline defense the
2nd issue was introduced.. buffs that were dependend on sets and having items that are parts of sets (KE, SH, COA, COD, Shield Wall, and Armor boost) These buffs killed the usefulness of EPICS (what is supposed to be the best items in the game) for offline defense
Due to the 2nd issue levelers were forced to make a decision... either wear a strong offline set up in the off chance they were attacked in GVG/PVP or wear Stam gain gear (Epics)
Most levelers have choosen the 2nd option to wear stam gain items (Epics) which used to be great for all circumstances, but now because of all the buffs that benefit having items of a set they are considered "EASY" targets.
This creates animosity between the 2 sides of the attack, as 1 side feels they are being "picked on" because they choose to wear EPICS (which are also the most expensive items in the game) and in the current game mechanics makes them easy to defeat in PVP/GVG.
I think this is 1 of the biggest reasons a lot of people/guilds gave up on GVG as it makes it nearly impossible to defend incoming attacks even when you buff up your mates.
I wanted to give some perspective before I got to my Suggestion/Solution
It is quite simple... Turn EPICS into 1 item sets
There is no need to give them set bonuses or change the stat distribution.
1 thing that made me think this was the original idea was the fact that all epics have "Elite Hunter" as an attribute which before epics was only give in Set Bonuses.
This 1 change would make "Levelers" feel safer in GVG/PVP while offline because all the major buffs would actually aide in their defense.
The argument of OVERPOWERMENT is pretty much been voided by all the recent gear and buff levels/additions.
Not to mention in order to wear 9 epics your gear has to Span 100's if not 1000's of levels (Currently with all the top EPICS there is a 1300 level gap between the highest and lowest level item)
Current PVP gear can wear any combination of gear ranging from a few 100 levels to all being the same level as the player. Allowing for higher stats per item vs Epics.
Lets get back to an environment where people can feel SAFER in their offline gear. Have less animosity between sides and more overall game activity.