I'm playing a little that server of the same guy than the screenshoot, precisely to check the difficulty of new servers, and is easy be in the top, I'm like rank 40 everyday without refreshes with only 3 or 4 battles with a Phoenix team, currently lvl 42, I'm not doing energy refreshes, so playing correctly and doing one arena refresh everyday is easy be top 10.
The hoard activity is legal currently and since the beginning of the game on 2015, there is people that at level 27 simply hoard energy, 180 per day, and play raids thanks to guild shop, if you hoard enough time, between 5 and 8 months, you can get Han Solo, General Kenobi and also Traya if some guild allow you do it, there is guilds dedicated to hoard accounts, with 25 hoard accounts and 25 accounts for tickets, playing low tiers like Tier 3, Tier 4, Tier 5, by this way the member can get guild currency and farm guild shop characters like Old Ben, Aayla, Darth Maul, Barriss, Young Han, Starck, TIE/FE Pilot and others.
In every server maybe appears 3 or 4 hoarders, and maybe only 1 or 2 with raid characters unlocked, so is easy be in the top anyway. In this last server appeared in the top on first days people with phoenix teams at level 40-45, currently the first 5 spots are for Bastila teams plus a guy with nightsisters, the rest of spots are easy to defeat, probably with my current phoenix team I can defeat everyone in top 50 except these first 5 spots, and this is only a initial advantage that soon will be neutralized, when my characters get the same gear level than my enemies, when I have the same team, maybe using a Bastila team from level 49, with Ezra, Kanan, Old Ben, when I can use mods also, then there is not a lot of difference with a hoard account.
So I think is not a bad situation, precisely the hoarders usually are people who buy things in the game, people who help to maintain the servers, they can get between 1 and 2 weeks advantage but the whales paying a lot of money can get much more advantage, so to hoard not grants the top, not grants dominate the arena, simply grants a good beginning, be at same power than whales at the beginning, keep to top easily, but if you are a new player that really like the game you can easily be in the top everyday, in every server there is 5.000 of 20.000 active players, around 1.000 are good players, if you really like the game, if you play daily, if you do the correct farm and the correct actions, you don't need be worried about hoarders or whales, in few weeks you will be at same arena power than them, maybe you have 12k power and these guys have 25k power, but in few weeks they will be 40k and you will be 35k so almost the same, and will come a moment where the hoarders/whales will not be able to gear and mod better their characters until get level 85, around level 75-80 you will have the same gear level than these guys, maybe they are level 80 and you are level 77, but anyway you will be able to defeat them on offense and be rank 1 in your payout.
So I think there is not any problem with it, if the new players like the game and they learn how to improve correctly their roster and the arena teams they will be in the top anyway. I played a new server when was launched Bastila and I got the rank 1 everyday anyway, and also appeared hoarders and whales, but I got defeat all of them.
See you!
