So my opinion of the PVP Arena changes so far is blah, ...instead of 1:30 to beat a team it now takes 3:30... So if that was the overall plan (extend battle) to make the Arena better it was a success. TIme will tell but I don't see that it changes things substantially. I do,feel that the extended battles is a far greater benefit to the attacker because. The AI is "willy-nilly" all over the place so it makes it much easier for the attacker to win through concentrated fire... So in respect to that it will be far less likely that the attacker will ever lose (against similar strength teams).
I do feel, that they really need to look at different options for GW, I finished today without too much problem but I can see how that could really become a nightmare when you come up against 2-3 "terror" teams in a row. We are already always starting at a disadvantage in the GW "arena" top that off with every new opposition having full protection... It could get real ugly real fast... IMO