I agree with most that garrisons were ultimately detrimental to the game, but they were goddamn goldmines. WoW tokens were introduced in the same xpac, and I was making enough gold via garrisons to pay for over a year of game time, plus Destiny 2 and Diablo 3 DLC.

I certainly wouldn’t call it a masterpiece, but It was fun as hell and I was really bummed when their overhaul bid was shot down by EA.

They’re simple and appease the monkey brain desire of “number go up”.

Not my cup of tea either, but a lot of people are competitive and like to pit themselves against others. There’s also the aspect of competing against others with friends. The only times I’ve had fun in pvp games/modes was when I was playing with a group of people I knew.