I agree, I would like to keep Siege as minimally item-based as possible. The poll is already closed or else I would have voted yes to the scrolls and no to the replicas.
The problem with item based after AoS was that only very few could affort a useful suit for PvP and somewhat for PvM too.
When you could not complete, you could not enjoy PvP. The players was looking for templates that would keep them alive and make them have the power to kill. What did we get? lots of stealthers and upper pets.
Before AoS, gm items was worth using in PvP, AoS made them useless. We har vanq items, but they was only a little better than the gm items with high defalt vendor price.
Time had changed alot sinse AoS, we are getting to where all again can affort a PvP suit.
Artifacts are less rare now
Crafters can make better items now
Faction got their soulbound artifacts
With pub 57, non faction will get one way more to get artifacts
With SA, Crafters will get more love
All in all, item based is only a problem if you can't affort the items and have to fight some who can.
Now we just need to lower the fee for Siege PC vendors, so the crafters and farmers can affort to put the items on their vendor. More PC vendors = easier to find the perfect suit for you.
If we do not get this items, we will keep the problem a few running in upper gear and the rest running in naked with a greater dragon.
If we want more players, the shard need to be fun, it's not fun when you can't complete.