well, considering R8 can be the difference between being average or OP'ed i think it's about fair. Yes it sucks monkeyballz spending hundreds of ec only to get stats that amount to nothing but a pile of horsesh*t, but in my opinion, settling for less til u rank up enough ec for major collateral in case you fail is better than trying to role perfect stats in the beginning. Plus, perfecting it is nearly impossible, so it means there's ALWAYS something you can improve. With the introduction or R8, pvp may have lost some balence, but now there's always something you can do. And if you arent cut out for the whole gambling thing, then i suggest u stay with Dragon gear and work on your r8 WEAPON, cause the weapon is pretty much the jewel of r8. And lets all be honest, yes, a well forged r8 set can KILL dragon, but dragon can wipe the floor with fail r8 any day. So until u perfect r8, or if the whole gamble not for you, stick with dragon. It's already more than adept for pvp lol
