It suffers the same situation the MA does. You can't have the objective be base taking and have a 1v1 arena at the same time. Base taking requires some degree of supressing the enemy with numbers, aggressive airfield capping (aka vuching, picking, ganging), porking, or some combination of these.
If we want an arena where good dogfights are the norm, base capture needs to be no part of it. The furball area in the DA is the right layout, but needs AVA plane sets, written gameplay expectations, & regulars that politely mentor and encourage others to adhere to the expected gameplay. Just the name "furball" is the #1 reason many feel it is an "anything goes" area.
1/2 the arena looking for 1v1 dogfights while the other 1/2 is doing whatever is needed to capture bases only results in what we have. The dogfighters are mad at getting ganged, picked and vuched, and the base takers are mad that no one is helping gain or defend real estate.
That said, it's still fun. My first time in the AVA about 6mo ago was a blast. Most everyone was asking before joining a fight, vets were explaining the deal to new guys and 200 was 90% polite and good-natured. It jumped in there few more times and it was hit or miss. One thing is for sure, if base taking and winning the war remains an objective, the AVA will never be an arena to expect good 1v1 fights.
I would love having an arena where it was realistic plane sets, the emphasis was on air combat only, the expected gameplay was laid out in writing, and it was still a bit unstructured so that you have to watch your back for that 2nd enemy. I've seen it a few nights and it was fun. Expecting that from the current MA or AVA set-ups is unrealistic.
Aspen