The battlestation design is faulty.
In comparison to SWTOR it's the epitome of fail.
In AO, you have a limited number of instances, either over populated or under populated by a group of people who by improperly planned mechanics will completely dominate one another or be completely annihilated with zero chance to win a fight.
you have either too many people or not enough people, with no mechanism available to provide relief in either situation.
As the previous poster suggests: a few years ago there were 20 people WAITING to get in (thus, not playing), now, there are not enough people to populate it, but, there are also 10 other people wanting to PVP, at different TL's, but, they ALSO can't play, because there aren't enough people at those levels EITHER.
so... lets look a bit closer. There are some ranges that never actually worked. So why didn't FC address this then?
The obvious, and still, the most painfully simple idea that was never implemented, is: why not have one battlestation with a leveling buff that was given to EVERY person sub 220 to equalize the playfield, and, have numerous instances of BS to get into.
How much insight would it take to have forseen that the method of implementation would be so inherently flawed? It boggles me that 6 years later this poor implementation is STILL in game.
The buff to equalize everyone is dead easy.
You separate the field into 3 elements:
220's
201-219's
1-200's
level 220's get NO BUFF - that is, their gear, perks, buffs and abilities set the standard (IE. QL 300).
From level 201 to 219, every toon recieves a buff on entry that gives them a linearly varying buff of add dmg, AAO and AAD that corresponds to the difference that the average toon would require to reach levels comparable with a 220 (something like 50 AAD, 25 AAO, 15 add dmg and 200hp per level from 201 to 219)
From level 1 to 200 each toon receives a buff on TOP of the 201-219 buff that linearly varies according to the difference between levels, such that the average equipped toon of that level could be comparable with a level 201 toon something like (10 AAD, 10 AAO, 10 add dmg, 50hp)
Now, instead of having 10 or however many retarded, unpopulated individual BS's you sign up for, you got one SINGLE instance that EVERYONE signs up for, and EVERYONE plays EVERYONE else EVERY TIME. When one BS fills up, the next instance starts to fill.
Now, the difference between everyone is such that a level 10 can come up to a level 220, and start whackin him, and, if the 220 doesn't pay attention, he will get whacked to death... note, that a level 10 has few specials, few perks, and few defences, so, it will take several normal hits to kill the 220, but, at LEAST if the level 10 pairs up with some friends, he can probably take one down.
Then FC should add: a BS first aid stim that requires 1 first aid skill and heals 10k HP with a 1minute cooldown and is usable by everyone, and a BS free movement stim that removes ALL debuffs, snares, roots, init debuffs, blinds, that has a 1 min cooldown.
Finally, make ALL debuffs/snares/ etc cancel as SOON as you're out of combat.
Now BS is competitive for ALL levels, fun for EVERYONE, and nobody will dominate due to OP'd, broken mechanics.
And thats the point. The lowbies are weaker, but, you can gang up, and, it won't be futile to join up because you'll actually get to play. Twinking will reward you with more power, but not unjustifiable power. It all makes sense.