http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/PvP_Rank
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/pvp/pvp/PvP-Rewards-Blog/first#post3826492
Let us assume that the upper mid 50s is rank 58. All of the following numbers are known to us.
r1-49 = 796,500
r50-58 = 600,000
r1-58 = 1,396,500 (total rank required for r58)
All of the ranks before 39 will stay the same.
r58 – r39 = 1,396,500 – 271,500 = 1,125,000 (total rank required for r39-80)
To acquire 1,125,000 rank for the period of r39-80, this is how the thresholds might be set. This is my own prediction.
r39-48 = 20,000 per rank (200k)
r49-58 = 25,000 per rank (250k)
r59-68 = 30,000 per rank (300k)
r69-78 = 35,000 per rank (350k)
r79 = 40,000 (40k)
total r39-80 = 1,140,000
If the dev was accurate in saying that all the “upper mid 50s” players will have Dragon rank, this is likely what the rank requirements will look like. Please let me know about any mistakes in the calculations and let us know what you think the thresholds might be.
Anet likely didn’t want to remove the armor stats entirely because…well,
we’ve all seen what happens in games where there’s no disadvantage to taking your pants off.