Ascended gear is ~9% better than exotic based on the better stats from most of the theorycrafting out there. So it is an advantage in wvw. Exotics are only a bit better than rares too but most people can tell the difference when playing. The point is that it is a definite change in philosophy to require wvw players to do pve dungeons to get bis gear for wvw, and it’s been incredibly unpopular with wvw players.
That change plus the lack of any development at all in wvw since launch is definitely having an effect on interest in the game. A lot of wvw-focused players and guilds are falling fast. I hope this hasn’t gone unnoticed by ArenaNet. I’m anxiously hoping for word that some changes to fix this (getting ascended-level equal gear through wvw, and at least some wvw development) are a part of the December update.