gathering artifacts and good items should be challenging or this game will turn way too easy... like it isnt already.
As of right now, there are drawbacks to entering Factions, but the rewards are laughable. I see no reason why it should be so difficult to get items to PvP with, if you are going to use them only in a PvP setting.
As for the prices of Artifacts, let me put it to you like this: Expensive Artifacts, like Ornament of the Magician, are WORTHLESS if all you're going to do is sit in Trammel and kill monsters all day. I agree that there should still be some difficulty in obtaining high end artifacts, but what use are they, really, if you can solo the gauntlet, Lady Melisande, and any other meaningful mob fight in the game without them?
I could kill almost any mob in the game on my Necrotamer, who was far from being built super-efficiently, and he NEVER needed Orny to do it, or AoF, or LRC Sash, or a CC, or a Gladiator's Collar. His suit was probably worth around 7-8 mil. My Sampire can kill any mob I need him to kill, and kill them FAST, and his suit is worth maybe 9-10 mil or so.
It's a sad truth that this shard's PvP is heavily dependant on gear, what with script- and macro-dominated PvP becoming so big. It's hard to get on your feet in this game as of right now. I believe that if faction artifacts were implemented in the way I suggested above, the Felucca population on this shard would increase. More l33t items means more people trying out PvP.