I agree

It should be similar to masteries where you get one for free then pay gems, or at least one single free reset per accout at minimum. 

I say this even though I guess i lucked out and read up before ever investing in my great hall, but I can see how this would/is a huge trap for players.

i dont know as far as id let players reset freely by paying gems but maybe have a level attached to it like once you reach level 50 itll pop up a message saying you can change your masteries for free that one time because by that point youll have a good idea of where your account is heading and whats better for you. 

Have a one time free reset, and then a gem fee to reset (it can increase each reset if they are worried about abuse)

No reason at all not to have this.

Their logic is that, unlike for masteries, there is no need for a reset in the GH since you'll eventually want everything maxed anyway. Of course that's a pretty idiotic position since it takes most players years to get everything maxed, if ever, and in the meantime, a reset could definitely help a lot of people in the early or mid-game... but I'd be surprised if they change their mind on that. 

Though I'm not sure how you'd be 'gated from Arbiter' based on bad great hall decisions - it can slow your progress, no doubt, but gated? 

i

I'm locked as I need gold medallions to get level 9, and it will take me years to get that many based on tier structure and payout per win. 

I'm sorry what? It's 2400 for Tiers 7, 8 & 9 total. You get 4 medallions per win in Tier 4 and 5. 5 Wins per day in Tier 4/5 is 20 medallions per day, so that's 4 months. 2 Months if you get 10 wins per day.

Getting to Arena Gold 5 is super easy, you just gotta keep refreshing and only hit the 1 man defense teams. 

Unless you're playing for less than a hour per day I don't know how anyone wouldn't get Arbiter in their first year of the game.

This game is a marathon, not a sprint.  Spending months to achieve a goal makes it that much sweeter when you get it done.