I don't know what you're doing, but you're not farming AP. I got my 9th alt to 120 very late on Tues April 23rd (technically early morning Wed the 24th) and at that point my neck was a 9. I've had 10 days to play including today at 120. With 1 day 17hrs /played (I work a more than 40hr/week job) and only a single reset I'm at level 45 on that character. What you're saying is not possible. You haven't been playing pretty much every day since launch and farming AP to be at 46 right now.
Fact (because I say so): TBC > Cata > Legion > ShaLa > MoP > DF > BfA > WoD = WotLK
My pet collection --> http://www.warcraftpets.com/collection/FuxieDK/
I'm doing all AP missions daily, emissary daily (4x WQ bonus) IF azerite gear (for titan residum) and maybe otherwise 2-3 other WQs with AP, I also do 1 Mythic boss, and usually a few HC bosses as well.
It's maybe 1500 AP per day, and you need what, 20k per level? It's at least another 40 days for me left to get 50.
/humblebrag, pat yourself on the back or
Rub other players face in it?
If you knew the candle was fire then the meal was cooked a long time ago.
As someone who's almost got my alt to neck 50 (main got it 2 weeks ago or so) it does feel pretty empty. I mean on one hand it feels nice, but I wish they could have converted the AP into something else. Gold?
No I don't. I said I don't focus on it which means I don't go out of my way to grind for it. I do my emissary every day. So, that piles up naturally without me even paying attention to it. Any WQ I do that rewards Azerite comes from any quest that is just a rare NPC I have to kiill. I choose those to get my 4 WQ's for the emissary done faster. I do Warfronts to get gear. At no time doing any of that did I ever choose to do something specifically to get Azerite.
I haven't played for months. I logged in two weeks ago with azerite level 26 and now I'm 47... and I didn't do anything besides assaults and some emissaries. No mythics dungeons, no raids, no arena, no island, nothing. I can't imagine grinding this crap and only being 3 levels higher.
I send my dudes out for AP missions, do an emissary for AP maybe once a week, I do 2-3 mythic pluses of around the 15 range and the first 6 bosses of mythic BFD and I'm 29 percent into 47. Is it nothing? No, obviously not. But it's not a lot either. If I spent more time doing AP and not playing DMC 5, or sekiro, or mortal kombat 11, or monster hunter world for pc and so on and so forth I'd probably be 49 minimum by now. I enjoy my sanity though, so I'm fine with being 47 tbh.
Now you beat World of Warcraft by obtaining the rank of Justicar.
I am disappointed that they didn't have some sort of alternative - replacing ap with war resources or gold or something if you're at max level