The thing that bothers me about "end game" in this game is thus: What is the point in getting the gear? What purpose does it serve? Is it really worthwhile? Does it help you at all with missions/quests etc.?

Mind you I only scratched the surface before my subscription ran out because I took my time and I was only trying to finish the main story before i take a break and wait for the issues to be addressed (world transfer & lag/errors mostly for me).