Will this be like WoW where gear becomes obsolte THAT fast?

[Gramul]

That's how it should be. That's how every successful MMO does it. Don't like it? You're free to go back to an archaic MMO like FFXI.

Every successful MMO?
You mean the very large pile of WoW-too attempts sitting in the F2P zone of irrelevant-opolis?
Or do you mean successful MMOs that have lasted for over a decade without needing to rely on cashshop gimmicks. Like the wicked old FFXI.

Try to discount WoW all you want but it's a model that works.

Yes. It's a model that worked FOR WoW. No so great for every mimic that came out after.

As for FFXI, well its dwindling subscription numbers speak for itself.

XI's low numbers can be attributed to the totally screwed up game dynamic brought on by Abyssia and the fact the game is chained down by a 14 year old console. WoW has no such restriction, and even then its subscriber base is starting to fall, even with constant expansions.

If the so-called horizontal progression model was something that the masses desired, we'd see it in every MMO that came out. We do not, and for a good reason.

What reason might that be? What on earth is so terrible about horizontal progression? The lack of nerfing old content just to make sure new players catch up? The variety in ways you can raise your character? What has made this idea so toxic to you?