What other MMO has done this, and why does SE think it's a good idea?

[Felis]

snip

Somehow people forget that crafted gears exist and that the current ilevel 90+ crafted gears would be cheaper in 3.0 because it will be easier to craft 3 star recipes thanks to new levels for crafters. Easier to craft -> more crafters will craft it -> more competition on the market board -> undercutting start

Also it should be no problem to put gear as reward into some lv50 story quests. I think there are still enough lv 50 story quests with only gil as reward, where SE can put in gear rewards with 3.0