Can't Access 3.0 until you complete 2.0-2.55

[Alberel]

A new player will be starting at level 1. They will do the 2.0 story to level to 50, at which point they will only have to do the 2.1-2.5 story to unlock 3.0 (and those parts of the story do not take long at all).

Going forward a new player starting in 4.0 will do the 3.0 story to level to 60, exactly as we are about to.

The story is only really gating things if a player is lazy and doesn't use the story to level. If you just follow the story you will unlock everything as you would reach the right level to do it anyway. What point is there to having 3.0 be accessible without completing the 2.x story when the only people that won't have completed it will be sub-50 and unable to do anything in the 3.0 areas anyway?

[Reynhart]

What point is there to having 3.0 be accessible without completing the 2.x story when the only people that won't have completed it will be sub-50 and unable to do anything in the 3.0 areas anyway?

What point is there to bring those people in 3.0 when they will still be inexperienced and underleveld for everything, and still have plenty on content to do in ARR ?
Apart from throwing the lore out of the window ?