This patch dropped the ball hard

[Lexxuk]

Not only the same system since 2.0 but the same system almost all mmo's use.
Top level gear = grinding top level content

No, most MMO's use the "okay, in your ring slot you can have Object Of Deserving Passion, or Object of Undesired Pain, or Object Of Rampaging Rabbits, or, Object Of Cheese, each of them are good but build your character in a different way which will let you customise your character to your own preferred playstyle, the first one you get from killing SUPERBOSS ALPHA X115, the second is crafted, the third is a dungeon drop from RAWR dungeon and the final one you can trade in tokens for."

XIV? Here, you can have this, or this, but the way you get them is the same. Oh, and don't even bother looking at crafted stuff, it's useless.

[Asierid]

Snip

Horizontal and Vertical progression are two different things, you know.

[Tuathaa]

No, most MMO's use the "okay, in your ring slot

Still in order to get those items you had to grind top tier content.
Actually this system is better because you are guaranteed a reward and it's not solely reliant on rng.

[Lexxuk]

Still in order to get those items you had to grind top tier content.
Actually this system is better because you are guaranteed a reward and it's not solely reliant on rng.

This system is unreasonable though, there are not just DoW/M classes, there are DoH/L classes which are being ignored and becoming obsolete, the gear we get to craft in 3.05 is total and utter rubbish, not even worth bothering crafting (for DoW/M). Yay, let me make you a bit of gear that takes up 200 of my weekly 450 allowance but is, well, total and utterly useless to you, but you can use it for gla... wait, no, they have the same skin as the lower one, umm, umm..... The gear isn't even as good as the stuff you get with LAW, SE are giving crafters obsolete gear to craft.

That is the major issue with the current direction of the game, Yoshi hates crafters, it's showing with each update just how much he has no idea what to do with crafters, so gives them stuff that's not even worth bothering with. Hell, there has been no PVP crafted gear since lvl 50, ilvl 55, you DoW/M may love your faux progression, but us DoH, where is our progression? Are we destined to spend every patch crafting for each other in the hope that one day we actually get something other than furniture or a minion to craft? Woo, I spent millions grinding up my Carp so I can make you a lovely minion, GO TEAM!!

[Tuathaa]

This system is unreasonable though, there are not just DoW/M classes, there are DoH/L classes which are being ignored and becoming obsolete

This I agree with. This is the only mmo I have played that I haven't leveled a crafter\gatherer. The professions in this game imo suck and are un necessarily difficult not very rewarding and most definitely not fun.