I spoke out against the treadmill before Heavensward was even released and people took offense. People prefer comforting lies to unpleasant truths, so they'll tune out what they don't want to hear. This doesn't help anyone in the long run, because change is a vital part of every MMO and is why the genre has been so successful. Shaking up the status quo every once in a while can only help the game.

The problem now is that SE are a bit set in their ways. We already know EXACTLY how each major update will play out for the next year. Each update will contain: Two new expert roulette dungeons, a new tombstone currency, the removal of the oldest tombstones, and more story missions. It used to be three dungeons, but I guess SE decided less is more.

Honestly, the gear treadmill might not be as boring if there was an alternative means to get decent equipment. Stats are the only thing anyone gains from new equipment. There's no real customization since the base stats on all gear is equivalent to everything else of the same item level. Compare and contrast with the original game, which had unique bonuses on certain special gear. The original relic curtana, for example, had a chance to restore MP among other things.

Why are additional stats useful? Because it means that the flow of the game can go sideways instead of just up or down. Right now it's just about getting to the next tier, but add in gear which has equal main stats, but different supporting stats and you add the potential for significantly greater content. Due to caps and daily/weekly rewards, there is no merit to spending hours of the game grinding for gear. You're better off doing the one dungeon or raid for your gear per day and logging off. That is not healthy for an MMO, which needs to thrive on its community.

At this point, I don't even know how they'd go about fixing the problem. They've dragged along the same path for so long that I'm starting to think they're out of ideas. I do think it needs to be done, however, and before people start to tire of the storyline which is the only thing that has kept some of us subscribed.