keeping pace with savage raid gearing.

[PirateRyanG]

You misunderstand what they mean then. It does not have a treadmill to begin raiding like WoW does because crafted gear is enough. But it does have a gear treadmill to max item level if you are interested in max item level and always has.

Crafted gear is enough to do almost all content in the game except ultimates. The gear makes you more powerful, which is fun, but it's not really necessary to do things and that is probably what those people mean.

A game with a gear treadmill.

A lot of people don't clear that fast. There are still parties up progressing through it now. It would end the tier for them much too early.

Just as a note, WOW no longer has that gear treadmill. Well, not quite as bad as it was.

Crafted gear is better than dungeon gear. It isn't meant to be a stop-gap. It genuinely is better than dungeon gear.

The new expansion has been designed to make crafting much, much more relevant. It is just a grind to get those recipes as a crafter.

[Jeeqbit]

Just as a note, WOW no longer has that gear treadmill. Well, not quite as bad as it was.

Not yet, at least. People are being positive now, but they've been that way before. Maybe when it's been a while I'll use past tense.