@OP Anyone that's jumping into Lv.60 content for the first time in 3.1 does have content tiers to deal with. Even people who have been playing since 3.0 have had content tiers to mess around with.

i145 to i170 Neverreal / Fractal — Dungeon Tier 1
i170 to i185 Pharos HM / Arboretum — Dungeon Tier 2

i165/i175 Bismarck Extreme / Ravana Extreme — Trials Tier 1
i190+ Thordan Extreme —Trials Tier 2

i170 - i190 Alexander Normal — Raid Tier 1
i190 to i210 Alexander Savage — Raid Tier 2

i180+ Diadem — Horizontal Raid Tier 2

The only strange aspect of the current progression is the Diadem in that you can enter it without completing the Tier 1 raid i.e. Alex normal. There's nothing wrong with players having the option to farm gear that will help them with more difficult content because really, even if the Diadem didn't exist, people would be getting their "easy upgrades" via the Void Ark and Hunts.