I wonder if they made a mistake, having raid/level cap gear remaining superior for so long into each patch. On the one hand, sure, it's nice not needing to worry about gear for so long, through half the dungeons. But on the other hand, it does encourage the lazy mindset, and does produce the idea that "well, it's just a few more levels til the next cap, that's the gear that matters." Perhaps if they made it so Augmented Ironworks/Shire were more quickly outclassed, more players would recognize how they're holding themselves and party members back by not keeping gear on par.