Base relic did in fact exist in 1.0 in it's final months - in fact after the final save maintenance they started giving away free relics randomly by 'checking the bed' in the Inn Room if you logged out there and then logged back in. But as others have said, apart from relic/AF, Darklight and Darksteel gear the only other gear available was generic crafted/vendor gear. And it was frustrating trying to find the right vendor who sold such gear as vendors seemed to sell wildly random gear with no connection to that area's level, and it was never complete sets either. To say nothing of how ridiculous the Market Wards were.

ARR players don't know how good they have it.