Leveling doesn't grant you to reach endgame faster, or even to access high level dungeons that require more skill. That's always locked behind the MSQ, and the MSQ is quite long.

Maybe they made leveling faster because many people complain that combat is so slow at first. The faster you reach the fun part of combat, the better? Also, we'll no longer have the problem of being locked out of the MSQ due to insufficient level. As a ravid alt maker, I for one appreciate this.