Is there even a point to raising level caps?

[Jinko]

Wouldn't it be better if SE just kept us at R50 indefinitely and made all new content horizontal, instead of stratifying it vertically and making us grind even more?

Just look at FFXI. They keep raising the cap and at some point it just got out of hand.

I think a lot of games run into the issue of how to add content at end game without making it pointless. Eventually a gear grind seems a bit superfluous and pointless for players when they have upwards of 30 different level-appropriate gears to choose from (or at least it will seem so to players who don't appreciate stylistic options).

Developers inevitably realise that gear-grind isnt the answer, and end up just making players grind grind instead.

But this is 2011, shouldn't we be above all this by now?

Horizontal progression was one of FF11's short comings, it made pieces of new armour and weapon have only slightly different stats and made many piece situational.

As someone else said above vertical progression is a good way to encourage players to buy expansions, it also lets the developer add new skills and abilities.

From the looks of the Dats SE have had lvl 99 in mind from the very beginning of this game.