Micah Whipple

maybe, but are you really playing it to be 120 and do end game content? there's a phase of defeatism in admitting why you're really playing, but the leveling content is still content - do it regardless of the XP reward. :)

No I want to enjoy the zones and leveling content primarily (at least for now) but part of what makes the quests make sense is relevant rewards. I suppose every quest giver could say “Sorry, all I had was this sack of moldy fel-potatoes.” But that gets boring pretty quick.

There's a few slots; rings, trinkets and weapons, that catch-up gear doesn't cover. For those, you'll want to find either rares that drop them or quests. Those also have a chance to upgrade ilvl on drop. You also need to get some rep with each faction before dailies unlock.

In other words, you'll keep questing at max level to get yourself set up and ready for the catch-up content, which you'll struggle to do at all in freshly dinged gear. They got the power/progression curve quite balanced this time around.