Doesn't it take as much effort to pump out end game content raids as it does to create new quest lines? So really, it's more a matter of what the devs want to give to the game. So they can appease the fly-by-night raiders or they can appease the loyal fanbase.

Well said. This is exactly my point. Why have levels at all if the only point is to get to the end of them and start the gear treadmil. The only reason they put levels and lockouts in is to slow you down so you think your getting your moneys worth. It is an arbitrary mechanism which wastes our time. Lockouts are a complete slap in the face and leveling should only be a tool to introduce complex systems gradually rather than dumping all of it in your lap at once (and as such it should not take 200 hours to progress through the levels, unless the game is extreemly complex).

Mind you I think the gear treadmil design is fine (hell I used to play PoE), but lets call it what it is and let me jog that mill without arbitraty restrictions to cover up the fact that you are not providing enough of them to keep me playing if you hadn't.