Plus there’s something else the OP mentioned that get’s overlooked. Even back when we had set bonuses, they were usually mild to slight enhancements on kits we already had by the time we hit lvl cap. All of your classes growth was inherent to the class itself and the leveling process.
This time around, I feel so separated from my characters growth that I hardly identify with my toons now. Even back when we had “borrowed power” in Legion, it felt like there was class identity to it. You had a story that connected you with your class, weapons that pushed that identity forward. Here, it’s all generic and your class is pretty much irrelevant to post cap progression. It’s in all honesty one of the worst systems they’ve had for actual class growth.
People can compare it to earlier systems all they want. I had no issues with the earlier systems, I actually enjoyed them. This is the first expansion I’ve ever had where I’m level locking some of my toons so I can play previous content instead of the new content.
Adding tier set’s at this point won’t save it. I get that it’s a step up from BFA in terms of some raw mechanics, but it’s lost it’s identity. and with that, I’ve lost my desire to do it.