There are plenty of threads about this patch and the new gear, with various ad hominem attacks being thrown around. However, I’d just like to point out one fact:
Gear is not progression. Gear is not content. Gear is a gating system.
Think about it, really. If you have to acquire a certain baseline of stats (via new gear) to be able to complete a dungeon, you’re simply taking part in an elaborate gating system that’s designed to slow down progression and stretch the life of new content. Completing the actual content is progression.