Anet on Vertical Progression

[Twystyd]

http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/76148-anet-on-why-there-is-vertical-progression/page__st__0

[Sirion]

This is a stupid decision. New stats and variable "on x effects" can be added to armor/weapons outside of upgrade slots (sigils or runes) in place of stats to create a wealth of potential progression outside of mandatory upgrades of increased stats. DAoC maintained the exact same ilevel for every single expansion it put out, and the only differential in power post ToA was in variable stats like +x% cast speed or +x% attack speed. Weapons that had these bonus stats had them at the expense of normal stats, to not make them too powerful.