Sure, this system has its ups and downs, but for those of us that are not into the raiding scene, this actually gives me a reason to play the game again. They need ways of 5-mans to progress in some manner over the long run, though I do agree that the rewards should not compare to best-in-slot from raids. I think this system to upgrade to entry raid gear is coming at a pretty good time for those of us that have everything we want from 5-mans, but don't have the time for raiding.

Raiding needs to remain a faster means of obtaining the items, otherwise it devalues the raid content. Even if they simply add more 5-mans with greater item variety and models, that would even give me something to at least keep me entertained a while longer. I don't want to see the raiders get upset about the "welfare epics" issue again, but likewise the rest of us still want some reason to play the game. It's a balancing act that Blizzard is playing here, but if they don't do something like this, then I'd be really close to disabling my accounts right now.