Guild Wars 2 : Gear or Character Progression?

A recent blog post on the Guild Wars 2 site has generated quite a storm of activity in the community as it focuses on gear progression and the worrisome thought that PvE players will be forced onto the gear treadmill. We have a few thoughts to share on the subject and then we'd like to hear what you think in the comments. I can't help but feel a little worried when I saw Linsey Murdock's Gear Progression piece pop up on the official Guild Wars 2 site the other day. Part of me knows that ArenaNet is going to be very delicate when it comes to "gear progression" and treadmills. I highly doubt we'll see insane statistical inflation as we have in other games, but the precedent is there and that's why it's worrying. GUILD WARS 2 gold. The stat differentials between Exotics and the new Ascended items might seem miniscule now, but how will it look in a year when we're on to some other form of higher level gear? Is GW2 approaching the dreaded PVE gear treadmill? Or is it just one way players can progress in the game? If so… I certainly hope there are other ways coming soon.