Progress is time-gated and rewards you paying for subscription rather than rewarding you for your efforts. For instance you cannot grind raids to get the best gear. Instead you only get loot once per week, most activities in the game have a loot lockout such as this where rather than be rewarded for dedication to grind. you are forced to suck it up and wait for the next week. Other examples of this are world quests, raids, dungeons, pvp rewards, and reputation. the business model of this game is to keep you subscribed as long as possible.