Removal of Tier set pieces just further compounds the issue that all gear is just the exact same. Every goddamn item in the game is stam/mainstat + 2 secondarys. But hey, if there's anything that is obvious is that Blizzard has been on a crusade to remove any sort of need for thinking when it comes to gearing, can't have people comparing items even if one has a higher iLvl, too complicated for the average ARPG player
The removal was just yet another step in the dumbing down everything (and removing so called inconveniences such as not having everything served on a platter, or having to decide what pieces to disregard in favor of a tier bonus) and removal of RPG elements in the game. When there's no items that truly stand out, not only does gear lose some meaning but so does the raid. There's no other progression than getting better items, instead of ALSO working on A SEPARATE PROGRESSION, i.e GETTING YOUR TIER BONUSES.
Even when you're starting to stagnate on ilvl upgrades (which happen oh so fast, evidently), you could still be hunting that elusive chestpiece to get your 4p. That made you LOOK FORWARD TO IT. Yes, it's frustrating to kill a boss and not receive what you want but that is how it's supposed to be. If every lottery ticket was a winner you wouldn't have any god damn excitement buying/scraping them.
Azerite armor tried to replace:
New abilities/passives 110-20
Tier set bonuses
Legendary items
Interesting "mandatory" OP items like trinkets with godlike procs
And this shit is what you get. Removal of what worked, in favor of watered-down, streamlined garbage that tries to fix "issues" that never were a real issue to begin with. People crying about not finishing their tier set bonus is NOT an issue worth trying to "fix". Having an higher iLvl item that you "can't equip" because it breaks a bonus means you'll have to figure out if the ilvl bonus is worth the loss, if it isn't, good for you! You just experienced an RPG element, where just going for the highest number might actually be a loss because you removed a bonus in the process. (Blizzard developers screeching in anguish)
But hey, now we got this neverending sea of near identical items, how exciting.