It's a bit funny this is what they moved away from in shadowkeep. Can't remember the exact reason why. Was it because pinnacle progression was too fast, folks hit the cap too early and activity dropped?
Agreed the current model isn't exactly working as intended either.
Game balancing is hard.
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The current system is fine. They removed Powerful drops from older content because they didn't want us to simply grind old content to level up, which is a great change. It was quite boring going back to nearly year old content before playing new content as the optimal way to level up. That change is great, especially with the new ways to get Powerful rewards in Shadowkeep. The Pinnacle cap is new to Shadowkeep and is meant to be achieved through progression through endgame content, similar to the system in D1 where the max light level could only be achieved through raids, trials, and iron banner. The Powerful cap should be seen as the max level for anyone who does not want to play the endgame content, the Pinnacle cap is meant for those players that want to continue to progress through endgame content.