Pre-XP off strategies and bragging rights aren't really accurate anymore. Heck even Screenshots now don't really show the whole picture. Yea it's an objective based game, but it's a team effort. Every cylinder has to be firing for it to work. There are a lot of double flag returns, people re-grabbing flags, etc. Before XP-off, I was averaging about 2-3 flag returns per game as well as 1-2 caps. Now I'm lucky to be in the vicinity of clicking a flag because I'm usually responsible for harassing and CCing healers away from the FC. Of course I never FC anymore, the burst makes it near impossible.
The difference between a few "AEP" points (which the system is skewed anyway, 49s would weigh Stamina at least at 1.5 if not 2, in 3.3.5, I weighed Stamina at 2 before 3500 health unbuffed and then Stamina = 1, spellpower = 1). In Cata, casters will be able to value haste, other classes like rogues and hunters will benefit from haste's regen as well. Gear will generally be very customizable to the player's liking. I would guess that there will be an optimal way to gear, but that's still to be found.