I hit 50 on Sunday. I already have 1 champion piece, 2 consular set pieces, the belt, bracers, implants, ear piece, focus, and relics. Yes I could have gotten a weapon already but mine is 126 rating and all my oranges have level 49-50 mods. That's only 4 days of work.
Obtaining Cent/Champ gear is easy and each piece makes you that much stronger. You'll be able to really gear up hard in the 1 to 2 weeks prior to 1.2 launch.