I just started Veteran difficulty for the first time and one thing in particular caught my attention right off the bat. When I completed a side-quest ("The Armorer's Apprentice"), I got the same exact reward as I did in Mercenary difficulty! Level 1 armor won't be much use to my Level 43 party. I quickly rushed to the first vendor I saw to make sure the items for sale were appropriate for my level (they were).
So, my question is...was this a fluke, or are all quest rewards in Veteran and Elite the same as they were in Mercenary? If that's the case, is there really any point in doing the side-quests?
The items you always get from a particular quest (like the armor you got) are the same, but you'll get random items which are appropriate for your lvl so it's still a good thing to do sidequests.