I would add a fourth:

4) If an item is too good for everyone to get if they want it, it shouldn't exist. This isn't Kung Fu and none of us is David Carradine. No item should require the equivalent of climbing Mt. Fuji or wrestling 10 tigers in succession. For years the requirements for Relic weapons have been obstinately defended with reasoning that wouldn't fly with anyone with some critical thinking skill. After this, S-E practically lied to players when Mythic Weapons were introduced, claiming that casual players could work on them. I'll just let the number of Mythics completed overall speak for itself. Empyreans were an encouraging indication that this was changing until the devs started pandering to the endgamers with item requirements that few people could fulfill unless they had the necessary connections or extra accounts. The most recent requirements pretty much removed all doubt that these developers think of themselves as the heads of some hard-knocks karate dojo and they're hell-bent on breaking the spirits of all who seek to improve their characters.