Is this where it begins?

[Rustic]

When Matsui says this:

"In regards to item stats, this is a crucial growth element as you cannot level up past level 99. It's necessary to release items with stronger and really good stats in the future."

And Neo-Salvage gear is what we get, it makes you wonder.

Then again. if there's a space between which earlier gear and next expansion's gear stat budget, perhaps that's why Neo-Salvage is where it is.