Stompa there are only two cases where the difference between level and artificial level matter:

Subjobs: If we were 119, our subs would be level 59.

Bosses that remove and restrict gear are more brutal for the temporary duration. On the flipside, salvage is easier with the stat debuff because our gear puts the stats right back until we can unlock the stats.

Anything else is just semantics.

The problem with the creeping climb of ilvl gear is that the stupid number is telling uninformed players one thing when in fact some players are effectively 125 perhaps with the great deal more stats they may have.