Rank limits on gear

[Physic]

This is also assuming there will BE a high level. But a new player would be unable to craft or trade for the crafts of many different gears- so a newer player would be stuck in the beginning gears. A good example of this would be either Monster Hunter or Guild Wars, where there is some effect to gear, but the choices are mainly aesthetic.

In Monster Hunter Tri, for example, in "High Rank", the only glass floor is that you need High Rank gear to survive. No High Rank equipment outclasses another, and all HR equipment supplies useful skills. Ontop of that, you can upgrade low-rank equipment (with different skillsets), so that it has the same DEF as their high rank counterparts, but they supply an "alternative" version which sometimes compliments a set of gear BETTER than full High Rank.

In Guild Wars, they made it to where high leveled gear can be reskinned to look like any of the available gears they outclass.

To me, this is an important factor in both games, because it doesn't give visual cues to how "powerful" a player is, forcing players to rely on one another and trust that the other is as skilled as they claim to be. THAT is immersive.

I also don't get why so many people are worried about alienating noobies from people who have been playing the game for a while, that makes it difficult to get immersed to begin with, and just causes social stress.

in guild wars you couldnt buy gear in a market ward, you had to be able to get to the place where the crafter was, and obtain the items for making it, while you could buy the items, most were drops from appropriately leveled mobs/salavging those drops.
Mostly of course it was getting to the place, some of the makers were in places you could not get to without completing a certain portion of the story. Which basically makes those high level skins, you can only get for achieving great things. And that was fine.

While i am not married to gear and stats being linked, I am married to having high level/rare content reward you visually. It gives you things to work for, and too hunt, even in games with no stats tied to items, the costume unlock items still have a high value. People want to progress, and working towards getting cool looking gear is a big attraction to playing a game.

Its not about alienating newbs, its about making the game overall entertaining, in your system only money would be the ultimate goal, because you can buy everything visual.

I remember in ffxi, because i started early on, quite a few new players were amazed by my appearence, while for me it was a bit ehhhhhh embarassing? From what they told me, seeing a high level monk, when they were a monk, decked out in gear inspired them, and gave them something to aim for. That is immersive. Its just like in a racing game, you look at the cars, people who race well want to have cool cars, and people just starting want to strive to obtain those cars, not just thier stats.