Quote Originally Posted by Ryans View Post
Item level doesn't determine stat caps, your weapon damage does. Item level is just a number they give items to let the users know how good they are at a quick glance. The number in and of itself serves no purpose to the game mechanics. They could suddenly make relic say it's item level 200, but unless they change the stats to match it would not alter it's effectiveness at all.
Actually no, each item has a "cap." Though you can't really tell this cap on most unique pieces, if you meld materia, a lot of times you'll see it has no effect because that particular stat on that item has reached its cap. The item level is what determines this.