Colored gear with specific classes.

[DeadRiser]

i felt the Phantasy Star series did it even better.

in their games, your stats are based on a few actual devices that electronically induce those stats.
sort of like an invisible forcefield made up of specific defenses. anything you wear is just for looks.
it makes a little more sense than just magic imbued gear to me but oh well.

Lol I did like that the armor was linked to the outfit, but their color system suckedddd