How is ilvl an issue while leveling?

[Rongway]

um NQ whites are worse than shire gear, I think.

um, no they aren't.

Yes they are.

Augmented Shire Philosopher's Coat    Lv60    iLv270    169 int    171 vit
Kudzu Robe of Casting                 Lv64    iLv273    156 int    158 vit
Serge Gambison of Casting             Lv66    iLv279    167 int    161 vit
Twinsilk Coat of Casting              Lv68    iLv285    176 int    164 vit

Augmented Shire Custodian's Armor     Lv60    iLv270    169 str    190 vit    480 def
Tigerskin Coat of Fending             Lv64    iLv273    156 str    175 vit    490 def
Doman Steel Tabard of Fending         Lv66    iLv279    167 str    179 vit    607 def
Gazelleskin Coat of Fending           Lv68    iLv285    176 str    182 vit    723 def

Augmented Shire Gear is better than NQ whites until 68 for DDs/healers. Tanks get more defense from white gear but lower vitality.

[kikix12]

Augmented Shire Gear is better than NQ whites until 68 for DDs/healers. Tanks get more defense from white gear but lower vitality.

I won't do it for DPS/Healers, at least not for now, but I went ahead and checked the lvl66 gear against Augmented Shire for a tank.

Paladin lvl70. Full Augmented Shire (left side + shield), no accessories.
Against lvl58 Earth Sprite (no stance and no skill). Average damage dealt by me is ~490 out of 30 hits. Average damage dealt to me is ~565 out of 17 hits.
Against lvl67 Earth Sprite (Sword Stance, Clemency used 7 times). Average damage dealt by me is ~410 out of 128 hits. Average damage dealt to me is ~1790 out of 44 hits (one crit).
Paladin lvl70. Full Doman (lvl66) (left side + shield), no accessories.
Against lvl58 Earth Sprite (no stance and no skill). Average damage dealt by me is ~475 out of 31 hits. Average damage dealt to me is ~555 out of 15 hits.
Against lvl67 Earth Sprite (Sword Stance, Clemency used 8 times). Average damage dealt by me is ~385 out of 136 hits. Average damage dealt to me is ~1760 out of 45 hits.

I had to use clemency one more time against the lvl67 in doman gear because it did crit three times and Clemency healed about 300 less HP per cast, while it did crit me only once when in Shire gear. When it did crit me four times on an earlier attempt (in Doman gear), it did crit on me four times and the average damage received was 1790 like for Shire. I guess that if there was one crit in both, the difference would be ~70-100 damage or so per hit.

The difference in Stats is:
Augmented Shire: 29790HP, 7080MP, Strength 1204, Dexterity 280, Vitality 1392, Intelligence 174, Mind 291 for primary, Critical Hit 471, Determination 440, Direct Hit 662, 1204 Attack Power, 615 Skill Speed, 2286 both defenses, Attack Magic Potency 174, Healing Magic Potency 291, Spell Speed 364, Tenacity 731 and Piety 292.
Doman: 26701HP, 7080MP, Strength 1194, Dexterity 280, Vitality 1333, Intelligence 174, Mind 291 for primary, Critical Hit 619, Determination 495, Direct Hit 364, 1194 Attack Power, 822 Skill Speed, 2889 both defenses, Attack Magic Potency 174, Healing Magic Potency 291, Spell Speed 364, Tenacity 746 and Piety 292.

The HP advantage, at an average damage difference of 80, is about 38,6 hits. After that Doman gears defense is better.
In other words, Doman gear is MARGINALLY better for a tank, but I guess it would be more situational. If it is marginally better, then 58 is just plain better. The marginal difference is not necessarily valuable, especially since in the end there are direct hits, crits and wide range of damage variety in outgoing and incoming damage from attack to attack. I won't be checking the accessories effect either.

All in all...if you get a piece of gear for a tank from dungeon, equip it. If not wait till lvl68 to buy NPC gear since a potion or two when you wouldn't use any would generally bring a bigger difference than the Doman gear, I guess. And would be cheaper too.

For healers and DPS however there is another aspect to the equation. Yes, the damage seems to be slightly higher with Shire (at least for tanks, but red mages Shire weapon is superior to Doman weapon from the box, so the armor probably follow suits). However the bosses have AoE's, including unavoidable. And the DPS and healers defenses are already pretty low. If the players skills are good, they can mitigate a lot of incoming damage so it would not cause a problem, but I believe that for unskilled players, that extra defense may make a difference between a wipe on a boss and hard-won victory. Sure, it will take a little bit of time longer...but you won't die either. So it can go either way depending on players skills here.