Hello ThistleChaser,

Thank you for posting about the issue you are having regarding the character item lve calculation. In order to investigate this further, we need some additional information from you. If you could please tell us which platform you are playing on. Once you have this information, please submit a new thread with it, so we may continue to investigate this issue for you.

Thank you for your patience, and best wishes to you.
FINAL FANTASY XIV Game Master Team