I don't like post-leveling systems much. It makes a game feel complicated when there is more than just level and gear.

I do agree with animation glamour. We don't need the base function to work differently but changing the animations could be a way to make eachother unique instead.

The problem with horizontal progression where your item level keeps increasing but your level doesn't, is that level acts as a way to dilute your stats so that it can grow all over again. Yes, that's right, leveling up makes you weaker. Any solution needs to find an alternative way to do that at the max level every 2 years.