Guild Wars 2

If gear was based on a stats/attribute system like gw 1 had ( 9-12 in fire magic to use that staff), “You need 500 base toughness for a Knight’s masquerade mask (rare)”, level and increasing level cap in the future would make sense. With legendaries needing like 1200 in a stat (1400 actually in my proposal below) and would be only obtainable by lv 100 or so unless you up a trait line for power.

Note: we have 916 in every stat with no equipment on, go ahead try it!

Source for this is From wiki:
All professions have four common primary attributes, two offensive and two defensive. Primary attributes grow with character level, starting with 24 in each at level 1. Each level up through level 9 grants 4 points to each attribute; levels 10–19 grant 6 points each; 20–29, 8 points; … 70–79, 18 points; 80, 20 points.

At level 80, all professions have a base 916 power, precision, toughness, and vitality.
Now that makes me wonder why we have levels and base stats if everything that is good in the game is only lv 80. Oh wait….

I think Gear instead should have had stat ranges based on its old current level and the required stat ranges be modified in respect to the % extra damage bonuses according to rarity with white being closet to base stats and to blue and higher based on their boosts to damage in respect to whites:

white lv 1-80 instead needs 10-800 power, vit, tough, condition damage, precision, or healing
blue lv 1-80 instead needs 12-1000 power, vit, tough, or precision
green lv 14-80 189-1080 power, vit, tough, or precision
yellow lv 30-80 435-1160 power, vit, tough, or precision
exotic lv 62-80 1023-1320 power, vit, tough, or precision
ascended lv 80 1400 power, vit, tough, or precision
Legendary lv 80 what ever highest tier’s damage modifier at 80 was. right now its ascended so 1400.

Now what you are thinking is that the base stats at lv 80 are far too low to even equip lv 80 equipment past white rarity. This what traits are for.

The game should be overhauled for this and also two new attributes should exist:
Magical power and ranged power.

Magical power is for scholar professions and guardians, yet all professions get it as we all use magic in some way. This will separate power which seems to be more of physical non-magical attribute from the casters who are solely magic users as gw 1 did for its weapons where casters needed their own separate stat to use staves, wands, foci, etc. with a relax on requirements for the more physical based weapons to be fair as they will have to focus on their most used attributes.

Non-magical or semi-magical professions used strength (warrior) or dagger mastery (as:sas:sin) or something.

Ranged power is for ranger and engineers or warrior for their rifles/bow or thieves and their ranged weapons.

As for the inability to get over 916 in a certain attribute to eqiup now, I propose that the weights for stat gain on level up be increased or trait stat bonuses be upped to maybe 20-30 a trait point added in each area instead of 10.

So instead of 300 more power or precision (you only reach 1216 as it is now with 30 in a trait line), you have 600-900 more. More than enough if we never get more traits if a level cap increase happens, otherwise we always have to eat food to equip stuff (which is totally unfair). Its also easier to balance I think as you just change numbers around on enemies and stuff.

In conclusion, this is all a proposal for GW 2 if we ever face a level cap increase and it will be much more fair to non lv 80s (or whatever the new cap is) getting the best gear and not so much heavy reliance to rushing to lv 80 (or new cap) for everything and skipping all the content and beautiful maps we have. It may even do away with half of the repeat gear/skins for all the levels and make smaller the current horrible loot tables so the stuff that really matters (crafting materials precursors) drops for us more often.