I thought of this a few days ago. I made a new friend(lvl14). He stated gear is really expensive. So i checked out a few 15, 19, 25 prices. I agree they seem higher than they used to be.

I made a commitment to him that i will supply 1 piece of equipment for each lvl as long long as it is something he needs. You don't always need the very best gear when moving up. He is now at lvl 22 and it has not costed me much but it really helps.

This is one way to help keep things interesting.