Yes I'm going to suggest the DD item system again but hear me out!

[Lesrider]

I just saw someone on Facebook showing off their itty bitty bird in low level equipment, that quite frankly, anyone can get.
It makes it almost laughable that anyone would even show off their characters/equipment in this game. At any level. Since with the right amount of money, even the rarest items can be acquired (besides, of course, things like PL shields and other nontradable items).

Conversely, it's quite fun on the DD forum to show and compare weapons/equipment you've looted and/or upgraded.
It gives you much more pride in the items you've farmed. In fact, you're more likely to farm your own than take from others, because no one is going to give up their best equipment. So you are your best bet at getting a really nice piece. (People still give away the items they no longer need, which is nice for people who haven't found that perfect piece yet).

I know G mentioned crafting in passing. But are you guys planning anything that would give players this pride in their equipment? If the crafting still allows everyone to craft the same stuff, it won't change much. What's really needed is something that allows people to have something truly unique that they can be proud of spending the time to farm it. I know my PL addiction would likely return with something like that (now I just have forum addiction )

Edit: I guess I should mention that the reason the items are so unique is because they all start with different stats, even if they look the same or have the same names. People say they've seen duplicates, but it's very uncommon. I've never seen a copy of any of my best pieces.
There's just too much to go into without posting photos and explaining every little thing. But if that's what it'll take to get the devs to implement something like this, I'll do it!