Being able to have my character get better, not just the gear

A cool system for leveling up skills like weapons or crafting would be the use it to improve it system kinda like the one used in the elder scrolls.

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Personally I agree, I've always detested the notion that my character is actually a weak bastard who relies entirely upon the gear he wears. But unfortunately this game is much akin to Terraria in that gear = strength. The aim of the game is to get better tech, leading to better gear, leading to a better character.

Although the minute you take off that gear, you're a weakling again. But in a sense, that's fairly realistic, as in real life we can only improve our physical body so much in the face of near-godlike technology.