This gear level system just annoys me more than makes for an enjoyable experience.

I feel little desire to venture into areas that are not directly related to missions, in an effort to find better equipment... Simply because I feel that whatever I get will be obsolete 10 minutes later.

I can get the idea of weapon condition playing a role in things, but any given weapon will have the same stats no matter if it is a level 10 or a level 100. I know there is some background numbers being done to determine what happens when using a lower level weapon against enemies with higher level gear... The current system feels obscured, rather than intuitive.

But couldn't it have simply been a matter of player level, maybe add a simple item condition system, where the stats are different. It doesn't even have to be dynamic, just a fixed condition... Say "worn out", "poor", "well used", "pristine"... Maybe have the ability to improve a weapon slightly, but not enough to bring it to the next tier. So now you have a reason to seek out better equipment, especially if you are find of the handling an performance characteristics of a particular weapon.

I feel the system limits my gameplay, limiting my options of playing how I want to play.

I know that the current system is too interwoven into the game to actually be changed much, but for future games maybe it could be different... I just don't find it enjoyable to micromanage loot in this kind of game, and I feel the system is designed to steer players into spending real cash on gear from the store.