I think youre argument is flawed. there are still knights out there i play with my best armour and a flamberge everygame its a matter of accounting for your character. take siege servers for example we now have to actually defend and attack the flag to make sure we get that precious modifier it also brings room for great clans, take the sea raiders for example... i admire these guys the most as they have taken an element of the single player and brought it into multi by using the gear that sea raiders use sure it isnt the best but when u see 5 of them charging at you it looks awesome
i think its good the game has been moved away from "everyone has to have the best armour and weapons"
infact the way the mod has moved on has brought a new element to the game which i think most mmorpgs will soon be following as no one really likes the hardcore grind...chadz has revolutionised grind by taking away armour and gold grind but leaving in the generation grind
i could go on for hours thats my piece thank you