Well why do looms even have to exist in the first place? Just to grind? I just play this game for fun, and I have over 1000 hours (o god..) logged into it. I normally just respec after I hit level 30. I do have 1 masterwork I've just begun to use and a 1+ item but still enjoy this game everyday. Until someone ruins my fun with stacked looms! At least I make the game fun for everyone else. I'll just die in 1 hit after hitting you 5 times so everyone wins!
Looms should just get a new model, like from that heirloom pack.
That's the thing mate. You want to stay higher level, that is fine. But of course you don't have any loom then. That is fine as well. I don't want myself to stay high level all the time. That is getting encouraged by the loompoints. If everyone was about level 30-35 all the time, fights would be different on the servers.
I wouldn't retire just to let my items look a bit different. That wouldn't be worth the time imo. I would rather pay some for it like in other F2P MMOs.
But just saying looms are op and saying at the same time that you don't gonna ever retire but rather respec at level 30 doesn't make your case looks any good.
That is like saying, "I am level 10, you shouldnt be level 20!".
I can see your point, if stacked looms give a good buff but I always saw looms as some goal since they're in cRPG. I would gladly enjoy the game without as I rather see looms as items giving me less weight for the same defense (as armor for example), or more damage for less upkeep.
I can for example use my +3 mail shirt with 42 body armor and 11 leg armor for 9,6 weight and 259 upkeep instead of a +0 light kuyak with 1 less leg armor, 214 more upkeep and 3,3 more weight after playing for about 6-7 weeks for 3 loompoints and 3 retirements.
The loompoints are also a reason to play a bit more than usual. If there wasn't a goal but just fun I would play a bit less. It's the same as in MMOs, "I get xp, I should do xxx amount of that today, then Im fine".
It does of course has its pros and cons but in this case, I see more pros for myself. I would of course also play without looms however.