Seriously, how can you only have 4 +3 items if you are Gen 20-30? I am Gen 24 and I have 30+ +3 items. Even if you didn't use the marketplace at all you should have 7-10 +3 items. Your own fault if you were too stupid to get some looms after such a long time.
Hmm as I can speak only for myself I only played on usual Servers as medium player.
Starting as a peasent for ages, without participating in any strat battle.
After this system changed and players firstly got items, and the game started I kept playing to ~level 30 with severel retires in it without any use of it (respec wasn't there this time).
Lost around 2Gens just because my several retires. Also I started to use 2-3 alts and griend them to ~level 28 just to try different weapons. Always included were several very long taking offs the game.
So here I'm nowadays Gen 10 with my mainchar, started to play him dec 2010 and have 3 masterpieces, 1 reinforced and 2 loompoints (2nd char on gen2). I have played 2short strat battles, with nearly no fun at all (taking down flags and shit) so I nearly never was truely interested in it. Marketplace transactions where I exchanged my +3 items for another +3 item were mostly unfair for me or just fair item for item.
And griending as midskilled veteran is not always dat easy as for the always winning.
But it's still fun!
As I said bevore, peasents still peasents. They cant do anything expect one or two better peasents..
Enjoy the new shit, try new builds that seem to make
fun for you