You can sometimes find improved equipment once you reach Cyseal, but there are also four combat opportunities prior to that point. I would not want to be a character with points invested in one-handed weapons and shields and stuck with a two-handed sword (and no related skill) because I chose the "Knight" preset for the starting skills during those fights.
Even after you reach the city an upgrade is not a guarantee. I, for example, sometimes have luck finding a better shield for my Warrior prior to reaching Cyseal.. but I have also gone through the first 6 levels without ever looting an upgrade to my starter shield - it really just comes down to RNG luck. Even the shields I could steal off the walls were inferior.
Sure, you can always buy better equipment (if what you're looking for happens to show up on a vendor - again RNG luck), but I was talking about a scenario where players aren't purchasing their equipment (which is why I said "particularly if you're trying to save gold early on for skillbooks, and not relying on the merchants for equipment"). I tend not to buy equipment from vendors early on in the game, as the rate of advancement doesn't make it worth it (that and the fact that you can go from level 2-4 within the city without ever seeing combat, making gear upgrades pointless as anything you buy at level 2 can easily be trivialized by the right level 4 drop).
Keep in mind my original post when I made this thread. We've been told that we will be able to pick our starting skills. And (if I want a "Knight"-type character with a Warrior's sword and shield) obviously I can just pick a Warrior preset and then customize his attributes, talents, skill-bar, etc to be more in line with a Knight, and that would allow him to start with a sword and shield, but the point is that just seems like a clunkier way of achieving what should be a much simpler goal through expanded options (i.e. choosing the Knight preset and swapping out his weapon). The current setup puts players in an odd position where they have to first decide the type of weapon they want to use, select the appropriate class that has that starting weapon, and then build their character backward from there.
