I concur. Thinking back to D&D, the magical equipment isn't so wild, in general. Maybe 1-2 magical abilities and a better chance to hit, or faster attacks. If you are a level 8 fighter and have a +2 sword, that certainly helps, but a level 10 fighter with a normal sword might still stomp you. Less about gear, more about abilities and level. That being said, I just found some linen trousers with 200 physical armor in game... am I supposed to believe that these linen trousers are 4-5 times more protective than full plate steel armor I found at the beginning of the game? That the magisters I fought at the beginning would literally die from 1 strike now, but the magisters I fight now are 20 times stronger and more powerful?
In D&D, NPCs didn't scale with you. It made far more sense. Also, I might keep that same gear 2-4 levels or more, depending. Here, I literally check the vendors every hour or so, because I don't want to be underpowered. I have sold so much gear, it isn't even funny. That might be partially unavoidable in an RPG... but it should be minimized. Spend more time stealing and selling gear than anything else, probably. Quality over quantity. Almost feels like Diablo, in that respect.
