>let me tell you about a game i didnt play ok. gear is an extra on top of your character in 4e.
Gear dependance in 4e came from the bonus to hit, same as in any other DnD edition.
However in 4e, you had the (official) "Inherent bonuses" option, which lets your characters go up in power without any magic items at all. This was done to make Dark Sun work.
TL;DR: you, yet again, prove that you dont know what you are talking about.
