Spoiler:
I agree that this is a major part of overall game balancing. And while I can't say much about core game mechanics as I don't grasp them too well (I never even reached rr 50 on live), there is something I want to add.
When people talk about all this high rr gear and how imbalanced and OP it is, few really look at the core game system itself. Now bear with me for a second. On live, max rr was 100. Most people, especialy new players, reach T4 with around the same rr as their lvl. So that rank is around 32 (although even more common case is that the rr is actually LOWER than the lvl). That is only 32% of the total amount their character can achieve, and they are already in the top tier of the game, competing with the top players (I think we all agree how incredibly stupid this concept is).
Now I know that the devs have absolutely no intetion of bringing back rr 100 (and I agree), but even with max rr being 80, the average player will still only be at 40% (again, in most cases even lower) of their progression when they hit the top tier. So basically, 60% OF ALL progress is contained in only ONE tier. That is still a pretty big discrepancy, and I think it would, yet again, prove to be too big. And what's even worse, that tier is the 'end-game' tier.
So what I'm thinking here, is that tier progressioin should be inherently linked to the players rr, and not their lvl. This would make it so much more easier to balance the gear imho (and with it the game). No longer would you have to worry about the insane power creep at high renown ranks. You also wouldn't have to come up with so many different buffs or debuffs for players palying against higher or lower ranking ones. And I also believe it's easier to balance low lvl gear and a bit lower lvl gear, than it is to balance super high lvl gear with quite lower lvl gear. I believe that the root cause of all that imbalance is exectly the tier system. Don't get me wrong though, gear would still require balancing, but as I said, I think it would be easier to do it.
What the problem here could be though, is that the entire tier system should be changed. With that would come gear balancing for every tier, and not just T4. And in the end it would probably require a bit more work (I really have no idea how much work it would actually require), but the game itself would be more balanced as it is. I think it's far more easier to balance tiers that are, how would I say it, balanced I guess. A good idea would be to make it a 60/40 system, so basically inverse from what it is now (60% for lower tiers and 40% for endgame tier). That would mean that you would be able to enter T4 only with rr 48. You could round it up to 50 for easier gear balance, so it would be 62/38 system. That would truly mean that END game happens at T4, and not 60% of the game happens at T4.
One other major thing about my concept - I have no clue if the tier progression can actually be linked to rr. If not, all of this can be thrown into the wind
When people talk about all this high rr gear and how imbalanced and OP it is, few really look at the core game system itself. Now bear with me for a second. On live, max rr was 100. Most people, especialy new players, reach T4 with around the same rr as their lvl. So that rank is around 32 (although even more common case is that the rr is actually LOWER than the lvl). That is only 32% of the total amount their character can achieve, and they are already in the top tier of the game, competing with the top players (I think we all agree how incredibly stupid this concept is).
Now I know that the devs have absolutely no intetion of bringing back rr 100 (and I agree), but even with max rr being 80, the average player will still only be at 40% (again, in most cases even lower) of their progression when they hit the top tier. So basically, 60% OF ALL progress is contained in only ONE tier. That is still a pretty big discrepancy, and I think it would, yet again, prove to be too big. And what's even worse, that tier is the 'end-game' tier.
So what I'm thinking here, is that tier progressioin should be inherently linked to the players rr, and not their lvl. This would make it so much more easier to balance the gear imho (and with it the game). No longer would you have to worry about the insane power creep at high renown ranks. You also wouldn't have to come up with so many different buffs or debuffs for players palying against higher or lower ranking ones. And I also believe it's easier to balance low lvl gear and a bit lower lvl gear, than it is to balance super high lvl gear with quite lower lvl gear. I believe that the root cause of all that imbalance is exectly the tier system. Don't get me wrong though, gear would still require balancing, but as I said, I think it would be easier to do it.
What the problem here could be though, is that the entire tier system should be changed. With that would come gear balancing for every tier, and not just T4. And in the end it would probably require a bit more work (I really have no idea how much work it would actually require), but the game itself would be more balanced as it is. I think it's far more easier to balance tiers that are, how would I say it, balanced I guess. A good idea would be to make it a 60/40 system, so basically inverse from what it is now (60% for lower tiers and 40% for endgame tier). That would mean that you would be able to enter T4 only with rr 48. You could round it up to 50 for easier gear balance, so it would be 62/38 system. That would truly mean that END game happens at T4, and not 60% of the game happens at T4.
One other major thing about my concept - I have no clue if the tier progression can actually be linked to rr. If not, all of this can be thrown into the wind
