Updated Sat, Mar 01, 2008 by Ratboy
In most MMORPGs, there is a 'level cap' that players eventually reach that prevents them from growing further. However, this is only a soft limit, and for one reason: gear. You can basically 'level up' by getting gear that raises your stats to a level above other people at the cap. This creates an effective level. Of course, eventually, even the best gear becomes widely available, and the people in charge of the game release better and better gear. This creates an even larger gap between people at the level cap....
You can read the entire forum post here.