@Cpt_Dan Yes I do. Not at the fly but I can dive into it if you really want.
My point is that e.g. gear lvl 6 > 7 is quite a big jump (remember the 20x epic pieces you need to farm). Some give 10 agi/10 str (=hp and armor for dmg reduction), 10 intel (potency right?) and on top of that 250 hp 5% tenactity. If you are stuck at gear lvl 6 vs a same toon gear lvl 7 you are bound to receive more dmg. Even at the same stars (so both toons 6*), gear is desicive for the endresult. If I semi gear a 6* toon and compare it to a non geared 6* toon the difference is big and real.