Pretty much agreed on gear mattering more. I feel it's more strategic in the long run. In a stats-heavy game, utlimately you need to just grind to progress, which is easier yet more boring. When gear matters more, sometimes all you really need to do to win a grueling battle is just rethink and reconfigure what everyone is wearing. If gear carries a lot of weight, that really gives you a lot of room to figure things out.

I also really like it when games have gear change your character's looks!