In EVE, those are called Tech 2 versions (Meta 5).

They are wickedly expensive, a pain to make, and only sometimes worth the trouble.

Problem is that weapon development in eve is constant, what is today's prototype become tommarow's advanced versions.

I did not know that.... but of course that would just mean there would need to be further skills with better weapons available as the game continues to advance. I see no issue with that. Maybe make the Krin a tier with it's own burst/breach/tac variants, then the Balac. Of course we'd still need to salvage materials to make them, which would be fun on it's own.

Once PvE comes in, we could salvage materials instead of gear. Then we could send it off to our EvE counterparts to make them. It would be worth it to some players, I'm sure. Plus the skill itself could offer a passive bonus as well, say maybe +1% run speed while AR is equipped (equipped meaning in your hands, bonus would not be in effect when sidearm is equipped), or -2% profile while Nova Knife is equipped. Maybe a -2% spread for HMG's or 3% capacity for Mass Drivers.

Of course the SP requirements would have to be VERY high, perhaps 12x or 14x. Just tossing ideas here.

So you don't want people joining Dust514 after the game is a year old? Since they now have 2 years of to learn while only missing 1 year and have no chance to defend themselves against the uberweapons while being able to contribute nothing because of there bad gear.

If you really think this is a good idea, try to pvp with a lvl 30 toon vs a lvl 80 toon in Lineage 2 or World of Warcraft or whatever, since they thrive on this idea.

snap.

militia and standard will be laughable as soon as T-2 gear + sp matching is implemented, hopefully with militia free fits even being removed for the most part once PvE is implemented

Your method would work for Public matches maybe, although limiting an FPS by gear is strange to say at least for a game were you are a Mercenary set in an Open universe, but what about Corp matches and Planet control? A new corp can only control districts which were deemed 'New Corp Friendly' and can't control districts which are deemed as 'Super gear only' by some arbitrary ruleset? Thats not very EVE or DUST -like.

Im all for investing in skill and item breadth making more options possible for people, using depth as a way to advance the game will lead to a nasty mess of player segregation.

Once PvE comes in, we could salvage materials instead of gear. Then we could send it off to our EvE counterparts to make them. It would be worth it to some players, I'm sure. Plus the skill itself could offer a passive bonus as well, say maybe +1% run speed while AR is equipped (equipped meaning in your hands, bonus would not be in effect when sidearm is equipped), or -2% profile while Nova Knife is equipped. Maybe a -2% spread for HMG's or 3% capacity for Mass Drivers.

Of course the SP requirements would have to be VERY high, perhaps 12x or 14x. Just tossing ideas here.

I think all weapons should have a weight stat that effects movement rate. It would be a reason for some people to use certain weapons. The MD would be a heavier light weapon that the AR, and would appease those who want it nerfed some. Because we already have some for of that, if you switch to you sidearm you run faster, i think this should be expanded as a stat for all weapons and maybe for all gear, the total weight of your modules, weapons, and equipment should effect the final movement rate.
It would add another whole level of fitting if you had to make choices based on weight vs movement rate.

they could even evolve it to the point where say you become lighter as you expend ammo, nades, and depoly equipment

In EVE, those are called Tech 2 versions (Meta 5).

They are a pain to make, and only sometimes worth the trouble.

officer weapons.