First off, do you remember the materia system of Final Fantasy VII?
Something I've always wanted to see in a game is a system where an adventurer quests to earn his first armor set (later implemented into EQ with low level armor for class/diety.)
This armor, however, would grow with the player as he collects crafting material. Why am I killing this dragon? Not for the junk armor that didn't help the last adventurer but for his magical tooth or eye or scales. I then use crafting skill, my magical armor and the new magical reagent, and now I have a progression for armor that takes me to end game and will always be best in slot until (or even through) raiding.
I mean, sure, you could still buy and sell that armor from the adventurer the dragon did kill, but getting the magical reagent would be better if you have the group capable of completing the task.
No, I don't expect this idea to be accepted, but it doesn't hurt to try to give alternative ideas that already exist in part in the EQ universe. You could say that the epic weapons were a more extreme version of this idea, except they start at higher levels and required full raids (when done within the expansion they were released).