Cold Steel Vambraces  

 

I'd have to agree with you about this strictly being a 'twink' item. Its a very nice low level item, but you need to be level 50 to get it. There are other items like this as well, such as the Glowing Black Sword (good: 9/22 1hs, with 20 dex. bad: procs a self-debuff at level 45). Very nice at low levels, but not fit for a player 45+. Ever thought about why Verant would do something like that? Its kind of hard to sell cause of the proc, but its a neat item to have on a twink. Its existence is kind of a mystery at first, but I thought about it a little bit and its actually quite obvious (and brilliant) that VI would start mixing stuff like this into the higher level zones.
While I have the soapbox, let me first say that an 'alternate character' is something like a 'return customer'. Normally if you reach a level where you can't really get any further, you become bored and quit playing. If you have a twink however, maybe you'll continue to play so you can level up your twink. I've done it. I know a million other people who have done it.
Let me try to clarify:
You have a high level mage (say level 56) who somehow obtains this item. Its got a great AC, but you can't use it and it weighs too much. It will be difficult to find someone who would give any decent amout of money for it, but its not really a throw away item. So you think to yourself, "Maybe I'll just start a character that can use items like this." So you start a warrior. You give him these arms and that glowing black sword, slap him with one of about a dozen SSB's you've got banked - et viola! You've now got an alternate character to play when you're bored with your main. If you like playing your warrior, VI gets to squeeze a few more months of revenue out of you while you level him. And so the cycle begins again.
I think that VI used to try to deter people from twinking. But I think they're a bit more driven by revenue now than the purity of the EQ gaming experience. If you look at Kunark loot tables, you'll find a few items that are really only fit for a twink. If you look closely at the loot tables in Velious, you'll find MANY more such items. If you look at the items in Luclin? Well, I guess we'll have to see, but if you want a prediction - get used to seeing items like this. The MMPORG market may be saturated, and that leaves it up to the programmers of the vast MMPORG world to vie for your attention (and your cash-ola - eg.,VI doesn't want to see you quit EQ and start playing AO - capice?). Since you can't get past level 60, they're going to try to get you to start at level 1 again.
I don't criticize VI for doing this. Matter of fact, I think its a brilliant way out of their unique predicament. And for those of you who are interested to know, I did indeed quit playing EQ a couple months ago and I still don't play any MMPORGs. So why am I on a message board then? I dunno, I guess I just like to dust off the 'ol Psych 101 textbooks every now and then to see if I can figure out what all you people are so excited about. Its damn interesting stuff. Plus its alot less negative than the stuff in the newpapers (*ahem*) and I don't get inky fingers from it.