There is no cheating going on. If there is, it is minimal. In fact, EVERY character of mine is decked by level 12 and here is why. I go to the places and pick it off the ground. Or when I show up in the desert south of araile at level 7, I pay that level 15 assassin who is practicing his skills to kill me some bandits for some cloaks. Point is, ALL of the gear can be had at any point by anyone, if they are opportunistic enough. I had a level 11 necromancer rolling around with bracers of defense... That was sick.