If you're making an RPG, you gotta have equipment. It's an RPG staple. But equipment is done rather differently in each game. How about in yours? Do you have a multitude of equipment for the player to choose from? Or maybe it's simply that each character gets theirselves a new weapon and armor in the next town. Perhaps, even, you've made it more complex, and made a synthesis system.

Myself, I generally take the easy way out. The player reaches a new town, there's one new weapon for each character, one new armor. Easier to balance, less names to deal with, and don't have to have the player scratching their heads trying to choose what to buy. Besides, when I play a professionally developed RPG, I tend to go straight for the equipment that gives the biggest attack or defensive boost, not worrying about whether other equipment comes with better boosts in other stats (that often aren't self-explantory) or some special effect. So why bother having all that extra stuff available in my own game?

Lately, though, I've been paying a bit closer attention to what each piece of equipment provides offensively and defensively, even to the point where I might avoid wearing something that puts a major hurt on my evasion stat, even if it has a decent defensive boost. After all, dodging attacks is just as helpful as taking less damage. Granted, a tradeoff like this can't be done in RPGM1. But I've been looking at my options, and I do see some potential for selling multiple new equipment. Most basic example, you could buy an axe that has a single powerful hit, or you can buy a lighter weapon that hits for less damage overall but can strike twice, allowing for more spread-out takedowns when battling multiple enemies. There'd still be the factor of certain characters can only use certain equipment, but in this case, the player can make a choice based on personal preferance. Plus it opens up more possibilities for special hidden equipment.

What about the rest of you?

Well I think this depends on the type of game you are making. If you want this epic quest where the best parts of the game are trying to get enough money to buy better equipment and maybe different towns sell some of the same equipment at different prices but sell exclusive equipment as well, it might be a fun part of the game to learn the specifics of the equipment and the places that sell them.

If you have a game where much of the goal is to learn new magic skills through battling or via events, equipment might be a distracting aspect.

I would consider handling equipment in a variety of ways in any games that I make.

One thing that is really important though is that a game like the second one that I mentioned where equipment is a secondary concern is an ideal place to have a particular weapon or armor appear as a treasure chest item or as reward for completing a mission.

But nothing is more of a killjoy then trying to plan when and where to buy a specific armor or weapon, like in the first example I mention, and then getting excited to go buy it and then just have simply wait magically in some dungeon treaure chest, especially if you do not need to beat a boss to get it, but even then too.

I also tend to like it when some equipment is character exclusive and some is not because then each party member can have some things in common but not others.