[Poruku]

I also don't like applying for 'just' increased levels.

Oh yeah exactly. The issue with making characters "slightly" stronger is that you are not really putting them on a different category, they are still a normal character. So the expectation is that you can fight them, and maybe beat them. Any battle that would be like, a 1v1 between a level 60 and a level 70 would kinda feel terrible imo. Because they actually both have a chance of victory. But they both feel a little cheated if they lose. The 60 feels like it was an unfair fight. The 70, if he loses, would feel like the narrative fantasy was broken by game mechanics yet again. HOWEVER, if a character is literally meant to be too strong to be able to 1v1 at all, then it kind of makes more sense in my mind. It means I won't try to fight them, I won't think to fight them. But maybe I could take them on as a party. That would be enjoyable for everyone I think, even if they lose, due to a change in expectation. Yeah sure, my "strong" character lost, but it was a 2v1. This maintains the narrative power, while making the fight fairer. If I try to 1v1 them it will be just a beatdown where I am shown how strong they are. That's fine!

I propose tiers of power

Tier 0: Special Power
This would be an application to gain a unique trait of some kind. Due to technology limitations it would only be among the available skills in the game. For instance, giving the mystic the elf healing racial. It would be upgrades to the character that give them more options, but do NOT make them op, or give them more general strength. This means these characters would still be on par with normal characters.

Tier 1: Champion
People in this tier are expected to fight two people at once.
Give them something like double the HP, +10 to all stats, and 40% more damage.

Tier 2: Demon
People in this tier are expected to fight 3 people at once.
Triple the HP, +10 to all stats, and 60% more damage.

Tier 3: Legend
People in this tier are expected to fight a full party of 4.
Quadruple the HP, +10 to all stats, and 80% more damage

Tier 4: Demigod
People in this tier are not expected to be defeated. Basically like an event boss that isn't yet weakened, or a legendary enemy with a specific narrative weakness. Maybe they could be defeated by two parties of 4 that attack consecutively.
get 10k hp, double damage, +20 to all stats, and of course slap them with some overpowered abilities.

Of course, for each of these superior tiers, they could have access to special powers at the same time that make them more unique. This would include mob skills. Ofc these stats are subject to change, it's just a vague idea. Some testing would be required to balance each tier's exact boosts.