The gear you're finding is balls because you're overleveled. I was level 16 when I got to
You must be doing like all the sidequests, because the story mission is only level 16 as well.
Mmm, that doesn't seem right. I've done most of the side quests I've come across, true - but when I hit the fridge I saw my first level 20 drop (I was 19 at the time, so it stood out) - it seems like the gear and I are roughly the same level.
To top it off, my gear is anywhere from level 8 to level 14 - which, at this point, isn't good enough. Just haven't gotten many pieces of gear that stood out (ie, blue or above) and the greens I get are hard to get that MIGHT be upgrades aren't apparent enough without trial and error (I don't think I really have a firm grasp of the weapon system yet, like I did in borderlands - I could look at any gun and immediately tell if it was better or worse).
I'm holding on to an old orange shield and grenade - and the grenade is still amazing even though it's in the low teens - but my shield is zeroing out too quickly.
And the guns I use (I like pistols) do about 120 real-world damage a shot, but they are automatic. Regardless, while they're the best I've found so far, they're dated and things just don't die as fast as they used to - and I spend half my time fighting for my life.
Basically - I need better gear. Luckily I have like... a thousand quests that just popped up, lots of them with blue and some with purple rewards - this will hopefully get me up to snuff.
And who knows, maybe I'll get lucky at slots.
