Maybe I am wrong on this but I have the feeling that lords are not getting 100% the cost of the loot when selling it, and they get some kind of penalty in the same way than the player. If it is the case, reducing all gear cost would not be a problem if this penalty for the AI would be reduced. On the other hand, as far I know, if the equipment cost gets overall reduced, we (and the AI) would be getting more items after every battle according to the loot formula , right (not totally sure about this)?