Some examples:
- Makayev dealers can sell level 9 ammo in level 3 systems and Rigel Aurelius (level 2), though without restocking.
- armor dealers can sell level 7 armor in level 1 systems.
- EDIT: Black Market stations restock +military ammo (levels 4-10) and can appear in level 2 systems.
- Adventure Outfitters can sell level 10 armor in level 4 systems (right after St. K's).
- Commonwealth stations after St. K's restock +commonwealth -premiumAmmo, which includes some ammo up to level 9. However, they rarely have useful equipment because they don't start with military items other than ammo.
- Similarly, Thor's Wondrous Devices doesn't start with military items, so they rarely have useful equipment other than miscellaneous devices.
Definitely true. It should still be possible to get a Mk V by mid-Ungoverned Territories, or Ithalium before reaching the Outer Realm, but it shouldn't be so cheap or so easy to do so.
Well, as long as I can recall it's been common for the player to have access to equipment 3-4 levels above the system level, with occasional higher level items. You seem to be suggesting lowering that by about 2, so level 7 items would be rare before Sanctuary. That would make certain parts of the game significantly more challenging, but it might be appropriate.
Fixed in 1.7 Beta 5.
All of the above base their inventory on system level. In addition, I've added a system-level adjustment for all ammo restocking.