[Miller]

I also don't like applying for 'just' increased levels. BUT for entirely different reasons; having characters go up to level 70 and like won't be able to mend the dissonance between narrative and mechanical strength, the extra 40 stat points would only serve as an extra buffer in one on ones but you'll still get rocked by Joe Rune Mage or Jane Engineer even with all the stats in the world.

With that said, I would prefer an alternative to be considered if there's a need for narrative/mechanical strengths to match up:
Give them access to character specific traits or hell, app only generic traits that tailor to the characters strengths and elevate them up a bit based on their inherent strengths. The example of The Mystic being brought up earlier is a great one; why can't they get a trait that puts them on par with an elf's healing or if not better? Sure it might be a slippery slope to consider stuff like this; but with traits, you can keep an application tracking them and revoke them if necessary/abuse cases come to mind.

Even with all that said, I honestly don't really mind the homogenization too much? If someone downplays my character because of mechanics, I typically don't really bother with getting myself invested more with them, but I can still see why it'd be a sore spot for many since it's pretty prevalent.