I am a notorious 'restarter' so I've also never really gotten far, because I feel I've learned something important that made my life harder - so I am not very far into the game.
That being said - I did figure it was equipment but for some reason, my brain tried to convince me it had to be a fully set - which included the weapon slot - which is locked to the class, haha, so yeah, I built myself a mental roadblock there.
Really appreciate the info, though, this actually makes me life much, much easier. Thanks!