I have been thinking, a low-lvl player can't buy swarms, or other high lvl weps dues to lvls and sometimes faction standing. What if a mission was made available that would give a player the ability to equip items they are not licensed to buy? The player would need someone else buy the item for them, and the mission/tree would require that they have a particular standing with said faction (and possibly pay a large equipping fee) before they can obtain this ability. It would be a workaround of sorts for those that get the hang of the game, but are put off by some of the grinding...

-R IBA 3.14rat

You could have somebody (or your main char) buy the item drop it and equip it at a corvus station. It's a multiplayer game after all :P

spuck, i realize that corvus exists, but I think this would add a new mission for low-lvl players, and I am not suggesting that they be able to equip all weps, just those 2 or 3 lvls above them.

Ah ok! I also totally overread that they'd still have to have somebody to buy the stuff.

I'm a bit worried that these things make it too easy to get good stuff though. Leveling up really doesn't take that long anymore anyway.
I guess as long as that mission isn't some trivial thing it'd add some content ..so it's not a bad idea.