Could anyone correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I understood you get an item, a sword for example. Now, this sword is for lv 20 and you are lv 15. You can either wait to become lv 20 and use the sword at its full capacity or use it at lv 15. The second option "degrades" the weapon and scales it to your level. That is a permanent downscale.
But from what I am reading here I am understanding that gear auto scales when you acquire it, not when you use it. So if I get that sword I won't have the two options I listed above, but only one - the sword will automatically scale down for my level.
The only way to prevent a weapon from scaling down to your level is to not get it?
Is the 1st or the 2nd paragraph true? The first one is what I understood from the interview with Damien, the second - from reading a few pages from here
It sounds like the latter. Chances are, you will never know that the game downscaled the gear, it just happens when the item is generated.