Maybe we need to only have 1 or two attributes you can go to 10 on, so that people actually have to decide if they want to suck at guns in order to craft the best stuff.
I would love for you to try this. I know that the idea itself is probably not a very popular one to even mention. But, I think once people tried a specialization like this (if done right) where the top tiers of everything cannot be had by one single character - and say only 2 or 3 unique max tiers per character build class would make the game much more repayable and you wouldn't be so darn OP so quickly.
I know it takes time - but I think it's worth a try. You could even just spit-ball an internal proof of concept and see how it plays out.
If it were me - I would love to try a mixture of various class types such as Tank, Stealth, Slayer, Miner, Carpenter, etc etc
Then you give different perk paths for each of them. The same overall perks - but a different path and gate. So a Stealth character would maybe not be able to get a forge until i dunno let's say level 40 - but a Builder could get one on Level 10. The Stealth could get perks earlier like the Hidden Strike, possibly a archery or knife perk or some Agility perks than the builder.
The max tiers could then be used for specialization. A Tank character might be able to max out the health or armor perks to the max tier but a Stealth character couldn't.
By doing this you create different gate levels for different characters. If someone wants to play a particular way - they can pick that class and get 'there' faster. This still allows balance and in my opinion is even easier to balance and it also provides much more replay value.
Just try something like that..even if it's on paper or in your head..just think about it. Lots more options and could make the game much more deep and fun.