Most characters can only get to gear lvl 7 with the current level cap. A very select few can reach lvl 8.
You should try to gear at least the characters you use in arena to that level.
There is quite a jump in effort/energy needed for up to gear lvl 6 and 6->7.
There is also significant differences between characters for how many and difficult items they need for that last level. I think it's not uncommon to need at least 1 000 energy spent on farming gear to get from gear lvl 6 to 7 on one character.
I'm currently lvl 58 and have 8 characters at gear lvl 7. This might be more difficult to achieve if more of your total experience comes from daily achievements and less from spent energy on missions (as I used a significant amount of refills during my ~4 weeks played).
I'm currently lvl 43 and have about 7-8 characters at GL 4 so I have got a long ways to go before I get to that point in the game but I appreciate all of your input.
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You should try to gear at least the characters you use in arena to that level.
There is also significant differences between characters for how many and difficult items they need for that last level. I think it's not uncommon to need at least 1 000 energy spent on farming gear to get from gear lvl 6 to 7 on one character.
I'm currently lvl 58 and have 8 characters at gear lvl 7. This might be more difficult to achieve if more of your total experience comes from daily achievements and less from spent energy on missions (as I used a significant amount of refills during my ~4 weeks played).