I picked up a Apprentice Sparking today and realized it was strictly better than Novice Sparking. Although this isn't a big difference I'd hate to see it be the case that higher level items are specifically made to outclass lower level ones. I don't mind items developing more as they get higher in level (more complex abilities, more trade-offs between really good with really bad, etc.) but I'm not a fan of having strictly better items like these.
This is the case for almost all racial/class items Floyd. However some of the more powerful stuff will require you to use power tokens so you have to balance your build.