Attribute selection and the perks that come with them come to mind.

Well sorry to say that in this game, you are a criminal that would have died on a crucifix if a barbarian didn’t pity you and pull you down.

Oh there are plenty of armors and weapon combinations that will give you a specialized and look if skins are what you are talking about.

I see what you are trying to do. You want a meatier leveling tree that creates a plethora of different types of end game players. Yeah, I’m going to just go and say that it’s not going to happen simply because of the term balance. You want to introduce more variables into the game that will most likely affect the very balance of the game. This is important in that the game is primarily a social one with others playing. You want a game where you stand apart from others and that is the issue. You can’t reasonably ask the game to make you special from all others playing. It doesn’t work that way.