Agreed, on both points.
I think items should be "unique" or "legendary" by virtue of simply being magical, but of course, that really depends on the setting. Eternity doesn't exactly sound like a "magic is rare and mysterious" world so I would understand if the game had a lot of magical items. Just my preference.
Outside of a clearly loot-driven RPG like Diablo, I don't necessarily want to have to kill/farm bosses for the best loot. A big scary dragon... is exceedingly unlikely to poop out a Radiant Sword of Buttkicking upon its death. But a legendary warlord's sword? Okay. They should be obtained in ways that make sense. e.g., I would be happy undertaking a difficult quest to craft a truly epic item from something pulled off of a boss's body, like in the Witcher.
