Is loot relative to your agents level or to the zone you're in?

So I'm now level 10 and I'm still exploring the first few zones, and I'm wondering if the loot that I'm picking up is being rolled for my character level or for the level of the zone that I'm currently in.

Solution 1:

I've been to every safehouse on the map (outside of the dark zone) as a level 10 and can tell you that loot is generally at around your level. At level 10, you can do ok against a single level 17 at most. Any more than that, you'll want to be on higher ground. And so far, none of them that I've killed gave me loot higher than my current level.

When outside of the dark zone, it is at around your level. I haven't had many opportunities to kill higher level enemies but they were always either at or a couple of levels above mine.

When inside of the dark zone, the item level is still at around your level but the rank is appropriate for the area you are in. So in DZ06, you'll I've found level 10 items at rank 30. Shops in the dark zone has an inventory to match and higher.