Much like the "ranking equipment" section of QHCF, but located in text form on the MUD with helpfiles for the areas they're located in. This would encourage new players to learn how to gear themselves at a level where they can gather gear that will last them for a while and at the same time encourage knowledge area.

I don't see this giving any advantage as those who are not new players already know the information. It's a bit OOC, but giving a list of items like below would help a lot:

wrist: A dwarf named Tarus has a magical bracer that will aid you in landing stronger and more accurate blows. He can be found near the docks of Galadon. *here you can have multiple items in the same description, so you can have another for a mana/hp type wrist item for more magey classes*

Make the players contribute here so you're not doing a bunch of descriptions. Maybe give two to three options (all from players or your suggestions, but only things that they can obtain themselves, not dropped items that *might* be on the ground).