A few little rule changes (2e AD&D)

[IfanYFfwl]

I'm curious. What do you consider to be "high level"?

Because an elven Mage, using level limits by RAW, caps off at 15th level. And if this same elven Mage has an 18 INT, and the optional rules of exceeding level limits is used, caps off at 18th level...

Either way, that's fairly high level if you ask me!

YMMV and all of that of course...

Well, quite. In our 14th level game, your elven mage is keeping up perfectly well with the human fighter. Meanwhile, my halfling cleric of Yondalla is stuck forevermore at a meager 9th level, good for little more than comic relief in a fight (exaggeration, but you get what I mean). And what has been achieved by enforcing these limits, besides silencing the offended howls of traditionalists? Can you say that the game is better because I made a human cleric to avoid the level limit, rather than the halfling cleric I wanted to make?

Why were the level limits raised greatly in 2e, and then dropped forever after that? Does anyone miss them?