Some people are going to race to the max regardless because they've been trained to do that over the past 15 years.
What you can do is make your skills matter as much or more than the level itself. I'm not advocating for a skill based system over class based, but I mean the skills within that class. If weapon and armor skills are formulated to have more of an impact on your ability to deal and take damage than your level alone, you simply slow down the skill increases. Someone who power levels or takes the fastest XP growth route will be lagging behind in skills and be noticeably weaker. As far as we know, this is the path that Pantheon is going to take.
As for the 5% bonus of Skars in your example, I would like to see static figures. Say the Skar received an addition 10HP per level, rather than a total % greater, to me that would be much easier to balance for long term, but still give them an advantage in that area.
As for percentage-based increases in general, I've said many times here that I am against ability/skill/damage increases that add a percentage. While it may be easy to design, what you are not factoring in is the mudflation that happens to gear, which would cause greater than anticipated totals to those percentage-based increases. A level 50 character 6 months after release and a level 50 character 6 years after release are going to look vastly different in terms of what equipment they have because of this. That means any abilities/bonuses that add percentages are going to be much higher which means the game will actually become easier over time because you get more out of that formulas. Maybe that is the intention, but IMO it shouldn't be.
The only way to balance Dwarf and Skar HP to be equal is if the normal gain is always 20hp per stamina.
Dwarf - 10 sta - 21hp per = 210hp
Skar - 10 sta - 20hp per + 5% = 210hp
Dwarf - 500 sta - 21hp per = 10,500hp
Skar - 500 sta - 20hp per + 5% = 10,500hp
If you ever get less than 20hp per stamina then the Dwarf will gain the Advantage.
If you ever get more than 20hp per stamina then the Skar wiill gain the Advantage.
It also doesn't matter the source of the stamina; Gear or Levels.
You also have to consider that the Skar bonus will work on HP gained from sources other than Stamina. For example buffs that grant HP directly. Or a Helm with +100hp will give the dwarf only 100hp but the Skar will gain +110hp.
So maybe they want the Dwarf to have the advantage from stamina, but this is balanced by the fact that the Skar will gain the advantage from +hp items and buffs.
We will need to wait and see if there is more stamina on gear or more flat +hp.
Raidil said: Yes the skar why I brought that up was simple the dwarfs get an extra 1 point of hp per sta and they get 5% so depend how stuff is done the dwarf may have a advantage on HP depending on have easy sta is to come bye and what not I don't that they gain a % max but 5% may not be much at all. Depends on how stats grow and effect the toon.