I kind of know that this is limited to RPG's (given those are the only types of games I conceptualize), but, as the title says, I see a lot more uses for stat/skill scaling than just damage(for weapons)/defense(armor).

The example I came up with is for a game that is a far future project.

Namely, it is that stat and skill scaling affect maintenance and support of the equipment in question. For example, if you have a character with a level 5 rating in the assault rifles skill performing repairs on a rifle and another with a level 2 rating performing maintenance on the same weapon, the former character can repair more of the weapon and takes less time to do so (repair in that game was an automatic process that took a predetermined amount of time).

Has anyone else ever theorized what other inventive uses equipment stat/skill scaling could be incorporated into?