this
http://terraria.gamepedia.com/Player_stats
is also stats in every sense of the word. stats is just a way to show how much health you have. how much dmg so on so forth, but specific gear should give specific stats to specify what you are, i dont want a warrior that mediocre both at fighting and casting spells, but rather a warrior that can hit hard or take a beating and then be absolutely worthless with magic.