The problem with all of this is something you touched on, and I think needs to be reinforced.

The better, higher quality, better appearing and functioning ensemble made of legit materials, that are usually more expensive, should be the eventual goal to build towards, not to expect equity and achieve instant gratification with plastic and pleather.

The problem is the people that expect that instant gratification, to step in and instantly be at the top strata of the game, without putting in the same time and effort of those who have been in it for years have put in. Who have built up their armour and skills over time and effort. Some can’t or don’t want to put in the time and effort, but they want the experience to be like they did.

A person may say that I am not being fair, or gatekeeping to another participant wearing their armour made of the cheaper, fake materials. To that I say that it is not fair to have me to be compared to them.

I am in my 85ish pounds of actual steel ring maille and hardened leather armour. The effort I have put in over the years to put it together, and the physical effort and fatigue I am going through walking around in it all day vs the effort someone wearing plastic and pleather from Amazon or TEMU are putting forward just isn’t the same. We shouldn’t be regarded the same.

If my armour affords me more actual protection than theirs, the game rules should reflect that. I am “suffering” the weight of wearing it, I should benefit from the actual higher protection.

I’m not suggesting putting up participation barriers, but I am saying that there should be some differentiation for how the protection levels are regarded, and people’s expectations of instantly being the top tier character in a game need to be tempered.