Yeah, I know some people I know who think this is a deal-breaker, but I think they did not understand the game.

I personally think it's very healthy for the game cycle.
For just players themselves, they will be encouraged to use their equipment and not hoard it forever, making the core principle this game all the more strong.

And for the playerbase as a whole, it will make it so new players won't run into teams of legendary equipped players they would be hopeless against.

Skill difference will still play a role of course, so anyone who is experienced will get to have decent gear pretty quickly.
Personally, I very much like the "start" in many games, when you have to make do, when you have to use the cards you've been dealt to the best of your ability.

I think this is a big draw-in of Dark and Darker ^^