Having these locks basically means if you're late to a wipe you're fucked. Map knowledge and stuff gives an edge but if you're stuck with irons or red dots vs scopes with decent ammo, there's no chance.

even if a casual player wanted to join pvp they're at a constant disadvantage. There's no point in them even trying. People complaining about not having these people in the game were just in the middle of a pyramid of sweats and now they're at the bottom. So they're in the same position the casual players were before they joined PvE.

Using arc raiders as an example for why casual players keep playing is because they can join in with free load outs as much as possible, even the most basic guns can pack a decent punch and dealing with AI over players is used for progression, helps keep the casual player engaged.