I will say that people's opinions on their gear have grown a lot since nexus, making the more "item hungry" ideals, especially at the beginning of the system.
Back when it was simple how much iron you had to make gear, no one really cared if they lost a set.
Lower barrier to entry is a good idea, but the system is too messed up for a quick fix. A system change would probably need to coincide with an item wipe, so next map at the earliest.