This change removes the pay-to-win aspect which players feared, though it will create an ecosystem where new players are not equipped to take on veterans, who will have more refined skills and better equipment.
The game is already like this though. I recently bought the game when it was massively discounted and multiplayer is horribly unbalanced for new players. I shot a guy in the head 5 times to do like 50 damage and he then proceeded to one hit me with the exact same gun... :\