It's just so profoundly unfun to go back to a game and find that you're less powerful. If you wanted to reach some target difficulty you have in your head, it's on you for being so far away with it on launch.
You're acting like you know best but you didn't know your armour stats didn't work whatsoever. How much play testing did you do? Keep your weird paternalism to yourself and actually listen to the people playing your game.
Sorry to hear that, but if you came to helldiver for a power-trip you came to the wrong place. It's a meat grinder. It doesn't matter if you're level 1 or 50, you should struggle on the higher difficulties.