If item level is preventing players who cant do the bare minimum of gear maintenance from entering a duty, then its working as intended.

Don't want to carry a collection of dead players and make a 45 minutes instance last 75 minutes only for those to get all the cards minion and rolls that they will never enjoy.

Also don't want gear item level to disappear as if all duty should be like unreal fights.

Does that makes me an elite asshole? Probably but at this point its on them to do the bare minimum work to function in the game.

They had weeks of early notice to come back and grind to prepare, its on them.