"Easier for players to reach higher gear tiers”

They are not going to fix the mid level crunch. I have g12 and g12+ sitting around collecting dust because I can't get enough guns, cuffs, gold eyes. Adding that stuff to the shop was irrelevant and will continue to be so. I can't use it. I have no reason to buy it.

This is all by design. They have no intention of helping the gear crunch. They are only interested in helping themselves to your bank account and the mid lvl crunch is one way they do it.