I never understood why Sega never did this with PSO2, so many other mmos do it, there needs to be a equipment requirement alongside the level requirement, That way people who just refuse to gear up have to if they want to join in on higher level content.
FFXIV did this to stop people who actively sandbag and make content harder for others. yeah you meet the level requirement, but your gear level is to low so no entry for you till you actively get better.
This would stop all the people who join high end EQ's and other high level quests with un-upgraded gear or gear that doesnt even reach 10 stars. This would stop people who actively make content harder for others.