Why new players dont stick to the mod?

[ManWeird]

Here is the thing, out of 5 of my friends that started playing this mod this month I was the only one that didn't quit, as I managed to reach tier 4. I'm asking myself the question, why would this happen? No, this isn't a thread to say "make the mod easier", because I clearly enjoyed it. I feel like this happens because new players are looked down upon. Today I had an incident where I was called a hindrance to the team because I didn't bring appropriate gear on a ragnarok game, therefore I was a leecher. I get that my gear is probably very bad and I'm not the most desired teammate for that reason, but ragnarok games have a level cap that I clear. I never knew that I also had to bring amazing gear. If I'm not allowed to play on ragnarok games yet, because of my gear, please put it in the rules so I know that I'm not doing anything wrong. But this is what I think causes new players to quit, the way that they (the new players) are basically separated or looked down upon from the veterans, which is clearly the bigger and more active part of the community, either because they are not allowed to play with the rest of the players at the higher tier games such as hard and ragnarok, or the way the feel like they are not really helping when they eventually get to that level, because their gear still isn't good. I will not not state any names as I don't feel like their actions were intentional. I just think there should be a way to bridge the gap between new players and veterans so the community can grow larger.