Yeah, but not everyone is good enough to make up for lesser weapons, and that might be part of the problem, and possible why many are deserting. There is not much difference between level 3 and 4, especially with Semi auto’s since they are all semi auto’s, but once you get to level 5 damn near everyone is using fully auto semi auto’s. My BAR1918A2 if far superior to any level 1 or level 2 machine gun and yeah, I can get by with it and my level 3 Thompson if I get stuck into a level 5 match, but that’s not ideal and maybe some players cannot adapt to playing against superior weapons. I suck, truly suck with a bolt action rifle that is not a sniper rifle, and I would be screwed if I had to play my level one bolt action rifles in a level 3 match against semi auto’s and superior SMG’s and LMG’s. So, this is why I always call for there to only be one level separation in matchmaking. I don’t have to worry about my level 1 bolt action rifles because I have some level 1 only units. Of course, they are ALL SMG’s squads with the exception of one Sniper squad. So, I am rarely outgunned, unless I choose to play level 3, then it’s a crap shoot. So, most of the time I skip the middle levels and play my all level 2 squads, or all my level 5 squads.
Well, one reason might be because 4 other people got frustrated or pissed off and deserted and and your team was filled out with bots. 
With no incentive to stay and be someone elses cannon fodder, people are going to bolt. I just played a game a while ago as a German vs Allies, we were getting our asses kicked, so, instead of bolting I jumped in a plane and put on a Blue Angel’s show. 
It gave me some flying practice, and I was no one’s cannon fodder. Of course, same results, about 1 experience point and 2 silver coins for my 10 minutes of wasted time…When the game ended, I saw 4 Marshalls on the other team, two on mine, but the other had deserted along with I think 4 others. People are not going to stay for a couple silver coins and enough experience points I can count on one hand. So, fix that and you might fix desertion.
Maybe the AI does some things better than casual players
If I remember correctly
They are able to build spawn points and use anti-tank weapons
After an update last year, they would automatically stay away from a certain route that was frequently massacred after suffering a certain amount of damage.
i hope the day you all realize how bad the game is.
BOTS are not a feature in FPS games
i just want an HnG replacer 
I don’t like Thompson
You hardly see enemies complaining either
I am more comfortable using the Sten and the Paratrooper submachine gun
Here’s Why You Need to Get Semi-Automatic Weapons Early
They can very well help you improve the close combat and suppression capabilities of non-professional arms.
You just have to keep running forward and shooting
We just want a few players that are smarter than the AI
But the performance of casual players is like that of humans who lost to the Terminator
So when I encounter a large number of casual players, I want to be a deserter
Because no matter how hard I try, it’s very difficult to win.
Those who are negative only hurt their teammates and make excuses for their own incompetence
Even if I win, I will just become a host for those parasites
This is also the biggest reason why this game has low sales and is difficult to become popular.
What is KD?
Kill to death ratio
This is a bad idea. Nothing is wrong with +/- 1. With what youre saying 2 will always have an advantage and 4 will always have an advantage. You should always be able to face someone with better equipment than you unless you’re capped out of course
This is an example of why penalties won’t work. This happens to me at least 10- 20 % of my games. My power goes off on average twice a week. Why should I be penalized for this bullshit? Does anyone actually think DF is going to have some magical way of determining who quit and who lost power or internet and got shit canned from the game?
I do not think that kd matters. High kd means gray zone camping, sniping at the back of the map. Low kd is not necessarily better, but for some people(such as me) it means very aggressive game play, which is beneficial for teams