My opinion:
Remove Ladder entirely and replace it with a separate function that doesn’t restrict items to it and also resets once every 3-6 months, doing the same thing as Ladder and moving the characters to the non (insert new mechanic name here) so that people can still enjoy the fresh economy and enjoy the items across both types of play.
Since we’re likely to not get new content any time soon, this will be the freshest and most player friendly option.
I will remind everyone that I am a pro-no changes advocate but this is merely a suggestion to meet in the middle with people who want change.