It does depends a bit on how they made the change.
If they just nerfed the rate that Strangers appear in low level bounties, then, yes, it’s really bad. Especially for players who aren’t paying and thus rely on grinding out 18 tasks per mercenary to get the free packs.
On the other hand, if they increased the appearance rate of Strangers the closer you get to level-appropriate bounties, then it might end up being a neutral change, or at least a less negative one.