Anyone else having trouble with LL1 specifically?

I’ll preface this by saying I’ve played in 2 campaigns and both have started at LL2.

Recently been GMing Dustgrave for a new group, and we’ve voted on Wallflower part 1 as the next campaign, with one of my friends swapping to GM.

I decided to go either Caliban or Stortebeker, playing mostly as striker or striker/controller with focus on short range CQBs. I then tried to make some experiment builds starting from LL0 and taking it one level at a time to LL5.

Each time I get to LL1 I find it incredibly awkward to fit the gear onto the GMS mechs. I end up having to swap talents around and somehow it just doesn’t feel smooth.

For example: Hand cannons synergise with both the Raleigh and the Stortebeker’s abilities well, but slowing down to reload on the Everest feels clunky. Similarly, the level 1 caliban gun feels very out of place as a mid range launcher, since the caliban’s inbuilt gun is a CQB, I’d likely be taking vanguard and combined arms.

Maybe it’s just me being used to playing at LL2+, but I wonder if anyone else has had similar experience with LL1 being weirdly awkward?