Could you clarify if this is a change from how rank was thought of/treated in the past? Specifically in terms of access to the faction leaders and getting missions from them (I'm thinking of things like the hit put on Yizhi, or the sabotage orders from Tenkohime).

To be clear, I don't think there's inherently a problem with characters with IC rank having access to more IC resources and jobs, just so long as those things are distributed fairly and people have the option of opting into them. I liked the suggestion Eski shared on plurk of a post like "looking for someone to do a mission, must be at least 2 star, going down in the next few days" that people can reply to if they fit those specs.