I encounter this every time we do an initial load of the game with my co-op partner as the host. It also occurs if we reload from a quick save after a terribly botched combat. Although we always recover. Some of the things I see that is an obvious bug, visually for me is.
I die:
When I am revived my character doesn't move normally. She doesn't walk but floats with her arms stretched our like a scare crow. Often she has no head.
My co-op partners have no armor on or weapons.
Game killer and requires a reload from a manual save are abilities at zero and physical stats are set to 5.
As to balance, my co-op partner and I, feel the whole balance system has changed and the boss fights are far too easy.