The -60% penalty and subsequently inflated elemental resistance values are bad for the game.

Resistances feel bad. Like if we're required to have capped resistances just to play the game, what's the point of them in the first place besides being a gear check?

Seems like it would be better to just remove resistances from everything in their current iterations, tune non-physical damage down to reasonable levels, then have resistances as a damage reduction stat just like "X% Additional Physical Damage Reduction" is.

So you could just have "X% Reduced Cold/Fire/Lightning/Chaos Damage Taken." as a possible affix.

That way resistances feel like a bonus instead of an obligation and it makes more sense from a new player standpoint.