Have you people never played a Soul Calibur game? This gear system
has already been done. Guess what? The gear boosts will
only affect casual players. If the idea of some 12 year old with his mom's credit card beating you online is really giving you night sweats, I really don't know what to tell you, other than you will absolutely be able to enjoy the game and never have to experience the boost system. Consider gear boosts in I2 the equivalent of that MKX mode no one ever played, where you can get hit by random effects and Cyrax bombs and shit. You will never have to experience it if you don't want to.
For anyone taking the game seriously, it's just a bonus way to make your character look cool. And guess what, I'm fucking
glad they gave a pay-to-unlock option; I'm a grown-ass man who already shouldn't be playing so many video games, and I
certainly don't have the time or patience to grind that shit out.
So cool your jets, take a deep breath, and know that everything will be ok.