Well, the solution to the gear issue is simple:
In ranked PvP, gear is nullified and stats forced to a set value. Thus, the influence of gear is eliminated, leaving only skill, lag, job differences, chance and synergy effects as determinants for the match outcome.

Quote Originally Posted by Petite View Post
Not only that, ranked modes are just that: ranked. They should be treated with more seriousness than casual modes.
Can't help snickering at the notion every time. Slapping the "Ranked" tag on the mode is going to make people treat it like a serious competition as much as slapping the "Expert" tag onto a roulette is going to make people treat it like content that requires profound knowledge and high expertise. That is, not at all, because it's neither serious nor expert content. It's solo queue, the same mode duty finder is infamous for. Pugs. The tool that exists to trade quality for quantity to cater to casual demands of faster queues. It's a casual mode by nature. Big surprise, people are treating it as such! What an outrage. I wonder if people will ever lose their delusions about this...