Everyone starts out new to things. Some pick them up faster than others. Some already have better gear than others. Does better gear help? yea it does. But does handling your class, learning the fights and how to respond on a moments notice matter too? sure does.

Gear will always help, but if you can adapt and become better over time, it matters less, to the point I would bring you to anything if I know you are trying and see improvement. If you fail to adapt, especially to things that dont change (ifrit fight) and die, cause others to die while raising you, waste mp/time on you, then that is what I would call a bad player.