So glad I haven't spent any money on this game. What's the point? It takes away the reason to play.
I've earned all my characters, I've put time and effort into them. I don't care about the meta, I care about my characters.
When I first started I couldn't wait to unlock Maul cause he's one of my favorites. He was my first Zeta, first G12, first to have my best mods. I didn't care about having the best toons, I cared about making the character that I like the best. Soon after I unlocked Vader, then Nihilus dropped and my heart soared. "A Kotor character?! I gotta have my childhood nemesis!" Then Sion came out and I met him with the same reaction. I eventually picked up Palpatine because his leadership ability works best but I've never risen above 200 (gotten below?). I've got Treya yet to get but you can bet that when I do Palpatine will get the boot. I know I'll never be the best because there will always be people who put in more work or pay to win, and I'm ok with that. Those that put in more work deserve to be better. Those that put in more money deserve to learn from their mistakes.
I'm kinda rambling so I'll get to my point: buying the newest toon puts you ahead for a time but working for what you want provides the satisfaction of knowing you got where you are because of what you've accomplished.
Being free to play does not put those players at a disadvantage, it liberates them to play how they want. Paying limits how you can play and ultimately creates resentment when being #1 becomes too costly.