Is "pay to not play the game" not more suitable for horizontal progression?
A lot of MMORPG gives you the possibility (later on) to catch up by the newest contest by a level boost. I have never considered that P2W. Besides that, I have not that many hours to spend on gaming as the younger generation for example, so if there will be possibilities to use that sort of conveniences to keep on par over time with friends and/or guildmates.
I can understand that having services which can give you advantages at the start of the life cycle is not smart. But later on I do hope there are possibilities, if not for me, then at least stuff that can encourage new players to jump in the game.