I'm glad I've always looked down on people who spend money to buy shit in games. If something is only available by paying for it, anyone that I notice showing one off in game gets a "tool" label rather than "cool".

Which is kind funny because if the game was a bit less abusive and had a way to get that item without paying, that negative reaction wouldn't be so strong because it would be ambiguous. Did this person play the game and get rewarded with that item or did they just throw money at it and get handed it? Can't be sure, so anyone that has it isn't automatically a tool.

And progression MTX are even dumber. It's like paying money so you don't have to play the game.

Though the overall quality of the game can play a role, plus whether the items are purely cosmetic vs give in game benefits (aka P2W). If the game is amazing, having some microtransactions doesn't bother me. Like when I pirated games, I had a threshold where if a game was better than that threshold, I'd buy a copy of the game because I wanted the devs to have money. Some MTX are like that, basically a tip jar for a great game.

But if the game isn't great, it's more like seeing an expectation to tip when you don't think a tip is warranted.