I get +14 skill ranks on my Roderick, from equipment, and +9 skill ranks on my Scarlet from equipment.
Ok....except none of my equipment above level 8 has any of the skills that aid the skills I'm using....again, I've covered this over and over and fucking over again. Gear bonuses are not a valid defense of this worthless leveling system because gear drops are unreliable at the very best.
tone down difficulty if the game is too hard for you. i played on easy an it was a blast. never had an issue.
btw: DO NOT TOUCH easy difficulty, larian! perfect as it is

(i dont care for other difficulty setting, though

)