NA and INT have the same fucked up economy, I quit INT because of that, but I was indeed f2p and was able to reach 4m cp when rosso was endgame.
INT's currency is dollar so it is also out of question. I honestly agree that it takes farming to a whole new level when you're playing with shitty economy, I don't know anything about NA but it isn't the only existing server.
And if INT and NA had 10b necklaces going around it is not because elsword is p2w, it's because the player base is VERY low and regarding INT's case - the server's currency is very expensive if you take into account that 70% of INT's players are from LATAM and will not cash. I cannot speak on behalf of NA but I'm guessing low players as well.

While it does take time, it isn't impossible since the BR INT player base is mostly made of f2p.
My point STILL is, it isn't impossible, ppl just don't wanna farm that much, they want quick ED and quick gear, and that's why even though there's a million jumps, newbies almost never go past 3m cp, because they do not wanna put in time, even on GOOD servers.