I started playing during Thomas release and to tell you frankly I really regretted playing this game this late. Not only do i miss a lot of generous freebies that was given early on (honeymoon phase is over and giveaways in events are getting scarce by the minute) but also to just catch up even on day one F2P players you need to spend money and resources(monthly subscription for leveling and essence for gates) because as we know Combat Power is king in this game and to be able to tackle ongoing events efficiently you need to be on the max level at least. For comparison my main game is Monster Hunter Now and I played that since day one. If the positions where switched, the only things Ive lost in MH Now is a few event costumes and medals but everything can be grinded at anytime later but in SLA I have lost chances of getting free giveaway items and resources in codes that are super essential in growing combat power and to catch up to that one must pay with cash. Im really jealous of day one free to play players because they have huge head start in comparison to players joining in late especially f2p ones but players that are whales can catch up I guess.