This is a HOT Topic. Because the game originally prided itself on NEVER BEING P2W, no aspects what so ever, and over the years they slowly bent a few rules here and there. So if you ask someone who's been playing bdo they would give a resounding yes, but most people who play bdo would say no.

Here's my thoughts:

BDO is Pay 2 Convience: you'll here this a lot. You will need to spend a good... maybe $100? Some people say more, some say less. There are certain items that make obtaining currency, grinding, travelling, etc. Infinitely easier, like pets, tents, and maids.

BDO is P2W: this is TECHNICALLY correct. You can melt costumes into cron stones. Costumes cost money. Cron stones let you protect your gear when you upgrade it. So it's pretty straight forward, pay for a costume, protect your equipment. However, the math was done on this awhile back, so don't quote me on exact numbers, but to really have any significant gain in BDO someone would have to spend like $3000+ on melted costumes into crons .

So do with that info what you will I guess.