Runes lvl13 x6 and Shells will kill you in 1 hit
this is the result of players having a full II 110% - 115% gearset with III parts in it from raids
- not of runes
since II and III parts give a stamine and vigor bonus - the most powerful stats - they change battledynamic a lot
put a full II 110% - 115% gearset with III parts - player to level 8 runes and he will cut through opponents like a hot knife through butter aswell
however put an average geared ~100% I gear player to full itemshop + lv 13 runes and he will has slightly improved performance but nothing more
now let the poorly geared full itemshop battle with a fully geared poor itemshopped player and 10 of 10 times the fully geared one will win in a superior way
i will never forget when i actually took all the effort to "gear up" properly... again... its like a hot knife vs butter
Can the game be played completely f2p or with low investment now?
definitely yes but as in all stateful games the more you play / farm the stronger you get and the easier things become
if you expect to be equal to a 10 year playing veteran after 2 months think again. wont happen...
reaching what people refer to as "full cashshop" and level 9 runes as a free player (would be level 10 by now i guess) i am along with others like me the proof you can thrive even a a non-donator - and there are far more active players than me...
only things i "lack" are orange / teal / yellow 2nd earringslot which i just dont felt like getting and combatvehicles i would not use anyways (only using lightning, mirage and titan)
rather save up my gold in case there will come some actually useful new itemshop thing one day
i also do not waste gold on temporary items except the one carnifex thing
What classes are best for pve now and best for pvp? Are there still people actively raiding and does pvp pop often? I know i should probably use my old characters, but its been so long that i dont know how to play them anymore, so Id rather start fresh. Also are there active guilds?
both sides are "active" on free server (means you see players, can trade, people ask for group activities, auctions are full and so on), league has more players
for PVE every class is alright - go to attack aspect and go for high bloodlust (heal from damage) and leveling is a breeze
dedicated veterans can level from 0 to 100 within 2 or 3 days (some might even in 1)
for PVP currently sorcerer seems to be the most potent class but i have seen well doing scounts and psis aswell
paladin and warrior is in the middle and healing and supportclasses seem to do not so well at the moment
demonolog is not rewarding enough for the complex way of playing in regular PVP (battleground). in open world pvp it is king due to selfheal and permanent invisibility
same as healing classes have a distinct advantage in open world PVP
i strongly recommend to overthink starting a new char if you already have one. just go by the recommended skills with the small yellow stars and you will be OK. you can still make a reincarnation later at max level. it will share the itemshop-boni of the progenitor
pvp pops regularly als always on free server
as for guild ask in chat for 20% exp guild - this will speed up things!