It is a fact that the game has never been more affordable to play than it is now ($3 dollars now buys more in-game than $15 was able to at anytime prior).
This is even more apparent now that Portulus dropped prices on almost all of its Treasure Aisle (Item Mall/Cash Shop) content. Everything from TA-only writs to the TA-based econ structures received drastic price reductions.
If you were on the fence about playing this, on the grounds that it was a "Pay-to-Win" game... this just kneecapped that argument. If you can't afford the $3 to buy yourself a month or two of solid gameplay, then you still can truly play for free and bide your time the old-fashioned way. Reasonable either way you look at it.