GC version is actually worth playing. you can play decent without spending a single $. Ive made IM11 in 1 month, got the best deco ingame (6b gold), got h set (150kk/piece), ps 3 slotted wb (300kk). clothes are filled with 15 dex ornies which is 50kk ea. so another 15x50kk. there was a good event giving some weaps/clothes. weap was around IM+12. atm im collecting ritual weaps to try to make a hg +14 weap. the only bad thing is +12 ref lvl (but once youve made +12, +13 is almost sure). a ritual weap +11 full hard is 250kk max, while a +12 full hard is 3-3,5b. Farming is easy. you can farm superior red gc. with x3 event and drop card you get about 120 yellow jades/run. those sell at npc 800k ea. in superior srs you drop orange jades, those are 5kk ea. about 15/purple run without card and x3 event. you can farm cc dungeon, icy dung for 3 slotted pieces. In a good weekend you can farm 2b+.
For pvp, you need high refined clothes and banners. that pvp is all about crit rate, crit dmg, and crit dodge rate. For those you gotta spend money indeed, but you can also buy with ingame gold. that version is playable.
Its more of a crafting lottery now. HG pants need 15 skins which is 800kk ea. you get materials for skins ingame, but succes rate is small. HG weaps are also crafted, best decos ingame also crafted. you can make anything, only need luck. only thing left in item mall are scales/tears/dragon bloods(scales for clothes)/consumables