I'm not affiliated with the makers of cyanobot, but how can buying an item be a ripoff? they must love you at walmart or wherever you go shopping lol.
Archlord is free to play, however most people would agree that you have to pay to play well (cc items etc), for sure CM are not running it out of the goodness of their hearts and for the warm fuzzy feeling they get seeing us enjoying ourselves.
$25 is not a fortune, and with the support i've had from the cyanobot guys fixing a few bugs etc i'd say it was well worth it.
Like most things in life, you get what you pay for