I mean, at first sure. It's the same easy to use and aion classic kinah use as the original P2W release, but instead of constantly buying kinah from goldfarmers, now you can purchase it through NCSOFT. So if you pay 15 and another person pays 500, they're likely to have complete coin gear leveling and +15 with the most efficient manastones. You will still be able to win however everyone will be playing with PvP gear. It all depends on what class you're in as well as how you play. This is especially true when you are playing with other experienced players.

While there are some p2w players however, the majority of whales from Aion don't know how to spend money. They are just spending too much and do not get any benefit. Aion is unique in that you can't win just by spending money. You must spend wisely.

You may disagree. You have to be able work hard if you intend to play against experienced players. But if all you want is to feel the thrill of progression and having fun with other skilled players, the current pve in NA classic is pretty good.

I am a veteran of first Aion and would love to get to know new players. I am a fan of the rifting system that is in this game and I like pvp much better than warmode in Warcraft. It's true that this game can be very grindy but it's been drastically reduced from when the game originally became available. Don't let this put you off. A great deal of fun pvp happens before you hit 50! I'm not a fast leveler myself, and while the race to best gear and skills is a big thing, I'm enjoying the ride all the way. Take a trial for a month. I'd say that $15 per month is more than worth it. You are also able to invest money playing the game, however these are not "if this isn't a possibility you shouldn't be bothering'.

It depends on how ok you're doing with grinding. I'm assuming you'll be fine playing WoW Classic. I was a fan of Aion when I played in 2009 and when they added classic, I'm all over it. The way to think about it is more of a game you purchase and euro aion classic buy kinah more of an monthly mmo you can have as a monthly payment to. Don't buy the daeva pass.