It's not a strategy game. If you have no money to throw, it would take at least 1-2 years to reach a decent level (a level where you can kill higher bosses on your own without help from paid players), given you waste many hours daily. You would also struggle with lag in game and advertisements every now and then. Support helps only paid players for any issues, and not others. I am not a paid player. Recently I lost great stuff because of issue in the game. Eric from support declined to help.