Hello @Wissp and welcome! I hear you are starting a fresh new character and attempting to be free to play, I appreciate the spirit! I have many videos on youtube that are geared toward new / returning players, so you may be able to find some helpful information there!
Speaking of which, it seems NCWEST staff / GM's do not have a strong community presence both in game, and out of game (via live streams, social media interactions etc). I challenge you, along with other NCWEST staff, to start engaging more with the community, not only on the forums, but in game, out of game, and just in general. This game unfortunately does not have the best "PR" associated with it, and there is a lot of negativity / toxicity in the community that i think turns new players away. I personally feel if the GM's became more transparent / involved with the community, that could potentially help increase community perception of the game. A few recommendations or examples I would love to suggest would be hosting in game community events (such as equalized PVP tournaments, hide and seek events etc), reaching out to the content creators of the game and trying to bridge the gap there (maybe join some live streams for Q&A, start a podcast or something like that for the community to listen to and get a glimpse into whats to come in L2's future), and logging in to the game (on your GM character) on a fairly regular / frequent basis to show the community that the staff is active and involved.
Welcome again, and if some guy named H0RR0R ever PK's / griefs you in game (he only picks on new / low level players), please feel free to message BoBandy and I will gladly come and take care of that problem for you!