01. The Pack Tiers — What You Actually Paid For
All three tiers granted the identical five-day head start: Standard ($24.99), Deluxe ($49.99) and Ultimate ($99.99) differ only in cosmetics, titles and the starter chest. Everything includes a 30-day Special Quai/X Membership — and that is the real economy payload: Membership unlocks the Market and boosted dungeon rewards from your first hour, while free players who arrive October 5 start locked out of trading. Each Founder's Pack also includes a Daeva's Campaign Supply Chest; higher tiers add the Daeva's Styling Chest, the Moonlit Aria armor skin, the Black Dragon pet and the Blazing Sun wings.
- Open your starter chest(s) early — they contain consumables that accelerate the first 20 levels
- Membership timer runs from activation: don't let Market access sit idle for days 1-2
- Ultimate buyers: the Styling Chest + the 1-hour Twitch Drops customization voucher = free restyle strategy (rush a preset at creation, restyle later for free)
02. Servers: Early Access vs Launch
NC opened dedicated Early Access Servers for pack holders on September 30, and a second wave of Launch Servers when free-to-play starts October 5. Non-buyers can still enter an Early Access server if space is available. Early-access and launch-server players can add each other and use cross-server queues for dungeons and PvP after launch — but Abyss faction PvP matchmaking runs between Early Access servers only during the head start. Two markets exist: the Server Market (Kina trading inside your own server) is live during Early Access; the Cross-Server Market (regional trade) opens only at the October 5 release. NC has committed to a Server Transfer Service but has not detailed it — so if landing with a specific group matters, coordinate your server choice now.
03. The 5-Day Plan
The head start is only worth what you convert it into. Prioritize story and leveling progress, system unlocks (Stigma, first dungeons) and market income while your Membership is live. Free-to-play players flood in on October 5 — everything you banked before that (levels, gear pity, market inventory, Abyss rank) is your permanent lead.
- Day 1: pre-downloaded client, character first preset → in fast; pick your server with your group; finish your class's class quest; start the campaign story
- Days 2–3: push levels hard; unlock Stigma around the mid-20s; do your first group dungeon when the gear score gate opens; sell what the Server Market wants — day-1 economy is thin, consumables and popular mats move fastest
- Days 4–5: reach the level cap; push your core set through the safe +0→+10 enhancement zone; stash market inventory (crafting mats, enhancement stones) for October 5, when the flood of new players spikes demand and prices
04. Use Your Editor While You Grind
While your head-start character levels up, plan the gear transitions here before you spend a single Kinah: open the Build Editor, equip the pieces you farmed and compare total stats against the starter builds per class. When free-to-play arrives on October 5, a saved plan beats guessing in the gear screen.