Ive been playing since 2015. Im in a HAAT guild and we get 30 stars in TB. I have chaze and thrawn at 7*. I have the Chimeara at 5*. I hover around 100 in arena but have gotten up to 26. I have never spent a dime. Obviously i could be further along if I spent money, but I’m very satisfied with where I am. Even though i wasn’t able to get CLS, i’ve never felt that the game was unfair towards ftp members like myself. If anything, the game is worse for ptp members who get squeezed.
TL;DR: progress requires investing time or money