If you like PvP and tradeskills, ArcheAge is it. If you want your hand held and a fully fleshed out storyline, this isn't it. The main story ends half way through leveling and the other quests are more there to teach you the game. This is a PvP sandbox (Trion is calling it a sand-park). Once you hit 30, almost every zone you move through is in a constant state of flux, moving from open world PvP to peace. Even your own faction can flip on you and attack you in these zones with the push of a button. If you want top end gear you craft it or buy it from a crafter. There are no raids and a limited number of dungeons.
VIX was crap, and Square should have been flogged for their **** **** (seriously?) poor attempt to fix it with XIV:ARR.
ArcheAge is free. There is not a single item in the cash shop that is required, aside from the auction house license if you want to buy and sell as a free player. If you want to get into the crafting game and own land and a house then you need to subscribe. You get a mount around 10 and a glider around 15, which takes an hour or two. If you want to own a ship you can purchase one with Gilda stars, which are earned by doing the main story quest and by running trade packs to the enemy faction island (Think Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor), which you can get to by ship (you have to make the trip, it's not a loading screen). Just watch out for pirates (Players that have left their own faction to become pirates), and opposing faction players, as they can board your ship and attack, use their cannons, or harpoon your ship and drag you around. Then there's the Kraken, which is like a world boss.