I have not spent any of my own money to progress my character or get an advantage in any kind of way. I have had friends or guildies gift me NX codes for birthdays and holidays. Even when I insist they dont have to haha
dexless.com/threads/black-friday-2023-sales-maplestory.3239/ Here's the link to the sale. It was done through a ticket system and if you are playing reg server you can buy the ticket in auction house for meso. Hope this answers your question!