Slow to start, slower the more you refuse to buy items. Finding friends, unless you log on to Facebook, is an annoying set of steps 1) find a site that has people looking for friends. 2) post your ID. 3) then read through the requests and guess which are on the same platform. Oh copy these to a notepad as you cant paste in the game. So take your time and play at a slow pace, or pay (lots) to move along.
Thyme and Again about Mirrors of Albion