Mabinogi
Casual/Newbie Friendly:
PvM: Somewhat, read on
PvP: In The North American/International version, there is currently only one PvP zone and I personally haven't gone there.
What makes Mabinogi special:
*Its not quite as grindy as other MMOs. Mind you that you can grind, but it isn't as needed.
*Lots of non combat related stuff to do. You can cook, fish, compose music with a simple midi 'esque interface(not terrible familiar with it myself though), tailor clothing, weave cloth, Blacksmith, and other stuff. Some of these activities have been done in other MMOs though, and the NA/International version is only on what would be considered Version 2.2(The korean version is on 8.5 I think).
*Can create a character as young as 10 and as old as 17. Age factors into how your stats go up when you level. You also receive a stat and ability point(what is needed to increase skill levels) boost every saturday as your character ages 1 year then. You CANNOT die from old age. You can also be reborn to a younger age and carry over learned skills and resulting stat bonuses from said skills.
*While their current AI is somewhat flawed, you can get a pet to help you in combat/guard your personal shop/act as extra inventory.
*Combat requires more than hitting auto attack and occasionally using a skill or a potion. You have to pay attention as to when to use the Defend skill for an example. If the monster is going for a normal attack, you'll block it and take much less damage and it will be stunned long enough to attack back. But if it went and used the Smash skill and you were still defending, your getting hit. Its a bit rough to put into words(This is why I say PvM is somewhat newbie friendly, if you don't pay attention to what is taught to you in the first few quests, you might find the combat rough) .
*Personal Shops require one of the premium services and even then you can only set one up in certain areas, so while there will be areas with lots of people with shops up, they aren't everywhere like in RO.
*Game is free to play, although there are 4 premium services that can be purchased for 1-30 days. They are:
Nao's Service gets you up to 3 revive on the spot with minimum EXP penalty plus all your equipped gear gets blessed's a game day. If you have less than 3, you get an extra one at 6am each game day. You also get a birthday present every saturday from Nao, the games mascot. The presents are always accessories that add to defense. You get a special one on your 20th in game birthday.
Extra Storage is pretty much as it says. You get twice the storage space, plus you can access the storage of any other characters you have on that account, It also allows you access to various sized bags. These bags allow you to set up a personal shop if you purchase a Merchant license from the bank of wherever you are. While you have you shop up, you can change prices and add/remove stuff on the fly. If you have a pet guarding your shop, you can still do so while away from it.
Advanced Play nets you an item from the cash shop every real life day. You can either pick from the predetermined item of the day or select a random one. This is the only way to get certain items like Skill Reset Pills(bumps a skill down 1 level, can't go lower than rank F), Remote Coupons(access the bank or healer of the town you are closest to to buy healing supplies or access storage on the fly)
Fantasy Life Club is all 3 of these for half the price of buying all three separately.
Things that aren't so great about Mabinogi:
*Crafting skills like Tailoring, Potion Making and especially Blacksmithing take a LONG time to level up and require in game money to do so for some materials.
*If you want more than one character on your account, you have to buy a character card. They cost 7900 NX (roughly $7.90) for a basic card with has the most limited options for making a new character, and 9500 NX (roughly $9.50) for a premium card, which has lots of options. These options are just your appearance though. If its a new account, you get a single free card which is just a basic card.
*Rebirthing uses the same cards as making a new guy. However, you have to wait at least 3 weeks between rebirths, so unless you do it regularly, its not that bad.
*The only way to get another free card is to have NO characters on your account, so unless you only have one guy, remaking isn't a very viable option like it is on other games.
*Once your character is 26 or older, you stop gaining stats on level up and you stop gaining AP for aging. You still get 1 AP for leveling up and you still get stats for leveling skills or from eating certain foods.
*Pets cost real money. Unlike from what I read about Maple Story though, where pets last 90 days, once you buy a pet, its yours for good.
*If you enjoy story, then you currently HAVE to subscribe to one of the premium services to do story related quests. The game is totally playable without it, but this still might be an issue to some. I say currently as it could change in the future, but I dunno.
*Currently only North America and the Oceania region can access the North America version, which is what my review is based on. It was originally North America only, but as of 2 weeks ago, they allowed access from Oceania. Other regions will likely get access soon.
Endgame:
In its current state, there isn't too much of an end game on the NA/International version. The game only went commercial around the end of march. As of writing, when you hit "the end", you could either hit the battle arena or focus on your crafting.
