I'd say it's a Yes and No, depending on how you look at it.

If I invest 1350 cps (450 x 3) to get my Pos 1 to Level 1. You get 100 initiative etc etc.

Compare to some clothes those give similar Initiative, both are permanent, but cloth starts off with 4000+ coupons first purchase or collect it over time for (close to) free.

I don't really spend a lot of my farming coupons, (usually I wait for 20k Fukuromaru). I am planning to spend on it slowly over time and don't go over budget.

Plan your coupons budget wisely, you should be able to do occasionally for f2p.

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Sometimes I don't understand what people kept spending on, when there is no goodies to spend on o_O