Dunno about the ip block (i live in europe) but heard something about the server being down for a while. And the pre-open beta ends the 12th...
The grind is horrible if you play alone. From lvl 8 u have quests that u can do multiple time until you reach a certain lvl, then u get the next quests ( 11-14-17 and so on). The quest are what we are used to, kill x mobs, found that item, kill that boss. But whats great about em its that they make you move around the map, you don't just stay in one spot . The different mobs are not 2 near or 2 far, just perfect. It make the game variate a lil bit, and push you to play whit ppl which i great. U can do lvl 10 in 1 day alone, way faster whit ppl. And now that the lvl 1's lvled you it will be easier to finish the quests. Also the quest description even with typos / font bug are well described you dont need to read em 10 times to understand what to do.

Didn't see any dungeon based quest, i am only lvl 16 so i dont know everyting about the game. Didn't see any "forced pk" option, just duels (btw i love the transforme ppl into gerbil skill, so goofie when they jump). Neither did i try invade another nation, couldn't find it, and abandoned after a while, sins the maps are huge and i am slow...

There is a "soul mate" thingy that i didnt quit get what so special about, it seemed like a friend list. Also theres a lottery everyday for pre-open beta but I sleep at that time so i don't know anything about it.

Also its the first mmo that can kill you from jumping from heights. It's just something that i am not used to .

The only negative points are maybe that there is not allot of classes. And the skill trees/skill effect are not that different from each classes. Also i couldn't find the "ignore" command, and a gold seller pissed of ppl for a whole day whit the spam . But they dealt whit it, i didnt see him the next day.

This is just a list of things that appealed to me. And not an excessive description of the game.

Edit: as said before, you need to configure your firewall manually before entering the game or it will freeze in the loading screen.