I finished at level 65. I did nothing I would consider outright grinding just to gain levels though, and I still don't think it's really required to do the 3 main story questlines. I just played the game and did what I wanted. One thing though, load up on all the job board quests and you will find that you complete lots of those simply whilst going about your business and they are usually worth 80k and sometimes I saw some net me 120k in one hit.
Overall I thought it was the best AC game ever and one of the best open worlds ever too. I certainly saw no reason to buy any XP packs.

Mmm, yes those job boards. I found them a bit annoying, the ones where you go meet someone, then go somewhere and do x, then return, so I tended to avoid them, though you are right, some like destroy pirates all over are easy and good.
Best AC? Mmm, tricky one that. Black Sail for ship based action no doubt is the best. Oddysee, great engine and environment, and it has very little animus/modern day rubbish which always spoiled them for me. Origins was good, though the daft switch characters at the end seemed to be more of a "gotta get a strong female lead in here somehow" switcheroo, which spoiled that one. Syndicate was ok, great environment, but glowy objects and chests everywhere.
I suppose it comes down to, if you like AC and the story then 2 is probably the one. If you like life as a pirate, black sail/rogue, and for all else oddysee.

Mind your tone when you are speaking with me. I cannot suffer arrogance.
That said, let's come to the point:

1-The fact that you (allegedly) paid nothing because you bought it bundled with a graphics card is meaningless. The majority paid.

2-Don't suppose what I have played or not played. Besides, once you are aware of how something works you don't need to experience it first hand to know it, otherwise we would have never scientifically developed in any field. Do engineers need to have been to space to build a shuttle? I guess anybody can spot the contradiction.

3-So, now "stupid people" hurting themselves is a good thing. Why not inciting suicide, less people equals more stuff up for the taking, right?
Let's not account gambling problems, mental disorders and a myriad of other factors independed from sheer willpower that may come in a complex situation like that, let's just label everyone as "stupid" and put us on the pedestal of the Master Race. The comparison to smoking, also... your shameless arrogance and selfish points of view are nothing short of repulsive.
You wouldn't deserve my attention, but seeing everyone ignoring your most... "ignorant" statements bothers me more than replying to you.

EDIT 3 bis- The targets for microtransactions are people that for any reason cannot hold themselves from spending. Microtransactions are not there for masses, but for very specific individuals who will burn all their money because they can't help themselves from doing it. A.k.a. borderline illegal exploitation.

4-Your 390 GOG games are either oldies or indies, most probably all hugely discounted, not fully priced day one AAA releases. If we are talking about oranges apples comparisons are not a good argument.

5-Basically, based on the points above, your entire "logic" reasoning is faulty and boils down to "me smart, others dumb ahahah".

Because big corporations are scammers and they gouge consumers to the maximum extent that consumers will allow themselves to be scammed.

4. Old, Indie AAA or whatever. Today you have these options and you can wait for deep sales and never spend more than $30. You did not have these options in the old days. So overall, gaming is cheaper now.

2. I didn't assume, it had a question mark on the end. I was asking. But you haven't played it have you?


3. That's okay, you're a nice person I take it. I have very different views on the world. I believe in nature and its perfection. Nature takes the weak, stupid, slow, sickly and culls them without mercy. This is how balance is achieved. Something that alludes us by protecting everything. I firmly believe this, and live my life this way and take pride in my self discipline and control, yet don't consider myself having any special abilities to do so. But you say I should accept others that don't live that way. Well that's okay like I said. I allow you and others to live the way you like and have your views and you can keep on believing your version is better than mine and I won't even call you selfish or arrogant.

The typical reasoning of who has never been a victim. Talk about nature's perfection again when you are being assassinated or you have to endure a devastating illness.
Or when someone waits for an opening in your guard just to mercilessly exploit the hell out of you, because one day, you will be on the saide of the "weak". I am not an advocate of pure freedom of any kind, in my thinking some ideologies are simply too harmful to be tolerated, and total freedom, anarchy, is just unproductive chaos.
Yours, in my opinion -but unlike the rest of what I have stated, this is nothing more than a feeling- does not seem very mature. All this nihilism and predatory mind are hardly akin to those who have actually faced adversities, a given eventuality. I am just guessing though, so I apologize preemptively if I didn't hit bullseye.
Nature should be bent to humanity's will, we evolved enough to be the makers of our own future and control everything we have the power to - even if I admit most of us are way too short sighted to realize it... or simply uncaring, believeing eveything will adjust on its own. It won't.

But this is definitely off topic, so I'll stop here.

Oh you're looking for shovelware? You're at the wrong store, you're looking for steam.