I think no matter what Exxy decides to add to paid accounts, or to the store, Eaxia will always remain free to play. Having a free account in no way hinders your game play (as you can do everything that paying players can do), and the current benefits of a paid account don't give you an unfair advantage over other players.
Most of those games that give people super benefits for paid accounts do it for a simple reason -- they need to get paid. A lot of those are also graphicals with no doubt hefty system requirements and likely require some sizable funding in order to keep running. Some of those I have played, and even their low-end paid accounts were more than reasonable ($5-$6 a month). I personally had no problems with coughing out a few bucks a month to support a game that I enjoyed playing at the time.
Would you mind elaborating on why you think the increased magical item wear limit is unfair compared to the other things that you have listed later in your post? To myself it is a bit confusing, and I personally find some of the things that you listed off as more unfair, such as the 24/7 drain. I am not trying to pick, I am just trying to understand where you are coming from.