Warning: Big long post inc: TLDR version. Game is really fun. Warrior is my calling.
Their is an American company that did the conversion and port to English.
I don't know about any friend passes or trials yet. The jump start thing was just for pre release I think. I figured I would buy it because I spend just as much on a single player game that I fully expect to be done with in a month or less. However I think this one may last me a bit longer.
I got a bit tired of the mechanics on Sorc in the 30's. I was running away a lot and so many of the spells arc or lob that as mob AI improved I was being frustrated with how much I missed and how fast they charged my **** and knocked me down.
Game difficulty really picks up post 30. That includes both solo and group content. Mostly it's a good thing as leveling is actually really really fun and not just a chore to get to some destination where the "real" game begins.
So I picked my War back up because they are like a freakin sword blender. Tons of awesome combo moves the flow together like a haiku poem about a hot knife slicing butter. Also war plays really well with an xbox controller. You can hotkey all your moves easy because the top bumper pads alternate the available buttons. I find it easier to access a large ******* of moves because unlike KB I am not trying to stretch my left hand all the way over to key 9-10 when I need those abilities. Instead I simply hit left bumper and the move is right where I want it on X Y A B.
But the real beauty of War kicks in when you are in your 30's. You get this move called traverse cut and another called blade draw. After that Pounce combos to Traverse cut (15 hits of stabbing nitro awesome) which combos to blade draw (Huge stab and slash.) The way combos work is once you hit the combo starter you can chain the rest with your chain key if you time it as each move finishes.
It works really well. I mostly use two combos. So all I need is the starter button then the chain button for each. Now this may sound simple. But keep in mind you are constantly positioning, moving and watching out for oh crap big move coming. So I need to keep my dodges (I have 3 now) at the ready and as a castanic I get extra damage to the back so I try to stay back their since I also have gems that increase crits to the back.
Along the way you will get quests for BAMs (Big *** Monsters) think monster hunter. These are optional for the most part. But here is the thing. THEY ARE REALLY FUN. I have felt the urge to group with people in this game far more than I normally would just because fighting these BAMs is such a rush. They are designed for 5 people but you can take them out with far less if you are skilled at avoiding damage. Early on I was able to even patiently solo some of them on my War since we are a hybrid dodge tank or DPS.
About tanking as War. I don't do it primarily. We move the BAM's too much with all our dodging and it make the job of the DPS much harder than having a Rock solid Lancer turtled up in front of it.
I will say this though, even though I am speced for DPS. I have saved parties from wipes when the Lancer goes down by switching to tank stance, taunting and kiting the boss until the Lancer can get a brez. I even have this awesome Shadow Clone I can drop. It will inherent all of my threat and tank the mob for a few seconds to give me a breather while I get set up for what needs to be done. So I taunt, drop clone, switch stances save the party and feel like a hero lol.
My dps is less than a Sorc's or Slayers. But I also debuf mob defense by up to 17% with Traverse cut + Combo Strike. So those squishy sorcs can super crit the mob that much harder with their fiery glass canons lol.
Ok that's enough for now. Caveat that I cannot promise you will like the game, or that even I will play it for years to come. But for now I'm getting my monies worth of entertainment from it.
____________________________
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.
~ Matsuo Basho