I'm not paying gold for anything unless it's Blue as hell, or is +9. Pets are great (+2~6) but they ain't much more than that and I'll be damned if I waste gold on them. Indeed, high level players tend to be jerks, especially the 80's babies and the capped players. Once you reach a certain range though (at least in Apoline), they treat you a lot better and wanna AOE you to death. I'm such a whore now.