Era is pay2win. It was much worse though before. Shipka was a nightmare back then. Possibly one of the easiest guns you can ever use. It's stats are broken.
Low freeze
Incredibly high clip size
Great damage (9 upgraded)
Fast reload
2 shots per bullet
Fast rate of fire

Shipka had practically no weakness. It was hard playing era with such broken balancing and making it pay2win. What sort of fun comes from pay2win? Honestly, you're gonna get bored fast once you get the ultimate guns. It's like using a cheat code to end the game early.