i think for free cost to work, you need the amount it costs. so if something costs 10 gold, you need atleast 10 gold for it to work. free cost just keeps it in your account.
And just now as i was writing this reply, they updated again and this time you can't play. my god this company really need a kick in the ass. who da fak make so many stupid updates? @DESLOKAT update please.
No need. you can still play the game. This game is updated way too many times. there are 2 types of updates. those you can still play, and those you can't. this one you can still play. (for the next few hours probably lol)