one thing you forget though start on colo and find out at level 120 you still got like 25 ap and 40 sp less then those that started when colo started
simply because they did all those event quests, twice bouquet duels, 10 bouquet duels give 10 sp, and many other holiday quests that are repeatable every year tht give you an ap or sp. So you will be behind
on the other hand its quite fun trying to beat the biggest nugget munchers when duelling, its hard extremely hard i know from experience but you are capable of winning, and if not alone there are enough friends in the west and you might be able to organize a triple hit for instance to ko someone. But most ranged duellers you can do on your own have 4 stances correct and a bit of luck, melee duellers you'll need friends since their hp is to big