So I'm sure I'm not the only one that has ever read the wiki about a certain weapon line, felt good about the stats, and went ahead and spent time grinding for crowns/orbs in order to craft the weapon, only to be extremely disappointed with how the weapon does not fit my playstyle.
If forging new gear is supposed to take an extremely long time without the use of real-world money, then I think there needs to be an option to rent an item for use in the Training Hall or something like that. I would be so much happier playing this game for the first time if I had a clear idea of what sort of player I could be. Showing the three veteran knights in the beginning tutorial in a boss fight was a good attempt, but I think for the sort of game that Spiral Knights is it would be much more effective to allow players to explore what sorts of endgame content is available early on.
If you could go to the Training Hall, or even the Hall of Heroes, and be allowed to rent any 5* item in the game (even for a small fee, like 3 energy a weapon I would be SO OKAY WITH THAT), the crafting system would feel so much more rewarding and fun.
I think we could all agree that the ability to explore our options before committing so much time and effort to a certain line of weapons/armor would make for a much more enjoyable experience overall.
Incredible idea and I'm sure absolutely everyone would benefit from it