such unfriendly company

@Eradicats
That's been posted in this thread alrady :p
@Drunke
Stop your whining. I felt the same way as you when I started playing SK, but now I'm perfectly fine with it. And about you saying that this is a game for kids because of the graphics... that's just stupid. It's like saying Pokemon is for kids, and then you go see that there is a lot more to it than just levelling and beating trainers.
Yes, I have bought energy, but I did so once. I thought about how I would use it and now I rarely have less than 20k crowns on me. I can also buy CE pretty often, and I use the Market tab instead of the Trade one because it ends up being 200 or more crowns cheaper than the price in the Trade tab. I'll admit it, I don't have full 5* gear yet, but I've been focusing on getting lots of 4 star ones. (I currently have 8 four star items, 3 five star ones and a bunch of 2 and 3 star ones that I plan on upgrading all the way to 5*) I'm also saving CE to craft me the Cold Iron Vanquisher and the Skolver set.
I've been playing the game since it got on Steam, which was in... June, I think? Or May? Something like that. Anyway, I've been playing since then, and it's the only MMO so far that hasn't bored me enough to quit after 2 weeks or less. Sure, I might be advancing slowly, especially since I play with only two friends (I hate playing with people I don't know -.-), but I've always liked the feeling I get whenever I get to upgrade one of my items to 4 or 5 stars. Much better than just buying CE and insta-crafting a 2 star item all the way to 5 star.
Oh yea, about the "bugs" you mentioned, and someone has already said this, they're called Lag. I know that SK currently only has servers (dunno if it's only one or more) in the US, so if you're in the US you have less complaints than players that are in Europe/Asia/Australia because they are bound to die often because of that (And I'm in Europe, so yea, I play with lag that can get pretty messed up now and then). I've learned to deal with it by memorizing how the mobs attack and find decent ways to avoid said attacks.
TL;DR: Stop whining and learn to play game and adapt to it.
Random thing I remembered (Not sure if it has been suggested before or not, I don't check the forums that often): I think a lot of players would be happier if Mist Energy was quicker to regenerate. As in, instead of taking 22 hours to go from 0 ME to 100 ME, it could take only 11 or 12 hours. Players would have more playtime, and by having that they would also make more money to get CE or buy stuff from the AH.
EDIT: Oh, right, I forgot something.. it looks like I have a lot more patience than a lot of players. =/

Oh, right, I forgot something..
The fact that this thread is already five months old?

The people you're replying to probably stopped playing months ago

Oh, so the date is month/day/year. Thought it was day/month/year, so it made me think that this was a few days old. Owell, my bad. That's what you get for getting in a thread found on google. *shrug*
Money invested by players = minor tweaks to make your knights pretty. :)
Money invested by players SHOULD = Lag gone, more bosses, a variety of levels, and great armor variants.

Oh, so the date is month/day/year. Thought it was day/month/year, so it made me think that this was a few days old. Owell, my bad. That's what you get for getting in a thread found on google. *shrug*
A friendly, well-intentioned advice: Check the date of the latest post too.
Because you basically replied to someone who "wrote" his post "in the future" (6th December 2011).
/giggle.

got only 1 thing to say
u can get ANY item in the game without having to pay anything so for me as a F2P thats more than enough

yeah nice to start flaming at OOO you'll realy get your point across...
first of all get your lazy behind out of T1 and start farming T2/T3 (and don't dare to say it takes ages to get in T2 because you can get into T2 after a few T1 runs) you'll get more Crown to CE there. and a tip, STRATUM 1 gives FAR less crown then STRATUM 2 (s1 before basil s2 after)
OOO has NOTHING to do with ingame prices for CE they are player driven so go complain to the people who actualy payed for the game and suply you CE to use (no this is not a rant against F2P)
people like the OP give most F2P players a bad name

"OOO: kid this is just while u get a better gear, just play one hour a day for....4 months and by then ull have a good gear to get to T3 and be able to make more money that what u spend on energy :)
kid: 4 months... but wait by then i wont have much purpose to play would i? by then ill hav 5* gear and getting all items is out of the question since its too expensive so i wont have much else too do"
I'm not sure about your generation of game play, but back in the days like lineage, wow, flyff, fiesta, ragnarok... all these famous games require months and years to perfect your character and equipment through hardship and grinding.
Some players in this game assumes they will obtain end game gear and experience with a few weeks or only days of gameplay in spiral knights. This isn't some PS3 game.... it's an online game lol... and from my many years of experience... online games are suppose to take months and years to perfect if you want to be good at it.
But there's an exception, F2P game developers always give pay to play players the advantage of speeding up this process providing that they are the population who are "paying for the rents and salary".
There is approximately 100 ME which you are supplied with per day, it is enough for 10 depths providing that you don't revive. Crowns earned from these 10 depths can then be used to buy Crystal energy from the market, it's a very tough time if you are in tier 1 as the return rate is not very high.
But after you break through to Tier 2, where you can meet more friends and participate in RJP, alot more crown to CE ratio can be generated once you heat up your friend list and guild to find reliable companions ( this is a player interactive game after all ).
After you get to save up for your first stash of money, my honest advice is that instead of investing them into your equipment... I would chose to walk down the road of merchandising... camping the AH for cheap / under priced equipment&items and reselling them.
There are plenty of ways to earn money in the world of SK, if you only earn crowns by doing JK,vana or shadow lair runs to earn your small amount of savings per run, it's like your limiting yourself to a very small path.
Think outside the box sometimes... For example... I just bought a maximum shadow wolver cap for a relatively cheap price the other day... then sold it for 13000 CE which is a standard price on the market. I'm not showing off my achievements... my point is that anyone else could've got it.
My summary and main point is that, SK is not a game where you finish or reach the end in a short time... it takes effort.
If it didn't take effort, it wouldn't be worth playing! Hard work and grind is the key! The problem with so many people here is the need for instant gratification from them, they want things right away, if they realize it's out of reach they complain before working a way out.

-You Community Support people should watch your mouths!
-Doen't talk to players that way!
-What are you going to do to me now Eurydice!

Hey rants, I love em, specially about SK.
Anyway IMO this game is the only MMO i have ever seen, played and loved, and the paying system is fairly reasonable, I paid out only once, and I'm still running on that energy. I have full 5 star but I also have a poor alt, who now has 3 star gear. Gettin poory to full 5* is really fun, I found it more rewarding than my first. Also isn't a game that gets you hooked a good one? anyone? No?
Anyway my point is
Instant gratification = Buy
Rewarding Slow work = F2P

"A dilemma:
On one hand, I'm reluctant to shut this thread down, even though it appears to have run its course, because then there will be "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH CENSORSHIP YOU CENSOR THINGS THAT ARE UNFLATTERING TO OOO" noise.
On the other hand...this seems to have run its course, and it's starting to get personal instead of talking about energy."
"Also, Drunkefox? Regardless of the subject matter of your post, please watch your language."
now...
"@Eurydice
-You Community Support people should watch your mouths!
-Doen't talk to players that way!
-What are you going to do to me now Eurydice!"
really, greivos? what did Eurydice ever do to you?
"people like the OP give most F2P players a bad name"
so true... you can get everything you need in game. buying CE with real money is for:
1) People with cash to burn.
2) People who are severly addicted to SK.
3) People who want to finish the game in 1 day at all costs. Literally.
4) People who don't really mind spending money.
5) Impatient people (wait, that's basically #3).
6) People who don't know how to handle money.
7) Stupid people.

@Lordofnecromancers
wow finaly some common sence, i tought that was just a myth in this world!
I salute you good sir :)

@Kid: That's is the mechanism that encourage you to go out and enjoy the fresh air and play in the park and do sport or other healthy activities instead of sticking to your computer all days. 1 hour playing is enough for F2Per because you need time to do other things LIKE STUDYING AND SOCIALIZING! If you are still hurt for not being able to play all day for free, go play Solitaire and Mineswepper!

Arilys did you SERIOUSLY just post in a thread that's been dead for FIVE MONTHS?

"Arilys did you SERIOUSLY just post in a thread that's been dead for FIVE MONTHS?"
"Oh, so the date is month/day/year. Thought it was day/month/year, so it made me think that this was a few days old. Owell, my bad. That's what you get for getting in a thread found on google. *shrug*"
apparently, yes, he did. but with a good excuse.
"@Lordofnecromancers
wow finaly some common sence, i tought that was just a myth in this world!
I salute you good sir :)"
thank you! =D

@Batabii
Yea, I did, but I thought the thread was only a few days old, like I said in latter posts. And I didn't keep it alive, other people also posted after me. And you simply posted to tell me that. /golfclap
Anyway, on-topic again..
People will be able to change the time they play now, with the new Pass Card thingies. If you know a friend that has one, you can just ask him to add you to his energy tab and you can use his energy to pay descents. If the hole party gets wiped, you can just use your shiny and untouched ME to rez without much worry about not being able to go down :p
Of course, if you can pay for the thing it's a lot better to just buy it. You can then spend as much time as you want in the Clockworks and you'll be giving money to OOO.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/6/10/