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Do I feel the cost of CE in crowns is too high? Not yet. Can I get more crowns compared to the energy I spend? Sure can. Do I think the way the energy system is being implemented flawed? You bet I do.

Relying on people to spend real world money so that they can do the most basic function in an RPG seems very out of tune with what keeps people playing RPG's. I don't think I would mind it so much if they had other revenue streams AND lowered the price for CE that you buy with real money.

The reason you see a lot of complaints is because the barrier to entry is seemingly high. Sure you can do quests, but it's for a limited time each day. People aren't used to thinking about how to penny-pinch some sort of currency so they can do some adventuring and killing. I noticed the concept almost immediately and was put off by it. When I managed to get friends from my STEAM friends list to join and then explained how the game worked, they quit almost immediately.

I realize most people haven't quite articulated why they hate the system so much in this way, but I bet this is their underlying feeling. Lower the barrier to entry along with finding new revenue streams and people will like it more and criticize less.

@kneo24:

Warning: See tl;dr version at the bottom for those of you who don't wish to read a wall of text. Oh and I extrapolate "what would make Spiral Knights better" from the thread topic of "CE issue" and basically go way off topic, sorry in advance.

I 100% agree with your post. When I first downloaded the game, I was excited and thoroughly enjoyed my 100 starting mist + mist tank + whatever I generated while playing in that 2-4 hour session. However, once it ran out, I became extremely irritated with the game for the exact reasons you mentioned and uninstalled it.

The next day, I reinstalled it and set out to beat the energy system, and through a ridiculous amount of grinding the Jelly King, Basil, FSC, and the Auction House (the most boring grind, especially with that laggy item tooltip), eventually have a full 5 star outfit.

Needless to say, I now only play on mist energy due to the rising 6.3-6.5k energy prices, which has left me looking for other games to play. This game has soooo much done right, the gameplay is great, I love the item economy and item balance, its just this damn energy. I feel forced to play other f2p games such as Black Prophecy with major issues in economy, item balance (very important stuff, basically); but even with everything Spiral Knights has to offer, the other game(s) are preferable, simply because of this energy issue.

I am hoping the new crown sink feature announced by Nick (pay crowns to reroll UVs on bound gear) increases the trade value of crowns relative to CE. If so (and that's a BIG if), then the only other gripe I would have with this game is that solo play is FAR more rewarding that group play, and that is somewhat of a personal preference. It makes for a very anti-social experience for me, because let's face it, who wants to hand out loot for the company of complete strangers. At lower levels of play it is pretty rewarding to play with strangers, because it takes time to get good and stop dying, but having run stuff so much, that is no longer part of the equation, as I am sure many other soloers would agree.

My dream for this game is to make pick-up and arranged group play a very rewarding experience in a casual setting (meaning straight playthroughs for the gameplay). When I first began playing this game, I thought of dying a lot like using "continues" in an arcade game like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Golden Axe. The whole 4 player thing might have contributed to that comparison as well. I think if energy were used just for that even, people would still buy it, I mean look at Puzzle Pirates. Puzzle Pirates had a much less restrictive premium currency system and it was a huge success, boasting monthly profits in the hundreds of thousands per month according to some OOO guy.

The concept of energy being required for elevators and crafting items which are an invaluable learning tool for progression is just too unreasonable. And please don't be one of those people who says that items are not incredibly helpful for helping players learn how to cope with the clockworks. Also they're really fun to have and let you play your character using items other than "proto-sword". An alternative to floor costs could be to charge 30 CE to enter a gate and then elevators in between floors would be free. That way, people would want to start at the top and work their way down to the final boss, along with mini-bosses and other bosses strewn in along the way.

Yeah, my third and final gripe with the game would be that entire tiers without bosses feels really anti-climactic. That is getting really picky, I know, but I also know I'm not the only person who feels that way. If any of you guys have played Monster Hunter, which is a popular Capcom franchise on several platforms, you know what I'm talking about. This game has versatile enough character and overall game mechanics for any number of boss fights (given all of the different weapon types and attacks, as well as defensive outfits), and I think that ultimately they will keep the game fresh for so much longer. In case you were wondering, game freshness is a BIG issue that I, as well as many other people I know in 5 star gear, are currently running into.

tl;dr: what he said and my dream for a better tomorrow in Spiral Knights.

ign: Hatsoz

You would if it killed you. But I think that's a different discussion.

If I get a free sandwich that isn't as good as a $10 sandwich, am I going to complain?

Of course people would complain. They would complain that the $10 sandwich is overpriced, that the free one should be better, that both should come with chips and a drink, and that the waiter's dress is not short enough.