also the CE helps slow down your progress in the game, and encourages a few hours of play each day, without you getting through all the game content too fast.

the game is going to get better as time goes on, but you're more than welcome to get lost if all you want to do is complain about how lousy YOU think it is. plenty of us other players are happy with it, enjoy playing, and know that the game will get better over time. patience my friend.

You could go snipe watching in Haven.

If djbiznatch allows me to complete his idea, it also encourages you to have a real life and not spending all the time deforming your back sit on a chair or getting/increasing an occular disturbance.

And you can get every item from the game without giving a penny. If there's a gear you can't craft because you only rely on mist energy, no prob: buy it from the merchant. Much more crown-expensive, much longer time to get your hands on it, but you'll never be forced to toss a real coin to get what a p(l)ayer got earlier.

But let's assume it's not entirely free (what, in fact, is not, since exists real money transaction): you can buy 200 CE for less than a dollar! And 1600 for less than five bucks! Someone not rushed on spending energy and who manages well his/her CE/crowns transactions, can do real wonders and (I think) even become a legend paying $5 per MONTH. If not so gifted on gameplay skills, maybe $10, but nothing more. Is it really painful for the wallet?

When I was young, we were limited to 30 turns a day on Legend of the Red Dragon. And we liked it!

I second that, I've only put about 20 hours(I've been playing since the beginning of preview weekend) and am pretty satisfied with my 160 ce in the bank, about 8000 cr, with 2* gear, and have waisted a ton on trying out different types of gear while generally having a blast.

like yesterday, i couldve banked something closer to 500 CE but i didnt want to wait for mist energy to refill before forging some equipment, so i blew some of the CE i had bought. and a mist tank. but thats just because i was eager to get back to where I was during the preview. now that im at tier two, i dont mind going slower again.

A full Tier 1 run nets you 4k+ crowns, which is likely an underestimation; that alone is worth over 200CE in the current market. 80 Energy for over 200 more in profit - As things are, the runs practically pay, overpay for themselves.
_____________

It was discussed in a thread here some time ago, about how Energy revives are the one of the largest Energy sinks in the game.
Seeing as how the cost to revive doubles with each falling, and the base ressurrection cost rises with each Tier; it is near-inarguably more useful and efficient for players to revive each other, via giving the fallen player half of your current health.

I spend on an average of 80 energy a trip, and rake in enough to buy another 200 energy or even more. I started the game with 2900 CE, dropped to 1000 due to buying pricey recipes, and now I'm back up to 2000 with only 3* equips (I NEED A TROJAN HORSESHOE!)

Sure, the prices of CE were about half as what they were now, but you can still gain a profit if you have a good team. Deaths are cheap (2, 4, 8). Once you go into the double digits, you should really head back up and rethink your playing style, unless you're in T2-T3. Play more conservatively (strafe gunning, use it. Bombs are good too. Charge sword attack, back off and charge it again), and get a good band of buddies.

Materials sell for quite a bit. Swordstones, Iron Gears, and Monster bones are all the rage for low levels. To complement, you can also pick up shards. I'd estimate 1k-1.5k per stone, gear, or bone, and maybe 50-80 crowns a shard. That's cash right there.
Owlite feathers from the NomNomCats are pretty good also, as is fine fabric and miracloth.
Getting any Forge Sparks and Primal Sparks? Swap those for Force Dynamos, Heavy Gears, and others. Sell those too.

This game is WAY too easy to get crowns if you ask me, they're very generous. It's the matter of having enough time to get them all.
Once you get Tier 2 Equips (Which is quite easy, I already prepared a full set I plan to sell to a friend for 200CE), it's all the easier to get cash. Gremlin Gizmos, Iron Gears, various core cells, Gel Cores and Drops. In T2 I make around 6k-8k a trip, plus an added bonus of Jelly tokens for my Antigua.

As everyone has started anew, crowns are in high demand, especially with how the cost for pre-made items and recipes have been effectively doubled, tripled, etc. Players who had excess amounts of CE have been selling.

If Energy was being sold at the old 10k or so from the start, no one would be buying any sales until quite some time from now. It would be a frozen market, and no one would really progress.
Eventually, those who have the CE will just start to use it themselves, being the only ones getting anywhere, and leaving free-playing players to progress like gimped snails. Energy that was planning to be sold may just be used up, and those sales will disappear.

In time, Energy will become more neccessary, and the prices will be high as before. To note, CE prices have been rising by ~200 crowns on a daily average. It won't be this binary in the long run, of course, but there will be a point where there will be a stark contrast between now and then.