Hello all. I am new to Spiral Knights as of the other day and I am learning a lot. I see that there are a lot of equipment choices. Rather than worry about what the best equipment in the game is, can anyone suggest a set of equipment I should try to get first? Should I go right for two stars or settle for one star initially? Also am I better off trying to craft it or buy it from a vendor? Thank you.
In my experience 1* star equipment really offers only a very marginal benefit over you original equipment, especial of your initial gear has already leveled sufficiently. So, I suggest going for 2 star equipment directly.
As to how to acquire it. That depends, the vendors are typically very expensive crowns wise. Crafting is typically cheaper if you can get your hands on the materials. Instead of doing the crafting yourself you can try to find somebody to craft the items for you, this saves you money on buying the recipe yourself. You will still need to acquire the required materials, crowns and CE for the craft itself. If you ask nicely people, will usually craft the item for you for free, although it is generally nice to tip, whoever is doing you the favour.
As for what items to go for, the "Spiral order" (Calibur, Blaster, Blast bomb, cobalt armor and helm, defender) items are basically the "vanilla" items. They have decent balanced stats, and are typically good in any situation. (There is definitely better stuff, but that can be a bit situanional.) Calibur, requires swordstones though, which can be hard to come by especially on tier 1, so you might want to try for a different sword. (Cutter, Troika, and Spur are all popular 2* choices.)