Been away from the game for a LONG time

I think it was since that big update with the Auction House and Advanced training hall first appearing.
I'm guessing a lot's changed since then. If there's anything important I need to know, please do tell. Has piercing damage become more effective (more monsters vulnerable to it).
More variety? Let me know, thank you.

Adding UV's? You can add whatever UV you want now?
Also, I'm aiming towards a Vog Cub armor and cap set with a Leviathatn Blade and Hail Driver AND a Grey Owlite shield. Is that still decent? What improvements can be made?

he means an npc can roll or re-roll UVs for a new random UV for a price
now up to 3 UVs can appear on piece of equipment

You can buy a UV roll at a merchant in town. It removes any current UVs (if the equipment has them) and then gives you a guaranteed UV, but what it gives you is still random. A single UV roll costs 20k cr, a 2-UV roll costs 75k cr, and a 3-UV roll costs 225k cr. AFAIK the chances of getting certain UV's are the same as when crafting (I.E. Low is significantly more common than higher ones, ect.)

I'd hate to leave and come back months later. I'd be overwhelmed.

Could someone rate my equipment I'm aiming for? Posted on 3rd post

Yeah, it's fine. Not much has changed with gear.

I remember a ton of people left after the Auction House stuff because the game was slowly turning into a "pay to gain heavy advantages" game. Has the playerbase grown since? Especially with this being on Steam now?

10. Haze bomb line has been restructured. Check the wiki about the new recipes.

wolver line still is one of the most used (and i think best) armor for sword users
but the 5* depends on what you like,
if you liked the wolver line (piercing and extra sword damage) go for the skolver, if you want full out speed go for vog cub (wich also lchanges the piercing to elemental and gains high fire resistance)
for the shield eighter the owlite or snarby shield will do (snarby is great for it's extra sword damage wich in use with the skolver gives you maximum damage)
(i joined SK when it hit steam so i'm kind of a noob compared to you hehe)
but for more indept documentation read the wiki parts on sword/bomber/gunner
http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Swordmaster_Guide
http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Bombing_Guide
http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Gunslinger_Guide

PvP gets you token Krogmo Coins, which can be used to get Mod Calibrators. The mod calibrators can be turned into the damage, ctr, and asi trinkets they had in beta. They're highly used now. :)
~Gwen

You also missed two now boss stratums, the Gloaming Wildwoods in tier 1 and the Ironclaw Munitions Factory in tier 2.

I remember a ton of people left after the Auction House stuff because the game was slowly turning into a "pay to gain heavy advantages" game. Has the playerbase grown since? Especially with this being on Steam now?
WTF? Who the hell would think that? That's a downright silly thing to say. :D
(I bet they didn't really quit.)
IMO an Auction house is necessary for an MMO, whether with or without the ability to purchase in-game currency with real-world currency.
Anyway this is a free to play game, and as with most F2P games, it's mostly been a "pay to gain heavy advantages" model.

The problem was prior to the May 17th update 4/5* items didn't bind on upgrade, most ppl who wanted an ah wanted it to make trading end game gear easier. Similarly it was around that time that crafting costs went up.
On another note guns also got buffed in your absense.

[quote]it's mostly been a "pay to gain heavy advantages"[/quote]
no it's pay to spend less time grinding the game... that's what i LIKE about the game the grinding, ok yeah i boosted it a bit to get my T3 armor ready because i was still grinding solo in T1 and with friends in T2. now i mainly solo T2 (or with friends) but now i started playing T3 on a regular basis and i'm allmost done grinding my first set and this makes me feel somewhat proud that i achieved this by grinding hard in this game and having fun while at it.
you guy's also pay 50 bucks for a SP game don't you? and it's the same thing over and over again... why does everybody think F2P needs to be TOTALY free? if you go to work every day are you going to tell your boss "hey boss here i'll work my ass off for you every day but you don't have to pay me for it"
I don't think piercing damage needs to be more effective. It's already extremely powerful against the few things it counters. IMO it's a must have over Shadow damage.
Anyway this may be what you need to know... (in no particular order)
1. Unbinding
2. Adding UV's
3. PvP in Bomberman and Capture Points
4. Two new turret types that deal piercing and shadow damage respectively
5. New Rose Regalia Sets
6. Steam Trading (did I mention SK is on Steam)
7. Accessories
8. New Danger Rooms
9. Candlestick Keep, new undead-themed stage series