Basically, Heat is the closest this game has to experience. However, it isn't really you, the character, that is receiving the experience. Your equipment is what really is leveling up. Each piece of equipment can be leveled up to lvl10, gradually becoming stronger and stronger per level. If you look closely at the stats of your weapon/armor (it may be impossible to see right now for your gear), you can see a faint dark blue bar that represents the stats of the weapon/armor at lvl10 (Here is a pic from the wiki that shows what I mean: http://media.spiralknights.com/wiki-images/e/ec/Stats-closeup.png ). Normally, weapons and armor gain benefits at lvl5 and lvl10 (Like +health for armor or faster charge time for weapons). Heat is also specific to a certain pieces of equipment, so if you get a new sword, the heat will not transfer over, and the sword will be at lvl1.

Most people don't refer to someone else via their level of heat (Heat doesn't have much of an impact on gameplay). Most of the time you are classified by the number of stars on your equipment. Generally, more stars, the better the piece of wargear.

The default weapons/armor have 0 stars (0*). Once you get to Haven, you can buy 0* equipment for 150 Crowns (the currency of the game), 1* equipment for 3000 Crowns, and 2* equipment for 7500 Crowns. There are pieces of wargear that go beyond 2* that you can find the Merchants selling, but it is not worth it to buy from them. If you want to buy your gear, it is best to go to the Auction House. I managed to snag a Calibur, a good 2* sword, for a little more than 1900 Crowns at the Auction House, within about 10 Seconds of searching. But I digress. The more stars a piece of equipment has, the better it generally is. Therefore, most people tend to judge others based on how many stars their equipment has.

Anytime. Glad to help out.

Also, I suggest you don't spend those 5k Crowns at the Merchants in the Bazaar. 5k can get you FAR more stuff at the Auction House than from the merchants. Most newbie guides (that you can find on this forum) will tell you the "standard" build that is a good, all-round, jack-of-all-trades type build which works through most of the game.

Another thing to keep in mind is to decide what you want to do early on. For example; if you buy wolver gear, then upgrade it to 3* or higher before deciding "I think i like bombing better." you could lose a lot of crowns on a profession that you don't intend on following. A lot about SK is making sure you're spending your limited resources efficiently. =)

lol, then you'll love my story! when I first started playing SK I decided to play it smart (or at least that's what i thought) by buying cobalt gear, in other words, all the equipment Kozma sells. eventually I reached 4* with a calibur a blaster and nothting else. I was pumped for my first T3 delve, however after several T3 runs I discovered that between the difficulty of T3 and my armor. there was no way I could continue without switching to some form of specialization. Now I'm working on getting an ash tail set and a variety of swords. The cobalt armor is good and for people who can't decide what "class" to be I recommend sticking with cobalt, but don't take it too far. the sooner you start on a specialization, the better.

Sworder
Gunner
Bomber

Pick which of the 3 you prefer and your all set
Everyone here pretty much told you the stuff you need to know already so i can't add anymore
Your on good paths so good luck!

@Jailie Oh and don't forget, there are armors and helmets that you can buy that will make your guns stronger, just a short heads up since you will be a gunslinger. :)

i went to haven straight after the first training lessen,easy if u ask me >.>

For my first time through, I went into the clockworks once and then went into haven. My second time, I stayed in the Rescue camp until I had amassed every single piece of equipment there was, then I stayed there handing out free stuff to first time players and taking them through the clockworks. I'm still there, actually, idk why, I just kind of like helping the newbies through the first part of their game. Also, convincing them I am an AI helper sent to show them around is fun too...