Just a quick question. Sample scenario: let's say you played a successful FSC run and have no mist energy left. You've just heated up some of your 4* weapons to Level 10, and have the mats and recipe to upgrade. Do you:
- Log off and wait for your mist to regenerate so you'll get a 100 Energy discount when you craft tomorrow
- Think "F it" and hit the transmute button immediately
I'd hit the transmute button.
I've always viewed mist and crystal energy to be one and the same. Sure, mist is 'free', but if I use it to craft, then I would just be using my crystal energy to play. I like playing the game, so elevator costs are elevator costs are elevator costs to me. Like Bopp says, you can easily turn a large profit while playing, so I just pay no attention to which one I'm using.
Depends on two condition
1) Do I have an elevator pass? (if so, I can wait for the mist to recharge and save the crystal)
2) Can I find the time to continue playing now or within the next 22 hours give or take? (if not, I can wait for the mist to recharge)
Without an elevator pass, mist and CE are the same thing. I've never bothered with waiting for mist because as long as you play enough to use your mist, mist isn't cheaper or anything.
With the elevator pass, though, mist is a lot cheaper because it's hard to find a way to turn it into crowns. So there could be an advantage to waiting.
But personally, I just say "F it" and hit the transmute button immediately.
At the moment, I have three four rank items levelled up to maximum and waiting to be crafted into rank five. Last week I had a bit more time for playing so I've been using all my mist for clockworks exploration. Today my fiancee is coming back from a weekly vacation so I won't have much time for playing for several days - that's why I'll probably will be upgrading all those items. Because life forces me to go on such weekly or monthly hiatus from time to time I usually craft during those periods. So I chose option #1:
- Log off* and wait for your mist to regenerate so you'll get a 100 Energy discount when you craft tomorrow
*Actually I'd swap "Log off" for "visit Coliseum and play Blast Network" ;-)
If I don't have time to play Spiral Knights (because I'm on a trip with limited Internet access, for example), then I use ME to defray crafting costs as much as possible, because otherwise my ME would be going to waste.
But if I do have time (and interest) to play Spiral Knights, then it's not actually to my advantage to use ME for crafting. In the ideal case, I can use 100 ME to run FSC twice, earning 16,000 crowns, six Almirian Seals (worth 1,000 crowns each), and materials. This is 22,000 crowns --- enough to buy 300 CE. That is, I just turned 100 ME into 300 CE, by applying my time and effort.
In short, is 100 energy worth about 7,000 crowns, or is it worth as much as 22,000 crowns? The difference comes from the time that you put in.