Actually, making alchemy is worth the hassle. I dont know if you know this or not, but another cay to earn CE is through the energy depot, you click on the energy meter on the bottom right corner of your screen, and hit the trade button on the top, there you can get CE for a certain amount of crowns (6,600 last time I got some), or sell 100 CE for crowns (I think 6,400 currently). To me it goes like this

0*: Beginner gear good for the first few levels. Purchase from vendors (People will purchase this gear, and rip you by selling it in the Auction House for 100 crowns more.)
1*: Not the best gear, but it makes you stronger and helps you advance in Tier 1. Purchase from Auction House (AH) (Even though this is very easy to craft, for a beginner you may not have all the materials to make it.)
2*: Gear that gets you into Tier 2, and unlocks the Royal Jelly Palace, and the Ironclaw Munitions Factory, and helps you to withstand the strength of Tier 2. Purchase from AH (If you do the math, you will see that buying a Wolver Coat from the Auction House for 2.5K could actually be cheaper, the 1K it costs from the recipe, and the 3,300 crown worth of the energy your using is socking you.)
3*: Equipment that help further advance your skills in Tier 2, it allows you to withstand the bosses, and get better protection. Usually gear that starts at a 1* alchemy path end here. Purchase recipe and craft, or buy from AH (Vendors raise their price to 35K, which is where it gets insane, Some popular gear such as a Dusker Cap, or a Sealed sword can easily range from 15K to 60K in the AH, get the wolver cap from AH for 2K, get the recipe for 4K, the energy 12,200 cronws. It may be more expensive, but you have the chance at a Unique Varient, plus, if you got the Skolver Cap, and want to get Vog Cup, you dont need to buy the recipe again. Your choice)
4*: Equipment that gives you access to Tier 3, and unlocks the FIrestorm Citadel, and helps you to withstand the terrors of Tier 3. Purchase recipe and craft (There is no piece of gear out there that I can think of that is 4 star and does not require an item precursor, therefore making 4 stars even more valuable, and averaging them about 30K to 100K in AH pre-made, it is better to craft for this one.)
5*: The best equipment around, this helps you to make it through Tier 3 easier and without much hassle, having this prepares you for the darkness of the shadow lairs. Purchase recipe and craft (The materials used to craft 5 stars are rare, and a rarely dropped such as "Shadow Steel" "Plague Essence" etc..... and they cost about 6K in the auction house, but brinks will lower the price to 20 of a Spark token. As you can probraly know already, 5 star also requires a precursor (except ancient plate), so therefore crafting is pretty much mandatory if you dont buy CE, of if you aren't Mr. master of the game.)

I hope that helps with your problems, if you have any more questions just ask!

I assume mist to be of the same cost as ce, because I usually have a time for a dive everyday. What if you craft, and decided to do a clockworks run? You'll be using ce for the run, and mist in crafting. The results would be the same if you use up the mist in a run, then use the ce to craft.

The whole "omg wtf don't craft with ce use mist" idea is only for people who decide not to play at all that day.

well, if you are into LD or blast network, you can use the mist to craft, and then go play LD or blast network. For example, I'm trying to get the Voltbrand so I can use my ME to craft while working towards the 300 krogmo coins that I need.