< sigh >

People, listen up:

The general rule of a free to play system is that about 90% of your players will never pay. About 9-10% will pay "normal" or "subscription" equivalent ($10-$15) per month. And about 1% will pay much more.

There will be some people that just send in one payment -- and at $0.75, that's much easier here.
There will be some people that send in small amounts -- $3 to $5 per month.

But the idea of "No one has to pay anything" is just broken. This is a business, therefore, it has to bring in money.

The general way a game can bring in money: You have to pay to do anything. All the free players go poof.
Or, you have to pay to access special content/areas.
Or, pay to access special equipment.
Or, pay to access costumes or other silly stuff.

Three rings hit on a great idea: Yes, you're paying for the silly stuff, or equipment, or areas, etc.
But instead of paying cash, you pay game tokens; said game tokens are obtained for cash, but are tradeable.

Ever hear of EVE Online? Ever here of PLEX -- an in-game item that can be exchanged for a 30 day subscription, or traded with other people? That's a subscription game that saw the beauty of this, and added it in for their own use.

Be thankful that you can't have a ship full of Crystal Energy destroyed and all the CE lost into the void ...

Play token exchanges -- "Doubloon Exchange" -- is a great idea.
Having play tokens instead of fixed fees is a great idea.

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If there's an issue with pricing, then first, consider these two equivalent views:
1. Items in game need to have different energy costs, but the CE - Cash exchange rate should not change
2. Items in game are fine with the costs they have, but the CE - Cash exchange rate should change.

If you think things are too expensive, why do you think that?

There is a point where 3R says, "Either pay cash, or pay others for their cash". Items that cost 200 energy to craft. Slot unlocks. Things that you cannot do on a tank of mist.

Is your concern that the crown cost of a trade on the market is too high? What if it cost 400 instead of 4,000 to make a trade?

If crystal energy was traded in 10 unit lots instead of 100 unit lots, would that help? Suddenly it's far more reasonable to buy one more elevator trip, or a couple of door unlocks. Or take advantage of changing energy prices to make some money overnight. Would that make people less upset?

Is your concern that the cost of a level, compared to the crowns earned from that level, are out of balance? Did you recall that you get 10 levels for free each day that you play? You expect the crowns earned from a level to be less than the elevator cost for that level.

If your concern isn't about the size of the exchange packet, nor about the cost of a level, then you're talking ... what? Alchemy costs to create an item?

Alright: What do you think it should cost to make items?

Unless I've missed something -- very possible -- that's the only real question in the whole "energy is too expensive" issue.

And personally, I'd love to see energy lots of 10 instead of 100. (As I say this, I have about 938 CE.)

===

TL;DR summary:

1. If you think elevators cost too much, then how many free levels per day do you think you should be able to play?
2. If you think items cost too much to make, then how much do you think alchemy should cost? Please state as a factor of mist energy limit (example: Three star items should cost 100% of your free energy limit).
3. If you think the cash price of energy (about 25 to 33 cents per free limit) is improper, how much do you think energy should cost in cash? Again, state in terms of the free limit.
4. If you think that energy should trade in smaller lots on the exchange, that's fine. I agree -- I'd like to see lots of 10 instead of 100.

My own views?
1. A tier 2 run, with 2 revives, should fit in the free limit. A tier 3 run, with 1 revive, and 90 minutes worth of mist regen, should fit in the free limit.
2. I think that slot unlocks (extra weapons) should be CE only, and CE equal to half your daily free limit. Right now you are penalized for buying multiple unlocks at once.
2b: I don't see why any vendor would accept mist energy. You can't trade it between people, yet vendors are fine with it. I think all vendors should be CE only.
3. I'd be happier with 20 to 28 cents per free limit, rather than 25 to 33 cents per. (But hey, I got used to YPP's doubloons -- they're about 20 to 24 cents.)
4. As said, I'd like to see 10 unit trade lots. First, it's relatively easy to calculate; second, it's the cost of an elevator.