Yeah, for new players, there are a few basic tips to always keep in mind:

1. You're in the first part of the game (tier 1), but the profitable part is the "second half" of a tier. In this case, try to keep playing until you reach floor 8, as you get more crowns when you reach the deeper floors.
2. Revive at most twice, or three times since you are in the first tier. Remember that each floor costs 10 energy, so there's a certain point where reviving is less worth it than just starting over.

I've been F2P all the way up to 3* and some 4* gear. I just bought a little bit of CE to support the game now that I've played long enough to know that I enjoy it. But I made it all the way through T1 and close to T3 without paying a dime. I haven't had any problems playing, so obviously you CAN get somewhere as a F2P player. I also crafted all of my gear, but after a few updates to the AH, it seems you can just buy 2* gear for way cheaper than the material, recipe, and CE cost of crafting your own.

So, take it from someone who has played free until a point where I could sustain a respectable profit from dungeons, it IS possible.

But, do NOT revive at all, instead refine your technique. Time your attacks and dodge / shield when the enemy swings, then swing at them once they finish. 100 CE currently costs ~5,000 crowns, which means every dungeon (10 CE to enter) costs ~500 crowns. To go through all six levels of Tier 1 will cost 60 CE, or 3,000 crowns. The earlier levels, you will not likely earn 500 crowns to cover the cost of entrance, so you'll have to make up for the difference in the later levels, and every time you revive you increase that threshhold to be able to make profit.

Also, don't let your party rush ahead without exploring. If anybody wants to rush through a level without maximizing their revenue, they're playing the game wrong.

It wasn't too clear (rather, hidden at the end of a post) but basically, when you get to Tier 2 (armor, helm, shield, and at least one weapon 2* or higher), you can play and get enough money (arenas and challenge rooms are super good) to buy CE in-game using crowns.

Aside from me crafting his shield, my brother got to Tier 2 by his 2nd day. He can play to his heart's content now.

When I started, it was during school, so I'd play, then go do HW, then go to sleep and repeat lol. It was so convenient having a limit on my play time because otherwise I'd play forever and bad things would happen to my grades, I thought.

..then I got to T2 and discovered jelly runs and reselling recipes for profit.

When you just start out you cannot play as much as you want for free.
The way to play more for free is, as others here have said, learn to earn more than 5000cr with your free 100me and use it to buy ce.
Crafting will seriously slow you down though.

I have crafted most of my gear and I only play for free but I don't have the time to play all day so the limits don't bug me too much. Usually right after I craft something I need to not play for a bit to recharge. Though I still "play" in that I work the auction house, try to find crafting jobs from other players, sell the occasional material to another player, etc. If you consider this part of the game then you can play 24/7 for free.

Senshi has a point about reviving, and is hinting at something I was trying to hint at as well. Revive if you feel it will be profitable to do so, though it is still better to just not die so much ;)

Even better, you shouldn't have to worry about reviving if you are in a party. Just wait for players to come by and revive you. And you SHOULD play with a full party regardless! The difficulty (and crowns dropped) increases for each player in your party, and all crowns and heat picked up by any player are shared with the entire party. So you'll end up earning more crowns per dungeon with 3 other players, than you would playing by yourself.

So I guess the patch did work..

@ Jaouad

Ha that's not really what I ment.. I don't want to bring up a discussion as this as been talked TO DEATH already.

Only play 2 hours worth of dungeons every 24 hours?

I see no problems here.