As a friendly reminder to you fellow Knights : this game runs on Java. Java is a pretty old code that's constantly being reworked, meaning you'll have to update plenty of times and make sure your drivers are also keeping up (I was, at one point, unable to play the game for half a year until I got a better graphics card with updatable drivers). So besides the slow downloads and making sure all is up to date, yes it IS normal to have at least a 1-6 hour download time, depending on your Internet speed. Once you do put up with everything, you'll be able to play; trust me - you won't regret the wait.
Alright, got problems with the Gunner Update people? http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/106526
Refer to this for a fix if you're on Windows. Be aware : sometimes, the fixes will cause the Java binary to crash occasionally. OOO has been notified, but has not responded as of this time.
@Exorack Vog was never in the game, but its cubs were in the Beta. The cubs were soon replaced by Ash Tails once the game progressed into Open Beta. Most of this can be found on the wiki or in the spiral knights forums if you ask.
While I'm irked all to hell and back for the incorrect title (Cerberus was a guard dog in the legends), the gameplay itself is fun, save for the factors addressed up above in the top comments.
Clearing up with the company misconceptions, Three Rings was a small independent company that made a few games in the past. They are the same company that created Whirled, Puzzle Pirates, the Dr. Who facebook game (i think), and Spiral Knights.
Sega purchased Three Rings on Nov. 17, 2011 as part of its movement to shift their attention towards the online, "cloud-based" gaming industry. In my opinion...they're not doing so well :P
@EXreloaded If you removed the shield, yes you would lose defense, but many more experienced players could care less when they're dodging most attacks anyways. The damage output would exceed the defensive capabilities of a shield, and the game would be broken. Take FSC, for example. A dual-wielding blitz needle user could double-burst a single enemy, and two bursts would take out about half a health for a slag, or 2/3 on a trojan. So that would make a total of four attacks, and pretty much the supposed hardest, final level in the game would become a whole lot easier. If the game's too easy, then content is cleared too quickly, and OOO, being the small company it is, will be unable to keep up with the demands of the players to make new content.
I think players should be allowed to "reset" their accounts to level 1, because the older players who are returning are forced to fight higher-tier players with default weapons. It just doesn't make sense to let the older players keep their levels if they can't keep up.
For strong enemies, I think you could curb down the damage output on some "boss in mook's clothing". A level 1-5 isn't much of a threat to my lvl 8 party, but as soon as an enemy reaches level 6, it's a struggle to stay alive for a few turns.
Silverfalcon07's comment is slightly incorrect. Rather, you get a total amount of crowns for the whole amount of floors you've done in a single run, which tallies up at the end. So, if you start at a later level than your friends, you will only get the crowns and heat for your total run, and not the total amount you would get had you started from the beginning.
Heat is not shared, but can be "given" to your allies whenever they revive you, and vice-versa.
Give this a like so that our fellow gamers can get the correct info about the game.
FYI, to all the guys who want a zombie mode...
The developers are making a separate game with zombies in it. It's still in the early stages, but if you check Nplay's forums every now and then, they might have a progress blog on it.
 "Spiral Knights"){kind=icon}
 "Rogue Soul 2")
 "Cerberus: Lord of the Underworld")
 "Zombo Buster")
 "Red Crucible 2")
 "Freefall Tournament")
 "The Bravest Hunter")
 "ZombieWarz")
 "BeGone: Last Stand")
 "Verdun")
 "no-one has to die.")