Progression in Forged to Fight was completely different prior to its second wind on Netflix.
Kabam[]
Exploring Story missions yielded a lot of XP to reach level 30 by the time you wrapped up Act Two or Three (faster if you've got an XP boost.
Gold could be earned by progressing through missions, putting Bots on your base, Gold, Daily, 4-Hour, or Arena Crystals, helping your fellow Commanders in your Alliance, Daily Deals, duplicated Bots and Mods, and forging.
Energon, while a "hard currency" (as in you have to pay real money for them), could still be earned through gameplay.
Ore-13 could be earned through gameplay and forging Bots and Sparks could either also be obtained through such, or buying bundles with real money.
You get Bots by spinning Bot Crystals - and most of the time, you wouldn't get the Bot you've wanted. And if you wanted a specific Bot, especially when new, you'd have to drop some real-life money to buy Energon to get those Crystals, and even then, you wouldn't get the Bot anyway. In the 2020s, Bot Chips became abundant, eventually becoming the main currency of the game, replacing the single-Bot specific Bot Chips, which were all converted. Then, say hello to Titan Fragments, which were currency earned in Alliance Missions to get the most exclusive Bots, like Megatronus.
All that, until...
Netflix[]
...Kabam made progression significantly easier* (kinda) in the Netflix release of the game.
This time, you can get Bots all through spending Bot Chips, with most Bots being unavailable until a set release (re: Beast Wars Bots). Working up the order in Story Missions - completing Act One, Chapter Two gives a 2-Star Dirge, Three 2-Star Motormaster, completing that Act gives you a 3-Star Dead End, Act Two, Act Two a 3-Star Shockwave, completing that Act a 4-Star Megatron, the list goes on!
All T2 and T3 Class Sparks are now obtainable with Energon that you get completely through gameplay! But Alpha Sparks are still rather difficult to come by.
Ore-13 remains obtainable through gameplay, as is Gold.