Originally Posted by
Aniforani
There are plenty of ways to allow crafters to make near raid level gear without breaking the game. I think the issue is allowing the items to be sold and the quantity that could be produced.
Why not introduce a couple non repeatable quest lines that culminates in a single piece of raid quality gear? It can be tied to an npc that acts similar to a retainer venture, but on a longer timer. Send him out to get some materials that you then bring to another master craft npc who instructs you to craft a part of whatever piece of gear you're aiming for. Fail the craft and you have to restart the quest, succeed and you get instruction on what material you need next. Make the timers/difficulty balance the reward.
It would allow us to make a couple BiS items for ourselves or to sell, but it would not be enough to flood the market.