As LVL 50 in all DOH/DOL - stop now it's a waste of time

[Mishaela]

Comparing the gear isn't pointless because it shows how little crafting means in this game as it currently stands. Why craft when the max craft is ilvl 70 when the max gear in the game is ilvl 90. "To run the dungeons until you get your gear." Oh really because I thought darklight armor will do that just fine and it doesn't cost 3000+ tomes to craft a pair of pants for my scholar. (2 vanya silk and 1 hard hippogryph leather) Utter waste of time.

Why craft?
1) Simple numbers; HQ melded i70 is better than DL and you will need a good i60/i70 mix to even get i90 (besides AF2) in the first place and to some people that (admitedly) minor difference in stats is worth the effort.
2) Pimp factor; some may prefer the look of crafted gear over DL, plus they can be dyed.
3) Enjoyment of crafting system in general and of making your own gear by hand in particular.
4) Speed at which you can possibly gear up via crafting gear vs grinding tomestones to buy DL (see below).
5) Achievements for crafters looking to check off their crafting logs.

Sure, darklight will get the job done. I'm not saying it won't. Maybe it's a waste of time for you. That's fine. I'm OK with the 9x materials and I'll be enjoying my four pieces of multi-melded HQ gryphonskin set as I tackle Titan and Coil on my MNK. I, too, am annoyed about the recipes that require more than 9 token-bought materials, but I'll just use DL for those slots, because as you say they get the job done.

Here's the other thing that's good about i70 crafted vs darklight that people ignore or don't know about: It doesn't soulbind. With a mixture of buying and borrowing, I could gear up an alt job in a matter of minutes if I wanted to spend a bit of money. And when I replace my MNK's i70 with something better, I have some great entry-level gear to sell or lend if I needed to.

Edit:

//EDIT: Mishaela, refer to this guy claiming that Vanya is comparable to AF+1:

Heh, good find. I think he is understating the importance of primary stats but his point that if you have quint-melded HQ i70 then going to i90 is less of an upgrade than it is going from darklight to i90 is valid. Just like if you have HQ multi-melded i55 accessories (like imperial operative wristlets) then you can probably skip darklight on those slot,s too.