Just to throw my two cents in, the ONLY piece of red scrip gear I have ever purchased was the Millkeep's Saw. That's it. Every other piece of gear I have is crafted from favor mats. Max melded astral birch jewelry, a few extra Craftsmanship materia to meet the cap on certain crafts, and I can 2-star craft on BSM without ever having to touch red scrip gear for BSM.

The problem is that too many people seem to be way too afraid of even attempting favors.

The only trouble is that I botched an Adamantite Ingot craft three times in a row, which is QUITE discouraging, but I'm gonna take a short break and get back to it.