When is a good time to start Crafting??

[Frizze]

As you level up most of the very best gear will come out of dungeons, either directly(greens and pinks in chests) or via items you get that you trade in for gear(often blues - this happens more in higher level dungeons then lower ones). The stuff you can buy off npc merchants/get from quests is often the lowest quality. By crafting you can find a middle ground by making higher quality versions of the items that are sold(and as some items arent sold at all, doing intermediary upgrades if needed). You also get a big advantage gearing any classes you level later, as your crafting would likely already be high enough to make most everything you need. Crafting can also turn profitable if you want it to. If making money becomes your goal, it will help a lot to be able to gather your own ingredients(for instance, leveling miner to get the metal AND armorer to make the gear).

But i do feel i need to clear up one misconception. It is not at all required to level any classes other then the ones you like. You get bonuses and advantages(cross class skills and making your own parts) for leveling multiples, but if you dont mind working a little harder(using more hq mats, failing and retrying sometimes) you can get as far as you want to go on just a single class.