The biggest problem with the materia system right now aside from bond rate is item prices. Crafters want big profits from single sales, so no one is willing to risk losing their stuff when it costs 300-500k per slot to gear yourself before you ever meld a single materia.

As to the original point, I think leveling crafts will be much more tolerable if SE follows through on the concept of an instant option for crafting that just makes the item with no chance of HQ. To me, the biggest pain is the time one synth takes when little to know player skill is involved.

Instant synths for leveling, minigame for HQing is the way to go on SE's part.