New crafted gear should be the same iLVL as previous raid tiers BiS, not better.

[Evrardoux]

i actually found no reason to run any of the normal edens verse raids because they dropped 480 gear and the crafted was also 480. so those normal raids were obsolete to me on launch. kinda strange how they did that.

It is a strange decision that ultimately leads many to do exactly what you did - ignore Normal Raids and then they never do savage because that its own beast that the game never teaches you how to perform in.

[Eclipse12187]

It largely depends on itemization. As a healer main the i480 set was horrendous compared to my previous tier bis, even pentamelded. I’m fine with the pieces being higher than previous tier, it keeps the new gear competitive and gives you options. I can craft the 480 cheat piece and aim for 480 legs from normal raids while my group works on progging savage for that sweet 500 gear.

To add to it it’s also a great source of catch up gear, get a set of 480 of your choice and augment it to 490 now so you’re not as far behind the curve. The suggestion to nerf crafted ilvl doesn’t benefit anyone, it just makes entry level harder for newer players or fresh 80 jobs.

[Eien713]

i actually found no reason to run any of the normal edens verse raids because they dropped 480 gear and the crafted was also 480. so those normal raids were obsolete to me on launch. kinda strange how they did that.

As far as I know, ilvl is not everything. Both sets might be 480, but what about the stats they have? As a BRD, I go for whatever piece has crit in it, so you're usually looking at a set composed of a mixture of pieces. The normal raid gear isn't obsolete on launch, and if you think this, then your understanding of the gearing up system is flawed. Besides, on launch, the prices are usually high, so maybe some people don't wanna spend that much money or can't afford it.

[Eien713]

the crafted set was way better than the 430 beginner stuff i had on my alts, and i waited a week or two after it came out to buy the armour, so i think it was like 1mil per set back then. im not telling everyone to just buy crafted, but i personally dont like waiting for one piece of jewelry at a time from raids and then 4 chest pieces for 1 top.

You lost me. Weren't you talking about the 480 gear? As for the 430 you speak of, I'll have to go back and check both crafted and normal raid gear to judge. I just know that there has never been an instance where a full gear set had all the best stats, crafted or not. The best set is usually mixed.