The Exarchic crafts are significantly too hard.

[Arkevorkhat]

I was under the impression crafting was easier this expansion. Who knew?

Meld your gear and then overmeld it. Make sure your tools are HQ, too. You'll notice a night and day difference.

So basically the answer to "I don't want to waste all of my gil overmelding gear that will be outmoded in 6 months" is "Meld your gear, waste your time and money like the rest of us did."