Take these rough numbers into account

at R50 hitting r10ish mobs :700+damage
hitting equal/slightly lower lvl mobs:1-200 damage
hitting mobs above e.g NMs: 20-50 damage

other threads may have touched on attributes and the lvl difference modifier between
mob and your job rank but did not stress how critical this is to all the facets (crafting, gathering, combat) of the gameplay.


Stat builds-
When you want stats to matter, you will be fighting mobs roughly equal or higher lvls to you to for best sp albeit your stats with have minimal effect on the gameplay. This means it really doesnt matter how you apply stats- a pugilist cant evade enough to interact with weaponskills, the maruaders parry rate is too low. Biasing an element to do more damage as thaum/conj is minimal.

HQ items
your +2/+3 weapons effect is even less then 10-15% on NMs making top gear and armor redundent. Armor choices are also redundent.

Crafting
even with the most optimal gear- difficulty is still based on synth lvl compared to yours.

Endpoint
Since there is no significant difference between different stat choices and gear-despite different numbers this will remain one of the most critical problems
with the game as an rpg and a game period.

I still believe this game has amazing potential and enjoy this game evidenced by my playtime (look at my ranks), feel free to discuss these points and share you ingame experiences.