The important thing ti see with the HQ crafted ilv70 gear is with full melds it is better than darklight and in some cases it is nearly as good as the ilv90. So yes it costs a ton due to potash, ext but these can be obtained with gil (not just tomestones) making it less of a grind if your into playing the market, farming or something more then griniding AK/CM. They also alow for greater customization, which can be useful in some cases.

If the gear was not better than DL and competitive with ilv90 no one (ok, someone would, but not as many as are) would be paying millions for non-melded HQ crafted ilv70 gear.