Crafting is a hard thing to balance. If you make progression quick, the mats will be too expensive to afford for most people like crafting 80-100 was in FFXI. Thus, you'd have to spend time farming monotonously and then synthing. If they make progression slow like this, you have to supplement the grind with Netflix or TV.

Crafting quests, the large group synths, and crafting endgame would all help out. The lowbie battlers are getting a Dunes version 2. I think the crafters should have a zone as well where they all get together and SP off boats and airships in a party.

If crafters truly are equal in status to battlers, they have to build content for them that is equally engaging.