I think what they should have done is limit one craft/gathering per character and give them the option to create a very powerful - but bound - item once it is mastered for their character that can't be rivaled elsewhere.

That way crafting would be very beneficial and worth the effort, even in an endgame context. But it wouldn't over-shadow the usefulness of running instances since each character would have a very limited number of crafted gear available to them.

I don't like crafting in its current form. It is useful, but not useful enough to justify the amount of work it requires. Especially if you do multiple crafts.

The stat caps on items are too strict. And melding materia at higher levels can be very expensive and time consuming for little benefit.