Gear question

[zerrith]

I have seen a lot of people crafting in gear that is not for that particular class (i.e carpenter using a canvas robe). Does this really matter? Is there any penalty for this? I currently craft in almost all classes and have had trouble managing my gear (space and trying to pick the best gear). Any advice on this would be most appreciated.

[jwang]

There is some penalty, but usually it's so small cross-class that people just ignore it. That's why you see everyone wearing Dodore's Doublet even if it's not optimal: the reduced stat is still far better than anything else available to any class.

[Catapult]

By equiping gear that is not optimal, it will also wear out quicker and need repairs more frequently.

[tymora]

Cross Class Penalty = -40%
Rank Penalty = ~-20% at 1st rank difference and about 2-4% drop per rank after. Varies from equipment to equipment because scaling formula is such that the breakeven point between 2 consecutive equipments in the same series is set at the halfway point of the optimal ranks.

E.g. You get more stats from a R12 tool than a R7 tool at R10.

And the penalties stack. So if you're both of the wrong class and rank, you can get 60+% penalty.
I do not know if there is any penalty cap.