Question about end game gear

[Keydah]

Crafting is NOT necessary by any means. Crafted gear is basically for the people who want to customize their stuff for very specific things like Coil.

Quinnie explained everything above basically.

The first Crystal Tower, Labyrinth of the Ancients, has a requirement of ilvl 50 (so you can get in as soon as you hit 50 and get accessories, basically, since you get your ilvl 50 artifact set) and drops ilvl 80 gear.
The second, Syrcus Tower, has a requirement of ilvl 70, and drops ilvl 100 gear.
The third, World of Darkness, has a requirement of ilvl 90, and drops ilvl 120 gear.
You can get gear from those, while getting soldiery and poetics tomestones (not tombstones c for other gear to fill in the gaps. But really, don't fret too much. There are lots of things you can do. Most notably, make sure you do all the MSQs as you gear up! You need to have finished 2.55's to play Heavensward.

Realistically, you should shoot for ilvl 90-100, but that's easy peasy to get. You could do Hunts (Elite marks...the quest should be around your GC HQ somewhere once you're 50) with people for a few hours and get tons of soldiery if you're in a rush. You also get allied seals for hunts, which you can use to buy Blood-Spattered Mark Logs to exchange for Sands of Time (3 logs) and Oils of Time (2 logs). You use these to upgrade your soldiery gear from ilvl 100 to ilvl 110. They also drop in Syrcus.
Quickie walkthrough on upgrading: You buy the Logs at your Grand Company's Hunt Billmaster (in the HQ), then you take the logs to Aelina in Mor Dhona - she's in the same tent-stall as where you buy your soldiery gear - and exchange them for a Sand or Oil. Then, you go to North Shroud and head up to the very top, where the forge is in the little settlement, and you trade the sand/oil and gear/accessory/weapon for an un-weathered versions.

Either way, you really don't need to worry about getting super geared. As noted, it's going to be obsolete - people in i130 will probably be getting replacing it by level 55 come expansion.