"It seems the SE has intentionally run DoL/DoH into the ground via a combination of a lack of rewards and the single most convoluted grind I have ever seen in a video game.

Crafters have almost nothing to offer combat classes anymore. If you're not a culinarian, the best you can do is i180 gear that is EXORBITANTLY expensive. MAYBE pentamelded with rank V materia (which are several million a piece) it might be relevant, but even then the crafting of these items is gated behind an obscene timesink.