My point of view might be a little bit screwed as I am playing the support classes and I don't farm fates, but I wouldn't dare to tank or heal dungeons so much undergeared. Buying all the crafted gear would cost a lot, I agree, but you also get dungeon drops - I even had to hire third retainer to store all the "greed" stuff. Even with that I buy stuff on the market board on regular basis and on my server it is a lil bit pricy but affordable.
Giving players gear in fates... not sure if it is a good solution. Maybe if the demand for crafted gear got higher the prices would decrease.
Sastasha could have iLevel of 10. It is better if the players learn it sooner and also they can support low level crafting that way. The gear starts to be a problem as soon as you unlock Halatali imo.