Ifirit, how it could have been done better.

[Zantetsuken]

Yoshi-P says he wants crafted items to be the best so crafters are needed.
Players want the drops they worked so hard for to actually be better than some cheaply made crafted item with 1 materia on it.
Ifirit drops simply piss players off to see items going to the ground.

Solution
Make the drop the HORN, and have crafters make the weapons!
So simple.

I strongly support this idea, but with a caveat:

First, a system needs to be put in place where DoH can craft items or attach materia using mats carried by another player in a special bazaar-like window (similar to how repairing works now).

In this way, people can own rare-ex materials (like Ifrit's horn) and have them crafted into items without disrupting the reward system from NM battles. A system like this would serve the additional role of keeping crafters more involved in the mainstream of the game as well as allowing players to have items crafted by strangers without the fear of the mats or final result being stolen.

The only downside to this is the fact that crafters might be able to grief by purposely failing a synth. But a simple approval window and the offering of a reward would solve most of these problems.