This is far from a bad system. A bad system is EverQuest's system where you gathered what you hoped were the right materials, put them into the slots in whatever your class used and hit the combine button. You either made the item or you failed and lost everything. It was completely RNG. You had no control at all on the outcome. There was no recipe book or anything that told you where to find materials. This was all done by fan websites like Allakhazam or EQ Traders where the community pooled their knowledge on these things.

I much prefer the minor mini-game that games like FFXIV and EQII have.