Crafters and gatherers where originally designed to fight in battle along side the DoW/DoM classes but there fighting abilities where pulled at the last minute. This is why they are such a horrendous grind as they were never supposed to get to R50 grinding on crafts.

SE need to either stop classing them as proper classes able to take part in the main storyline and reduce them to being side classes you can do or give them their abilities to fight back. Are we expected to believe an R50 Weaver can topple the Garlean Empire????