In mid-game, the crafted gear is an acceptable alternative that requires you to farm reagents instead of farming a dungeon.This can be aided by specific gear combinations that aren’t always the best with dropped or purchased gear. The exception is min-maxing a lower level for a specific purpose, like PvP. In early-game, there’s not much useful crafting to be done.
That’s the jist of it, at least, it’s not always that simple:
