There are few items in the game that are better than a competent crafter can make.
The most common type of such item is jewels. Barring the use of Armillo-Rubbarn tools that have a chance at additional boost, player-crafted jewels are limited to half their Q in total boosts; q250 jewels have a total of +125 in boosts. However, certain Boss/Named creatures drop jewels that have higher boosts than their Q would normally allow, and the Sage missions reward you with jewels that are +100 in all four, a feat that would normally require q400, a level unobtainable by players, though you only get two jewels rather a full set.
But a competent jewel crafter could make you a set of jewels with better resistances/protections. Furthermore, player-crafted gear may be made using tools made from Outpost mats that allow for a chance of a boost. Whether it's Rubbarn-boosted q250 armor that has +162 HP per piece instead of +125 or Armillo-boosted dig jewels give +40 HP on top of the +125 Focus, boosted gear is good, and it's possible to get a full set of boosted jewels or suit of boosted armor if you simply grind through enough mats.
There is also the aforementioned Marauder armor that requires a full team or two of Masters with good teamwork to defeat a very tough boss four times to get just one piece of. But given the effort required to get a full suit of Marauder armor (20 such fights for LA, 24 for HA), it would be a total letdown if that stuff were not superior to what a player could make. As you might imagine, it's also pretty rare, and those who have full suits tend to only wear them for special occasions like Outpost battles in order to preserve Durability; unlike a crafted set of armor, Marauder armor is hard to replace when it breaks.
When it comes to weapons, a competent crafter can technically make better weapons than those given as rewards for SIlan missions, but few choose to do so as it involves mats that are hard enough to get that it would be hard justifying their use for low-Q gear. Kincherkan doesn't come often, and I won't waste q170 Supreme stings trying to make a better q20 1H sword than the Duellist Blade. And the few non-Silan missions that reward you with a weapon give you a rather mediocre one that is easy to outdo. Also, Rubbarn boosts can allow a crafter to exceed the normal limits of crafting. For instance, Spears have a maximum speed of 44 Hits/minute, but I've made one that has 48.
After all is said and done, what you wind up with is that the best gear is either player crafted, not enough better than what can be crafted to be upsetting, or rare enough to be a moot point since it would be foolish to use for grinding.
And as Lacuna pointed out, you don't even really have to do it yourself if you don't want to (or just plain can't). There have been a number of times where I worked out a recipe, handed someone else the mats, and had them make an item that I didn't have enough Craft levels to make for myself. People here are generally nice enough to use their skills on mats you supply just for the asking.
The most common type of such item is jewels. Barring the use of Armillo-Rubbarn tools that have a chance at additional boost, player-crafted jewels are limited to half their Q in total boosts; q250 jewels have a total of +125 in boosts. However, certain Boss/Named creatures drop jewels that have higher boosts than their Q would normally allow, and the Sage missions reward you with jewels that are +100 in all four, a feat that would normally require q400, a level unobtainable by players, though you only get two jewels rather a full set.
But a competent jewel crafter could make you a set of jewels with better resistances/protections. Furthermore, player-crafted gear may be made using tools made from Outpost mats that allow for a chance of a boost. Whether it's Rubbarn-boosted q250 armor that has +162 HP per piece instead of +125 or Armillo-boosted dig jewels give +40 HP on top of the +125 Focus, boosted gear is good, and it's possible to get a full set of boosted jewels or suit of boosted armor if you simply grind through enough mats.
There is also the aforementioned Marauder armor that requires a full team or two of Masters with good teamwork to defeat a very tough boss four times to get just one piece of. But given the effort required to get a full suit of Marauder armor (20 such fights for LA, 24 for HA), it would be a total letdown if that stuff were not superior to what a player could make. As you might imagine, it's also pretty rare, and those who have full suits tend to only wear them for special occasions like Outpost battles in order to preserve Durability; unlike a crafted set of armor, Marauder armor is hard to replace when it breaks.
When it comes to weapons, a competent crafter can technically make better weapons than those given as rewards for SIlan missions, but few choose to do so as it involves mats that are hard enough to get that it would be hard justifying their use for low-Q gear. Kincherkan doesn't come often, and I won't waste q170 Supreme stings trying to make a better q20 1H sword than the Duellist Blade. And the few non-Silan missions that reward you with a weapon give you a rather mediocre one that is easy to outdo. Also, Rubbarn boosts can allow a crafter to exceed the normal limits of crafting. For instance, Spears have a maximum speed of 44 Hits/minute, but I've made one that has 48.
After all is said and done, what you wind up with is that the best gear is either player crafted, not enough better than what can be crafted to be upsetting, or rare enough to be a moot point since it would be foolish to use for grinding.
And as Lacuna pointed out, you don't even really have to do it yourself if you don't want to (or just plain can't). There have been a number of times where I worked out a recipe, handed someone else the mats, and had them make an item that I didn't have enough Craft levels to make for myself. People here are generally nice enough to use their skills on mats you supply just for the asking.
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Do not assume that you speak for all just because you are the loudest voice; there are many who disagree that simply have no desire to waste words on you.