I see a lot of complaining on this forum but hardly ever an idea on how to balance things out or ideas to improve current systems in the game. Here are mine:

Crafting Skills: allows u to craft Blue/Purple items, and upon reaching level 400 gives u an Advantage.

Gathering Skills: nodes and missions yield Green materials for crafting, missions yield give lockboxes with gives credits to break even or an Green Item.

Mission Skills: yield Blue/Purple materials for crafting, yield companion gifts. Upon critical hitting should give Schematics

=> All crafting skills must be linked to 1 gathering and 1 mission skill, and should share 1 with other crafting skill.

=> NPCs Should only have Green items or Orange(empty or with Green mods)

=> Quests Should give Green items for the player, and Blue items for the companion, never mods separately only inside items.

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Cybertech + Slicing + Diplomacy

Biochem + Bioanalysis + Diplomacy

Cybertech: Augments(all), Enchantments(All), Droid armor, Ship parts, ear pieces

Advantage: Able to craft Gadgets(bikes,speeders) BOP with good effects, e.g. on forcefully dismount gain 2 seconds 150% speed.

Biochem: MedKits, stims, implants

Advantage: reusable items.

Slicing: yield Green crafting material for Cybertech. Lockboxes with credits to break even or an Green Item.

Bioanalysis: yield Green materials, yield Lockboxes with credits to break even or an Green Item.

Diplomacy: "Visiting planets with advanced technology or great factory you companions are able to retrieve specials parts for you crafting". yields Blue/Purple crafting materials(Blood for Biochem and tech stuff for Cybertech) and Companion gifts.

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Armormech + Scavenging + Underworld Trading

Synthweaving + Archeology + Underworld Trading

Armormech: Craft Heavy(Aim Armor) and Medium(Cunning Armor), Armor and Mod for Aim and Cunning.

Synthweaving: Craft Heavy(Strength Armor) and Medium(Strength Armor)and Light(Willpower Armor), Armor and Mod for Strength and Willpower.

Advantage:Craft BOP Orange(with mods), ability to unbind craftable items to possibly sell.

Scavenging/Archeology: yield Green materials, yield Lockboxes with credits to break even or an Green Item.

Underworld trading: yields Blue/Purple tech crafting materials and Companion gifts.

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Artifice + Archeology + Treasure Hunting

Armstech + Scavenging + Investigation

Artifice: craft lightsabers/Dualbladed-lightsabers and substitutes(vibroblade,techstaff...), hilts and color crystals

Armstech: pistols , snipers, rifles, autocannons, grenades, barrels

Advantage:Craft BOP Orange(with mods), ability to unbind craftable items to possibly sell.

Scavenging/Archeology: yield Green materials, yield Lockboxes with credits to break even or an Green Item.

Treasure Hunting/Investigation: yields Blue/Purple tech crafting materials and Companion gifts.

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RE: re-engineering system

Green: good chance to learn its schematic, low chance learn its Blueschematic

Blue: perfect chance learn its Green schematic, good chance learn other Blue schematic, low chance lean Purple schematic

Purple: sure chance learn Green schematic, high change learn Blue schematic, low chance learn other Purple schematic

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Important points are:

- NPCs should only sell white/Green/Orange(Empty or with Greenmods) items including commendation vendors.

- Crafting skills start crafting Blue items

- All craft should by mid level 200, be able to craft at least 1 Orange item of each kind, the ugliest one, and all other Orange items require schematics

- Crafted Orange items should come with just the armor/hilt/barrel filled

- All crafting skills should at level 400 have items for level 50 players, some requiring raid drops others not so much there fore maybe weaker but useful.

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All this ideas is to make crafting the most useful/balanced as possible and to encourage people to stick to the model crafting+Gathering+mission. I understand this ideas might make crafting necessary. If the devs want to keep it optional just leave npcs the way they are now, maybe some tweaking. If this game is very well structured it shouldn't be hard to put most of the changes I suggested on place.

PS: I believe color coding things makes them easier to read