Ok I think most players are in agreement that the crafting system is a Joke, in fact it isn't even a crafting system at all, its a side-show mini game that entails nothing but luck....

This is just a quick suggestion to how I would have done it, and believe is the fairest way to link Crafting to end game raiding..And how I would have the crafting professions set-up. Bare with me on this...

First off all Raid armour will come with open slots and SET, Base stats, Obviously nothing craft able can beat these stats. Adding 5 pieces grants a bonus as is already in game....No MOD's, Enhancements or Weapon Barrels and Hilts Appear anywhere on the looted armour.

All Add-ons are crafted by CRAFTER'S ONLY...Cannot be looted or bartered for....

Dailies provide Single use Exceptional Buff items at extremely high cost., Earpieces and Implants, Weapons and Armour to a max level of 49...All armour is aquired through Progression in levelling, and Daily tokens. All items have progression based stats and Add-ons are only available via Crafters.

Appearance tab/customisation is added to game.

Synthweaver - Crafts all and the only available Social based Appearance Items, these do not affect what a player is actually wearing. Its visual only.

A 3rd relic slot is added.

Artifice - Enhancements, Defence Relics (Ie: Absorption, Defence) Crystals/augments Defence based

Armourmech - Mods, DPS Relics ( Ie: Power/ Crit ) Crystals/Augments DPS based

Cybertech - All weapon barrels and hilts, Stat Enhancement Relics ( Endurance, Willpower) Crystals/Augments stat based

Biochem - Stims and buffs, Stat Enhancement Relics ( Aim, Strength ) Crystals/Augments Stat based.

No item crafted is Repeat use, every Stim and buff is Consumed on use.

This is very basic system, requiring Raiding and End game and Level progression, to obtain Armour.....Top end Items cannot be completed with out crafting influence...But will hold there own against Dailies Aquired Armours, with full mods...

Ie Rakata Chest plate would come with stats at base level equal to the best Aquired, fully modded Lvl 49 Daily Armour piece, When modded the Rakata piece will be vastly superior to any Daily based items.....A player would then need to complete the set by Raiding and Knowing, interacting or becoming a crafter...

Crafter's can purchase Items at Cost from GAME vendors to enhance there Crit chance on Schematics.....Crafters can craft Items that have a LUCK based stat and can be added to any Itmes in game that the crafter wears while crafting or reverse engineering to increase the chance of UPGRADED schematics...

All Mods, Enhancements and Barrels/Hilts are simplified into an actual system where a crafter knows exactly what stats are going to be on it, there is no RANDOMNESS...All schematics are simplified, no 2 items will have the same stats and different names.

This system opens an Actual Economy where Crafters need Raiders and Raiders need crafters...

Hope that made sense.....Its rough but would actually make Crafting worth while and create a community that actually needs each other to progress.

To sum up.....

Crafters craft all Mods and Add-ons, these are not obtained Anywhere else in game.

Armour is only obtained through Questing and Raiding (HM Grants Purple lvl 50) (Normal Mode Grants Blue lvl 50) with base stats, Open slots.

Implants, Earpieces and Basic Armours (Green lvl 50) are available on Daily vendors.

Whew seems like a lot of reading for something that could be summarized so easily.

Armormech, Armstech, Synthweaving

Give all of them legit endgame schematics. They should be able to produce better gear than hardmode flashpoints but inferior gear to hardmode operations. Make it challenging to produce gear better than hardmode flashpoints. Make it reasonable to produce gear similar to normal flashpoints. Make sure they all have recipes to outfit companions all the way up the leveling curve.

Artifice, Cybertech

Remove item modifications that could be sourced by these skills from being sourced any other way (vendors, quest rewards, tokens, whatever). Give them legit endgame schematics.

Biochem

Fine as-is.

There are multiple ways crafting could be implemented. This is but one. So to say it's the way it "should have been" is quite the stretch.

Not bad ideas, although not nearly as far as I'd take it.

DarthTHC pretty much nailed it - Crafting, along side hardmode flashpoints, should be a means of the gearing process to become 'operation-ready.' NPC vendors should have no roll in the pre-operation gearing process. To accomplish this, the gear-makers should have lvl 50 patterns readily available, and the mod crafters should be able to supply the rank 23 mods of all types.

Edit: the reverse engineering game is actually pretty unique and fine as is, in my opinion - it gives individual crafters a way to tailor their own product based on what items they focus on for upgrades and tiered versions of artifacts. Each crafter can carve out his own niche for a specific item - I am one of the few crafters offering the Expert version of the willpower focus (off-hand) on my server, and they sell pretty well (especially with an augment slot!).

DarthTHC pretty much nailed it - Crafting, along side hardmode flashpoints, should be a means of the gearing process to become 'operation-ready.' NPC vendors should have no roll in the pre-operation gearing process. To accomplish this, the gear-makers should have lvl 50 patterns readily available, and the mod crafters should be able to supply the rank 23 mods of all types.

 

Edit: the reverse engineering game is actually pretty unique and fine as is, in my opinion - it gives individual crafters a way to tailor their own product based on what items they focus on for upgrades and tiered versions of artifacts. Each crafter can carve out his own niche for a specific item - I am one of the few crafters offering the Expert version of the willpower focus (off-hand) on my server, and they sell pretty well (especially with an augment slot!).

Personally I don't agree with the reverse engineering, its far to random, I make a Redoubt Shield Generator then have a complete luck shot after 100's and 100's of RE sessions to actual get 1 of the 5 possible schematics I wanted in the first place.....No crafter should ever have to work on pure luck IMHO.

Schematics should be earned in a non easy way, but there should be a clear goal, Luck should never ever come into crafting. No raid is ever based on luck, its pure tactics and good gear that wins....How would players react if they went into an Op and on reaching the Final boss have a 1 in 5 chance that they might be able to finish it due to a mechanic....

Some people might slate me for it, but SWG had it right in there system..Crafter's made the armour and weapons and mods for gear.....Other items and sets were looted in Heroics and From daily tokens. That system worked and created a Market....At the moment in TOR only the lucky are having success and those without are turning there backs on crafting simply because there is no clear goal or anything worth crafting unless you are a Biochem....Almost everything is bettered in Raid and Flashpoint drops and Comm farming...

IMHO it will eventually be the Death of the game. My reason is that there are as many players out there willing to craft as there are players who will mindlessly grind comm's all week....Sooner or later the later will become extremely tedious to EVERYONE, and players will move on.

ATM Bioware have completely alienated the RP community with no real reason to gather in any area, SWG again had that right with the Entertainer Profession that wasnt a player MUST, but if you wanted a little extra help and buffs you had to socialise in a cantina....TOR has completely missed the mark with that, in a lack of ambience, player socialising and no real reason for anybody to visit an area like the Fleet other than to start a Raid or Buy an Item...

Id like to see the game continue to do well, But with RPers more or less ignored, Crafter's having no real purpose.....Then the inevitable is only a matter of time away.

Just the opinion of someone who loves crafting, having a reason to socialise other than doing Flashpoints, and tbh after 2 months is getting a bit bored of farming comm's, I paid for a 6 month sub, at the moment I cant see any reason to sub past that unless some serious changes are made.....I have a lifetime in LOTRO.....Why would I continue to pay for a game when I can do what im doing here in that for FREE....And tbh the crafting in LOTRO is rubbish but even that is a step up from this....At least you know what your getting in it.