We finished Classic DOS with an almost fully crafted green / white gear on us, as it was the best damage output and stat customization we could get too.
This is a debate as old as videogames : which should be better, crafted gear or looted gear ? Any way you look at it, the issue is the same : "what is the point of high-tiers loot" vs "what is the point of investing in the crafting skill?". It all depends on people's own sensibilities. Some prefer to kill the dragon to get their gear, other prefer to spend time at the forge. Both will probably be annoyed the other way exist because "why spend hours at the forge when I can kill X to get Y" or "why bother with killing X when I can chill at the forge to get Y".
There is no way out of this.
However, yes, I'll admit that higer level drops in classic DOS were quite inferior to lower level crafts, which is both surprising and a little disappointing. Craft and drops should at least be equivalent in stats.
