How does the item look? Could I not get similar stats from equally high-level item modifications? Has Bioware responded yet on the crafting situation? Because as of right now, it seems pretty pathetic.

I'll try to keep this brief. I chose Synthweaving (currently 320) as my crafting skill and I have come to regret it completely. I have NOT put in the effort that some of these level 50, skill 400 Synthweavers have, but if I had, I would be livid. Here's why: Bioware has decided to create a new class of gear called custom gear. It's gear without any inherent properties (technically, they have minor properties, but I digress). The idea is you can create a look for your character as you see fit, and rather than having to swap out the gear in order to upgrade your armor, you simply upgrade the item's modifications. Because of this system, crafting is pointless. I repeat: Bioware has made crafting obsolete. Most everyone cares about the way their gear looks. You want that toon that you spend hundreds of hours staring at to look pretty. So, when you find that custom piece of gear that makes you look as evil/good/cute/sly/shifty/tough/sexy as you want to look, you would like to hang on to it. This is why, eventually, the majority of players will be opting for moddable gear. You can tweak the way you look as you see fit, without fear of handicapping yourself, because you can upgrade the mods. Ultimately, there will be very little demand for anything other than moddable gear. The result is: A crafter (read synthweaver and the like) will have no use for his/her own crafting skill. Other players will have no use for it. So, why, in God's name, would I want to be a Synthweaver? That is the question. The only reason I can see is if Bioware adds schematics that: A. Only Synthweavers can use B. Is customizable C. Looks like Darth Vader or something equally impressive. And most importantly, D. Is bind-on-pick-up once it has been created. If any of those conditions aren't met, then I, like most everyone else, will either ignore the gear Synthweavers can make, or let them bear the cost of learning how to make the item (making thousands of items, REing them, millions of credits, hours upon hours of gathering, etc.) so that I can buy it after. I'm a fan of crafting armor. That is why I care about this issue. As a reference, think back on that first cool looking piece of moddable gear you ever got. How long did you keep it? Or perhaps you're still wearing it, because all you have to do is mod it to make it viable.