When I started the game I said I am going to complete all the maps of each tier as I level up. I was going to do all the 1-15 areas first since downscaling allow you to play those areas and also have profit. But from the other hand what I love in games is craft my own armor during leveling. And here is the problem.. If I chose to complete all zones during leveling, I will outlevel by far the crafting gear I can make with the materials, making my crafting skills useless for myself and maybe only useful for my alts. Although give the small shared bank, I cannot stock gear in my bank for alts while I am leveling my main.
Somehow the game force me to always move to the next tier areas if I ever want to stay on par with my crafting professions and craft upgrades for myself. With my warrior I got Armorsmithing and Weaponsmithing. I have completed Queensdale and the Norn Area 100% and I was 22 before I had to go to Kessex Hills to find Iron and tier 2 fine crafting materials. I am now 26 and didn't manage to make me full level 25 upgrades even if I was always running around to gather materials and killing mobs for fine materials.
Fine crafting materials from the other hand is pain if you farm them alone. Since everyone get separate loot, I think Anet have calculated the loot tables having in mind that you farm with 4-5 other people around. But if you are alone, the drop rate/speed of kills are discouraging.
So I am thinking either to ignore crafting Disciplines for my main and just complete maps/gather (I hate do this though) or to constantly moving to higher tier of maps, leaving lot of content behind for max level and spend lot of time grinding mobs for fine crafting materials, since I have to gather all I need only in one map of each tier. For example if I have to go like this
a) Queensdale -> Kessex Hills -> Gendarran Fields I have to find all tier 1 materials I need for both professions in Queensdale, means I have to go out of Dynamic events, hearts and exploring, to grind specific mobs for hours for tier1 materials.
But if I go for
b)Queensdale -> Wayfarer foothills -> Plains of Ashford -> Caledon forest -> Metrica Province I will gather all the tier1 materials I need just for doing hearts, exploring, Dynamic Events without have to grind specific mobs for hours
In example (a) I will have to grind for hours specific mobs and leave content behind but I can craft my own gear and my crafting professions is usefull while leveling. In example (b) leveling the professions doesn't feel grindy, gameplay is more fun, complete all content, but crafting professions is useles until max level
What did you do? How you manage to come around this?