I've read this post several times and I honestly don't get it, and the post rating other posts didn't help.
Is the question, "does someone heed to craft?" Then the answer is yes. Just to take your Paladin's armor as an example, I am not sure what you mean by "the valor suit." The Knight's Armor from the turn-in? The blessed Virtue Armor? The Plate of Honor set? Either way, crafting (defined broadly as "a skill used to make stuff") can produce much better armor. The Virtue Armor lacks even night sight. Same for the Soul Seeker. It's a nice weapon that'll always be in wide use but using it against everything isn't a good idea, and some kind of crafting skill (defined broadly as "a skill used to make stuff") will always be necessary for weapons. Some monsters these days actually harm you when you use life leach on them, thus making the Soul Seeker impractical. Also, Undead does extra damage to you when you carry a Repond weapon. So no matter what you will need to carry at least one other weapon.
Is your question, "do I personally need to craft?" Then the answer is and has always been no. You, personally, do not need to craft, you can be a buyer and trader.
I have gone the latter route, have never once had a crafter, for the entire time I've played and that's somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 or 14 years.
-Galen's player