My problems with the drop system

[Elric of Grans]

The gold cost on crafting is, in my opinion, pretty balanced. Some (note: definitely not all, but some) items require an inordinate number of materials for crafting, and the poor state of drops means it is quite difficult to get the materials you need before late-Act II. In my opinion, the biggest issue with the Blacksmith are the enormous gaps in his range of abilities. Often you need to wait 10-20 levels just to craft the next tier of item, because (for no apparent reason) he does not offer it. A few particularly bad examples have an even larger gap. As far as I can tell, there is no reason why every single base item should not be available for crafting. I have no issue with hunting down plans (in fact, I think that is a fun mechanic, so long as they are not absurdly rare), but those gaps grind me.

The Jeweller, on the other hand, is a little gold-heavy in the Hell-tier gems. 20K per gem? Get real! Normal and Nightmare both felt right to me, cost-wise, but I have not upgraded gems since reaching Hell difficulty, because I just cannot afford that kind of cash. Not sure about Inferno-tier gems, because I have not looked at them. Considering they must be at least double the cost of Hell-tier, they are probably also more expensive than they are worth.

I am very surprised there is no way to upgrade materials. I had heard there would be. Perhaps it was in the beta, but removed as a balance concern? If done well, I can only see it being a great benefit to the player-base with no harm done to the game balance.