Crafted Weapons/armour Vs Drops

Are crafted weapons/armors more powerful than weapons dropped from mobs? Or the opposite?
Is it even worth leveling up my chopping/mining/fishing/farming skills?

 

Well, yes. Crafted items can be absurdly strong, even rivalling mythics (the items with the drop-rate of about 7 in a millon) at the cost of durablity.

 

If you're willing to put in the time, crafted items can be very powerful in the latter half of the game, especially in endgame, although they're less useful in the early game. That said, I usually wouldn't recommend focusing on crafting on a first playthrough.