Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail patch 7.05 dropped this week, which means that as of right now, the Archeo Kingdom crafted gear is some of the best kit you can get, especially if you've a mind to head into the newly-released Savage difficulty of the Arcadion raids.
That's because high quality (HQ) Archeo Kingdom gear is item level 710—the highest non-raid gear can get—and it can be "pentamelded", allowing you to slot up to five bits of materia into every piece.
If you're just getting started out...