Smithing becomes more valueable the more you progress in the game. Lv 5 doubles the items value, Lv 10 triples it. Clan research brings you a +10 % chance of success. I won't argue that it is still expensive though. Gold will become abundant when you hit around location 20-22, silver, too, but a lot later (i'm not at this point myself). You should check the wiki anonymous4321 made. https://warlordkongregate.fandom.com/
Hi Robai, there is no inventory. You see all items in the shops (except for some which are unlocks by reward chests or the cave/tombs). You can equip them in the shop. Your equipped items do not influence your status values. All possessed items count towards it. Were the dropped bracers maybe just a part of something? The second left button on the bottom bar ("collactables") shows which items are obtained by collecting 5 different parts and what parts you already possess
@BlamBlamBoom: I think the trick was to scroll down in the selection menu. The guilds should show up then. Or is no guild responding to your application? At least the higher ranked guilds are still active