For crafting it's too bad you don't break down rng guns to learn the perks on them for that weapon and can then craft said gun with the pool of perks you unlocked. Then extra break downs could give progress to an enhanced version of the perk. Unlock at 10 breakdowns and enhanced at 50. The learned perk could be one random one on the gun with duplicate protection after you get the enhanced version.
I'm not the greatest guardian but I miss actually being able to get more powerful and go back to older content and stomp them. Not this everything is more powerful than you always method. It's driven me away from playing.