Crafting stones is also useful, but not as much. There are plenty of stones of all kinds lying around at the merchants, and by the middle of the game, you'll have a huge amount of crystals and shards.
Some chests cannot be safely looted without a high stealth level, and some characters cannot be robbed at all. But even so, you can simply pay the guards.
Nothing is needed except a blacksmith. That's how it is.
Except the ones we've made