It sounds like the guy might enjoy FFXIV. It has dynamic combat, plenty of crafting, and low and behold some of the stuff that makes FF what it is - amazing PVE battles (at end game). On top of that all, it looks great.
I've played so many games (pretty much all of them) and can't really pinpoint any good F2P games that aren't completely RNG-based that have what this OP is looking for.
It's also possible something as simple as Ragnarok would be what the OP is looking for, though. It has a lot of things to do including plenty of crafting, unique combat, and from what I hear, great PVE (and PVP).
