Final Fantasy XI Then...

[Tobal]

i'll be for sunday for sure, as i said even if pc is covered is wallpaper stripped fromthe walls, i'll be on sunday for the hat.

Saying that, i have not idea how far Bayan got with help was we've very much relying on him.

[mikewl]

Had some luck with the Auction House this morning.

The leg armour I needed was listed at 700k last sale with 2 in stock, I collected my money from the Mog House to find I had a total of 675k, I gave that a go and it was not enough, so I went on a mule and sent over some equipment I dont need right now to put on the AH to make up the difference.

I left it for a bit, logged back in collected some mroe money, went back to the AH and noticed another had been listed, I tried 600k on the off chance, no sale, tried 640k and I got it and now I have some money left over.

That's another part of my JSE sorted.

[mikewl]

I was talking to Moot earlier about crafting, its something I have not really done much with so far, cooking level 13 is my highest.

Im just not sure which one to go with, I have about 300k on me to get started with, im thinking maybe continue with cooking but im not sure which is most worthwhile.

Which crafts have you all taken up?

[Darwock]

Cooking and alchemy. Been crafting since last September but it's not something I've channeled gil into - instead I try to use whatever current craft recipes I've got on the go to determine where and what I should go to fight to get the ingredients and crystals.

So after all this time I'm still only at 23 in both, currently fighting gobs/bees/water elementals in Derfland so I can make silent oil and pineapple juice.

I never really thought of it as a profitable past time, more of a diversion - if I'd thought more about it I might have started with leathercrafting or something.

[C']

Perhaps my biggest regret I have is that with all the money I have made over the last year I could have definitely gotten a craft to 100 and probably a load more up to around 60. Had I done that I would likely have a more reliable and consistent method of making money than I do by farming.

So far the only crafts I have levelled significantly is Woodworking to 53 and Smithing to 23(maybe 24). I do have an odd level or 2 in Bonecraft and Goldsmithing but they came about by Smithing synths rather than being a concerted effort on my part.

In order of gil needed to get crafting to a high level I think the order from cheapest to most expensive is:

Cooking > Woodworking > Alchemy > Bonecraft/Clothcraft/Leathercraft (I think these 3 are pretty close in terms of expense) > Smithing > Goldsmithing

Smithing and Goldsmithing in particular will require millions upon millions to get to the level 100 cap. However I believe the more expensive the craft the greater the potential gil rewards at high levels (a Blacksmith/Goldsmith can make hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of gil from a single synth, whereas Cooks/Woodworkers rely on smaller profit ratios on a higher number of synths). Obviously there are exceptions to this (Woodworkers who HQ elemental staves for example).

I always recommend to people who have gil spare to invest it in a craft if they can. Some crafts (I know from experience that Woodworking is one of these, although the recent changes to RNG have meant this may be harder now. Certainly arrows I synth take longer to sell these days) can be levelled whilst at least breaking even (and maybe even for profit) if you a patient and pay attention to what you craft for your skill.

I will be honest, 300k will likely not get you to a stage in a craft whereby you can pull in millions of gil in a short time, but it will provide a sound basis to start on.

I know Tsing has a ton of crafts levelled so if you are truly interested in crafting he can provide a lot more detailed information than I.

[Daragon]

I've been reluctant to level these skills, mostly because of all this rubbish involved in getting a good skill up or synth. Bearing in mind, this is what I've heard from people I've spoken to about it:

Things such as day, time of day, weather, direction the character is facing and god only knows what else all have an effect on your success. The last time I tried I crafting was with alchemy I think, cost me about 20k and I think I got about a .1 skill up out of it all. Sadly, one of my traits that I've had through life is that I've little tolerance for things that constantly fail or go wrong - especially if I need to invest hours of time or insane amounts of money into it. When I deal with things like this, I need to know EVERYTHING that will affect my outcome, I won't take a gamble with my gil

[vwilsonuk]

When I deal with things like this, I need to know EVERYTHING that will affect my outcome, I won't take a gamble with my gil

Basically, to develop your skill in crafts you will need to accept some breakages, as you will be synthing at the ceiling of your capabilities. Its just like anything else - you don't learn something new without putting yourself outside of your comfort zone, which involves an element of risk.

There are lots of factors that different people cite regarding success but it really just breaks down as;
1. Synth
2. If synths repeteadly fail in whatever configuration of time/moon/direction/day etc. you are using, do something to "make it easier" (ie take synth support, drop to a lower cap synth - not much just a couple of levels)
3. If you repeatedly synth successfully and are not getting enough skillups do something to "make it harder" (ie wait for synth support to wear off, pick a synth a few levels higher).

Your skillups (and breakages) are pretty much proportional to the difficulty of what you are trying to achieve. Its that simple.


Hicory

[Tsingtao]

Well in answer to the first question with 300k I'd say alchemy. 300k will, if you're careful and pick your synths, get you to level 60 easily. Cooking will easy reach 60 with this as well but I've not found it a very useful craft. At 60 alchemy I can make a consistent profit at around 100k per hour choosing the right days and moons. At the moment I'm trying to work on some stats to prove or disporve a few theories I've seen.

As rare rightly says woodworking is probably next cheepest and I think 300k could see you to 60 on that one as well if your careful. Then come the the others Leathercrafting, bonecrafting, clothcraft, goldsmithing and smithing. All of these ahuge cash sinks but from what I've seen it goes roughly like

Cooking < Alchemy < Woodworking < bonecrafting < Clothcraft < Smithing < Goldsmithing

The improtant thing to look at is our server economy and find the synths you see as your cash cows. Recently on Seraph leathercrafters are screaming blue murder as their big synths (snipers +1, that mantle +1 rare just bought) worth over a million per HQ have vanished thanks to what is suspected gil buyer (no brain) activities.

For me the first challenge will be to get all my crafts to 60 then I'm moving to take 1 to 100. Right now Goldsmithing seems favourite but I've not settled on one as yet, that and a stack on gold ingot is over 800k now on Seraph.

Anyways I'm happy to offer advice where I can gimme a shout if you want.

Oh and if you're crafting for skill this little beastie is useful

http://ffxi.lokyst.net/timer/crafttimer.html

Key to remember is never try to craft anything your 10 or more below the cap for if a viable bridge synth exists. From 9 - 6 below cap use advanced and early on lightsday or same day as the crystal your using. from 5 - 3 use basic support and from 2 to cap no support is required. These are rough mind see your own results and make the call...

[Darwock]

Eurgh... talk about taking all the fun out of it! Doesn't that count as a 3rd party tool that Squeenix frowns upon?

[C']

Probably not as it isn't interfering with how the game runs.

[Tsingtao]

Dar mate it doesn't do anything it just saves me having to make the calculations myself. Its all the common theory on crafting thats already common knowledge based on the information dragged out the game. Doesn't do anything I can't do with pen and paper (it also ignores a few key factors in my view) but as an overview it has the right star positions and elemental affinities.

[Darwock]

Sorry Tsing I didn't mean to come across like I was having a go at you, just disappointed that even the smallest actions like crafting have been analysed to the point where there's an online calculator to work it out for you.. another nail in the coffin of the mysteries of FFXI.

[Tsingtao]

If it's any consulation it doesn't work, it's just a guide for skill up and it's not that effective but gives some of the basic ideas to work from. There huge amounts of work been done to try to analyse what makes HQs etc. Some crafters claim to have cracked it others have disproven their theories.

If ever anyone does crack this and publish it it would be the end for craft in a boat has sailed for everyone not already 100 kind of way and at that point you can bet SE would change the system. I've been checking lot of things and the only certaintities I've found are the HQing tiers and the same day oposing day stuff. The rest is far to dodgy!

[talizker]

After a good week on the Experience trail I find myself heading into the weekend at Lv54 +4000. The week in general has been great, even with the one poor night. What I am really enjoying about leveling in the 50s so far is the variety of zones (even if the mobs are similar!). So far this week i've been at Boyahda Tree, Crawler's Nest, Kuftal Tunnel and [shudder] Cape Teriggan...

It looks like next weeks Eldieme Necropolis Coffer Key party will be Wednesday evening from about 9pm for all those coming. I'll put a LS message up after Sundays hat run thingy!

High on the agenda now is Mission 5-1 and Limit Break 2. Unfortunately I have seen neither being shouted for in recent weeks when i've been on...

Darwock, you are going to level BLM now right? It would still be great if we can tackle SL together and I am happy to hang on until you are in a suitable position (see above^^), as i'm sure is Tsing.

[Darwock]

There was a limit break 2 being shouted for the other night when you were in Crawler's nest Tal, I thought about passing on the info but it was already after midnight, and the quest isn't that quick.

I got a seer's crown +1 last night so I reckon I could start levelling again (no dark staff yet but I doubt that's crucial). Something still stopped me from putting my flag up last night though, the lure of soloing summoner was too strong I guess. In terms of seals I'm halfway to my next treasure and tribulations and I'm nearly at level 34.

I'll try and get back into it at the weekend.

I've had family commitments sprung on me for next Wednesday though, going for a meal at 6:30 so hopefully will be all finished for 9:00 but it might be touch and go.