New Goldsmith Guide as of 04/2012 - NO GIL SINK

[Yves]

Well, it's been a while so I started this process and also a while since I wrote a guide. This guide is being done with an emphasis on no gil sinking and also on NPC profit. Some of these will be off by a smidge but not by much. This has also been done with an emphasis on being efficient. Some people will also notice that I am 47 GSM but that's just a function of motivation - I have the mats to finish on out but just not the desire (a few seasons of South Park might remedy this.)

Couple of big notes here:
*You will need both Preserve (ALC 10) and Fulfillment (LTH 10)
*Blinding Speed (ARM 10) is outstanding, as well
*I strongly recommend having both Perfection (CRP 36) and Hand of the Gods (ALC 36)
*Do not equip more than 5 abilities - this will keep the cue constant and prevent randomizing of available options.

Notes on Gil Sinking and Profit:
*This isn't a guide that requires DoL leveling - it is based on not having it. However, I will include some options to help those who do.
*The amount that you make via profit will vary by server economies but, in the worst scenario, you should still break even.
*I base everything off of NPC'ing items because juggling and restocking retainers along with pricing can really tax inventory space and also time.

Notes on The Synthing Process:
*No, you really shouldn't spamcraft with this guide as the majority of your EXP is coming from gap-synthing and also from the bonus yielding from quality.
*I generally prefer to start the very first action with Blinding Speed and then Rapid Synth. If successful this gives you a wide margin to work with.
*If you have Perfection, save it for the final ~14 durability and use it in conjunction with Rapid Synth (due to no durability loss and ~30 progress.)
*Hand of the Gods should be used around 55 progress in order to to get to 70. If you are able to get away with it use Careful the whole way through but if you are running a bit low use a Standard synth. Remember, base mats allow for three turns while finished items allow for four turns.
*The majority of actions should be Careful Synth as quality is the key component to higher EXP yields.

The following posts will be the recipes. Again, this guide won't be perfect but it certainly won't be too far off from great. There are other ways that some people prefer but I am just trying to contribute from my experiences to hopefully help folks get further along and also get more out of the game!

[Yves]

1-20

As with my weaver guide, I really don't see a purpose in NOT doing leves for the earlier levels. For that reason, the guide picks up around 15.

R15-19/20

Silver Ingot - 3 silver ore
For starters, if you don't have DoL don't panic - just buy the ore from the AH. The cost is generally cheap and you will make a profit in finished items. As long as the price is under 2k for three ore you are solid. If not, you may eat some initial cost here but don't let that deter you. It is best to synth each ingot one-by-one as opposed to doing the bulk synth for three ingots. Obviously, save these.

DoL Alternative: R25 Gems - ummm...rank 25 gems (Raw Helidor, Raw Garnet, Raw Peridot, etc.)
This actually might not even be a DoL alternative in that these raw stones are often dirt cheap in the wards. If you don't have a DoL or don't want to invest the time then I'd say the "buy it now" price would be around 500 or less. By all means, save these.

These will drop off in EXP as you get closer to 19 but that is where the first "sweet spot" comes in.

[Yves]

19-25ish

Silver Earring - 1 silver ingot - 2184gil to NPC
Now you can start working up all those ingots and start making back some cash. You can also do silver rings which give a tiny bit more exp but resell for about 300gil less. The choice is up to you.

DoL Alternative: Silver Circlets - 1 ingot, 1 r25 gem - 3596gil to NPC
Again, if you invested time via DoL or got a good price on the AH, this is the way to go. You will need to be R20 to start chucking these out but you will have some nice rewards when you are done.

Remember - these are gap-synths. They won't be easy and you can't really AFKraft them. But the EXP yield is substantial. And, as the level gap closes, you will maintain roughly the same yield since you will be replacing difficulty with quality.

[Yves]

25-31

Mythril Ingot - 3 mythril ore
Again, like silver ingots the same rules apply. The price is pretty much no more than 2k for every three ore. And to maximize EXP, synth them one-by-one.

Mythril Earrings - 1 mythril ingot - 2964gil to NPC - NOTE: you can start these at 30 but 31 is a bit safer
Like the silver earrings and rings these have around a 400gil difference and a slight EXp variation.

DoL Alternative - R40 Gems - 1 raw R40 gem (Ray Amber, Ray Zircon, etc.)
Again, a "buy it now" is going to be around 700gil or less. If you are working on gathering Electrum Ore for the next phase you will run into a lot of these (more than you would like.) Hang onto these.

You can ride the Mytrhil rings and earrings pretty far above this zone (up to 37ish) but hopping to the next set of ingots might be better. It all just depends on what is most plentiful.

[Yves]

30-41

Electrum Ingots - 3 electrum ore
Like the previous ingots the price needs to be south of 3k per ingot (for three ore). Technically, you could get away with going up to 5k per ingot cost. You can also skip these entirely if you want to since, on many servers, the price of ingots is pretty reasonable at 3k a pop.

Mythril Earrings - 1 mythril ingot - 2964gil to NPC
Like I said earlier, you could have ridden these much further and, if you didn't, welcome back!

DoL Alternative - Mythril Circlets - 1 mythril ingot, 1 raw r40 gem - 4836gil to NPC
Like before, you may have lucked out and picked these up in the wards for cheap. Chances are that you did. So riding these for a pretty penny is a great situation.

DoL Alternative - Coral Ring - 1 red coral - 2640gil to NPC - NOTE: R37 synth minimum
As with other alternatives, this may be a nice one depending on prices. If you can get the coral for between 1-2k then it just makes sense. You can ride these into the early 40's.

[Yves]

41-50

Electrum Earrings - 1 electrum ingot - 3744gil to NPC
This is the start of the end. In the worst scenario you will ride these to the end. In the best case...

DoL Alternative - Coral Ring - 1 red coral - 2640gil to NPC
Much like the mythril rings, you may be coming back to these if the price is right. Again, 1-2k is a decent deal depending on how much you want to get out of it.

DoL Alternative - Electrum Circlets - 1 electrum ingot, 1 R40 raw gem - 6076gil to NPC
Like before, if you lucked out or slaved away on DoL then you will have some of these laying around. These are best from r43 northward. On a sidenote, now that you're here, if you can pick up each raw gem or finished gem for 1k or less go nuts.

Yup, this is a simple guide of the same type of synths over and over. But it works. And, you can make a nice chunk of change. Grats on hitting 50!

[Quatre]

I love you.

[Godking]

^ what he said.

[Thanos]

Awesome! now can u make a thread for all the crafts like this =)

[Yves]

Awesome! now can u make a thread for all the crafts like this =)

Yeah, I probably will over the next month. I originally planned on doing this 12mo ago but then constant revisions to the game made it a pain. Now that there is some stability I will likely get to work, pending motivation.