Quote Originally Posted by Sagian View Post
No, it applies to everyone who can make more money doing something else. A relatively new player starting in smithing isn't going to have a way to make the gil to buy the ores.
ie, everyone.

In fact, it is those very people that need to mine... to acquire the materials... to acquire the skill-ups.
No. Mining is equally profitable for someone looking to skill up as it is for someone who is just going to sell the ores. Maybe back before we had 2 satchels, but really with 240 inventory, being able to craft in the field does not really increase profits much, since you don't need to leave very often anyway.