Seeking Lvl 40 Advice for Goldsmith

OK i have made it this far, figured out mostly successfully how to make HQ materials, and items, but now, at lvl 40 i have hit a snag, i can't quite make the Lvl 40 Horn Staff, can anyone help with advice on

what controls to use....
Any foods or other enhancement to give me more HQ power
any tricks to enhance crafting things
Any ways to enhance gear and what gear or clothing to pick?

I have that dark apron outfit and the best Mythril jewerly i made myself but not sure what melds to use or if that will help...

thanks for help on this i can see 50 in the distance and hope to reach it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptJZ...tDwjupJjtrx7eA
I made this video for a FC buddy. Typically I use the lv 20 alchemist skill, hasty touch?, to possible boost a bit of quality without using CP. As far as melds go, they can be pricey, depending on your server. If you want to get the most out of it at 40, don't blow your load on too much. Save it for 50 and for when you start trying to craft th hard stuff. Maybe through some craftmanship I and control I or II's. Shouldn't be too hard to craft anything really, but it's been quit a while since I haven't had everything at 50.
I do hope my video is of some help.

Leveling other crafts to lvl 15 will help immensely, but isn't necessary for lvl 40 crafting.

Make sure all your gear is up to date, and hq preferably. Eat CP food if needed.

Try a rotation of Steady Hand>> Standard Touch>>Standard Touch> Great Strides> Standard Touch>>Steady Hand>>Basic Synthesis x2 or 3. Play around with those skills, that's all I used when leveling my first craft to 50, and I had no cross class skills at that time. Use as many touch actions as you can, while making sure you have enough durabilty to finish the craft. Use Basic Touch instead of Standard if you're running into CP issues. If you get an Excellent quality orb, always use Standard Touch on it, no matter where you are in your rotation. And after excellent it will be poor, so never use a touch action on that orb, either use Basic Synthesis, or Observe.

OK thanks so much for such a fast reply. I have some materia saved up as i have melded very little. I wont waste any IVs i have, but will try to see what i can do. I dont have alchemist so that wont help me ..and dont think i can level up another class, as i am dong Botanist and trying to cap out my Miner too to support the Chocco Gardening. Anyway thanks again and i will check out that movie.

thank you Odd, i have a leatherworker fairly far along as i wanted to make the Aldgoat Leather as the prices on it were just nuts. Frankly the pricing on some of the items we need are obscene and should be controlled by something it is crazy to see 1 million for one Dodora item just nuts. It has taken me six months to save up over 600,000 Gil working a number of classes but whatever.

anyway thanks so much for the advice on the rotation. that will help a lot. I have had to learn by trial and error on my own.

Don't waste gil on melding non endgame crafting gear. You'll out gear it so fast, it will barely be worth it. Unless of course you don't need gil, then melding won't hurt.

Also, you can only put tier 2 materia on level 40 gear, so you couldn't use those IV's even if you wanted to!

At this point you'd probably hit 50 easily simply on quick synthing stuff to desynth.

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Originally Posted by Alistaire

At this point you'd probably hit 50 easily simply on quick synthing stuff to desynth.

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I did that with ALC from 40-50. It uses a TON of shards though, and the price of those is almost tenfold what I paid for them back in January. I spent tens of thousands on shards for that, which translates to hundreds of thousands now.

I remember hitting a HQ wall on my WVR about that level. It's like I couldn't go anywhere until I leveled up all my other cross class skills. If you're serious about crafting HQ, you're best bet is to level every crafting class to 50, starting with Carpenter and Culinarian. If you just want to casually craft stuff once in a while, having everything to 15 works okay, but takes some luck without HQ mats.

There are a few guides on 100% HQ rotations as well as end-game materia stat caps here on the forums, but they all require a lot of prep time (getting the necessary materia or leveling other classes). In the end, it just depends on how much you enjoy crafting...

I really do enjoy it, i love making nice things nicely...and it is quite peaceful compared to what i had to do to level up my Gladiator and my White Mage to 50 :)

i will be careful bout melds, no i am not wealthy but i am careful... and have a bunch of lower material saved up.

I am not sure what you mean by desynth.... havent studied that at all, was just trying to go step by step along the craft path here.

I found a list of food that may help me : these seem to give either CP, or Craftmanship or Control i dont know what the differnece is on how they apply to a goldsmith.

Tuna Miq/abob +8 Control
Stone Soup + 10
Salt Cod +8
Salt Cod Puffs +8
Pea Soup +10
Rolanberry Cheesecake +12
Rolanberry Lassi +12
Mint Lassi +12
Mashed Potatoes +10
Raw Oyster +9
Dagger Soup +8
Cheese Soufle + 12
Chilled Popoto Soup +10
Cawl Cennin +10
Cheese Risotto +12
Bouilabaisse +10
Boiled Gream +8

and i dont know if i have to buy them on the Market or i can get any from vendors yet.

i also found this:

Crafting foods in order of potential control

These are listed from highest to lowest maximum control gain.

Pan-fried Mahi-Mahi (+8%, Max. 25)
Dagger Soup (+8%, Max. 22)
Salt Cod Puffs (+8%, Max. 18)
Tuna Miq'abob (+8%, Max. 16)
Baked Sole (+8%, Max. 14)
Boiled Bream (+8%, Max. 12)
Raw Oyster (+8%, Max. 8)
Bouillabaisse (+2%, Max. 5)
Cawl Cennin (+2%, Max. 4)
Salt Cod (+8%, Max. 4)

Crafting foods in order of potential craftsmanship

These are listed from highest to lowest maximum craftsmanship gain.

Rolanberry Cheesecake (+12%, Max. 32)
Cheese Souffle (+12%, Max. 20)
Cheese Risotto (+12%, Max. 16)
Mashed Popotoes (+12%, Max. 12)
Rolanberry Lassi (+4%, Max. 12)
Mint Lassi (+12%, Max. 8)

Crafting foods in order of potential CP

These are listed from highest to lowest maximum CP gain.

Fish Soup (+10%, Max. 26)
Pea Soup (+10%, Max. 21)
Stone Soup (+10%, Max. 17)
Cawl Cennin (+6%, Max. 10)
Frumenty (+10%, Max. 10)
Mint Lassi (+12%, Max. 8)

but i dont know what the Max means.... is that how many times you can eat a number of them at once? or does it add up over time if you keep eating them?

and i found this:

Crafting food list

Baked Sole
Control +8% (Max. 14)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 30)

Boiled Bream
Control +8% (Max. 12)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 27)

Bouillabaisse
CP +3% (Max. 10)
Control +2% (Max. 5)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 55)

Cawl Cennin
CP +6% (Max. 10)
Control +2% (Max. 4)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 35)

Cheese Risotto
Craftsmanship +12% (Max. 16)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 27)

Cheese Souffle
Craftsmanship +12% (Max. 20)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 37)

Dagger Soup
Control +8% (Max. +22)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 50)

Fish Soup
CP +10% (Max. 26)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 43)

Frumenty (Price at vendor: 7 gil)
CP +10% (Max. 10)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Alehouse Wench (Central Thanalan 19,20), Gerulf (Limsa
Lominsa Lower Decks 8,11), Katherine (Ul'dah - Steps of Thal 13,9), Sasamero
(Old Gridania 14,8); cooking (Level 4)

Mashed Popotoes (Price at vendor: 25 gil)
Craftsmanship +12% (Max. 12)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Alehouse Wench (South Shroud 17,19), Shopkeep (Eastern
Thanalan 13,24); cooking (Level 21)

Mint Lassi (Price at vendor: 11 gil)
Craftsmanship +12% (Max. 8)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Alehouse Wench (Central Thanalan 19,20), Gerulf (Limsa
Lominsa Lower Decks 8,11), Katherine (Ul'dah - Steps of Thal 13,9),Sasamero
(Old Gridania 14,8); cooking (Level 10)

Pan-fried Mahi-Mahi
Control +8% (Max. +25)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 55)

Pea Soup
CP +10% (Max. 21)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 26)

Raw Oyster (Price at vendor: 35 gil)
Control +8% (Max. 8)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Alehouse Wench (South Shroud 17,19), Shopkeep (Eastern
Thanalan 13,24); cooking (Level 19)

Rolanberry Cheesecake
Craftsmanship +12% (Max. +32)
EXP Bonus 3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 55)

Rolanberry Lassi
Craftsmanship +4% (Max. 12)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 45)

Salt Cod (Price at vendor: 15 gil)
Control +8% (Max. 4)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Alehouse Wench (Central Thanalan 19,20), Gerulf (Limsa
Lominsa Lower Decks 8,11), Katherine (Ul'dah - Steps of Thal 13,9), Sasamero
(Old Gridania 14,8); cooking (Level 15)

Salt Cod Puffs
Control +8% (Max. 18)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 42)

Stone Soup (Price at vendor: 37 gil)
CP +10% (Max. 17)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Alehouse Wench (South Shroud 17,19), Shopkeep (Eastern
Thanalan 13,24); cooking (Level 17)

Tuna Miq'abob
Control +8% (Max. 16)
EXP Bonus +3%
Obtained via: Cooking only (Level 33)

but i am not sure how you can get these items from the NPCs ..looks like you have to have that level of cooking skill to buy them?

Desynthesis is a process added in 2.3. It lets you break down most items to retrieve some of mats used to make it, and also a chance at demimateria, which is needed make all the new DoH and DoL gear, among other things.

As for foods, you'll notice they all have a % listed on them. A lot of times you don't get the full value of the food. You'll have to do the math, depending on your stats, and the food stats, to figure out the best value for you. I honestly don't remember what the good low level foods are.

You can buy a lot of the really low level foods from vendors around Eorzea, but none of the good stuff. The good stuff is on the markets.

CP food is all I've ever used for crafting. But you could use craftsmanship food to get to the minimum level to be able to make 2 or 3 starred gear.

Edit: I suppose craftsmanship food might be really good at lower levels. It would pretty much guarantee you only 2 basic synthesis' to make anything around your level
(provided you're well geared).

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but i am not sure how you can get these items from the NPCs ..looks like you have to have that level of cooking skill to buy them?

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No, it doesn't work like that. You just can't buy most foods from npc's. Your craft level has nothing to do with items that vendor npc's sell.

wow Odd you are my hero :)

thanks so much! really helps i was feeling a bit overwhelmed yesterday after working very hard and feeling somewhat confident hitting that wall at 40 with the silly Horn Staff. Now i think i can try again with some less fear...really appreciate all the help here, ppl are very nice.

I was afraid to ask but glad i did.

Oh i think i see, you can buy those foods from those vendors but the cooking level indicates what level cooking skill you need to make them ...i think :)

I wish there was a school or an academy in the game where we could go to learn all of this. :) maybe we can start one ..

You are a lower level than the recipe, so you're getting a penalty to progress and quality. Get yourself up to level 41 (the recipe level) and you should notice an improvement!

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Originally Posted by NJA

You are a lower level than the recipe, so you're getting a penalty to progress and quality. Get yourself up to level 41 (the recipe level) and you should notice an improvement!

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So much this. If you grind out another level, you'll find it will be much easier to complete the item.

Additionally, make sure you're using HQ base materials. It makes it tons easier.

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Originally Posted by Odd

I did that with ALC from 40-50. It uses a TON of shards though, and the price of those is almost tenfold what I paid for them back in January. I spent tens of thousands on shards for that, which translates to hundreds of thousands now.

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Except that you'll get battlecraft demimateria II's from doing it which would cover the shard cost and leave you with a lot left over.

OK i will keep going and do another level thanks all for the wonderful help!!!!!

I have made a LOT of those Green earings :)

I finally made it. thanks for all of the help. I needed to get the best HQ gear and used that rotation mentioned above and it worked finally. was tough..and i have no idea of what the receipies mentioned above after reaching 41 means...i didnt see any new skills. thanks again.

Oh, as an afterthought to what I was saying, you're going to want to level gsm desynth anyway, might as well get xp out of it.

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Originally Posted by CrisGer

I finally made it. thanks for all of the help. I needed to get the best HQ gear and used that rotation mentioned above and it worked finally. was tough..and i have no idea of what the receipies mentioned above after reaching 41 means...i didnt see any new skills. thanks again.

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It's not that you get any new skills; when the recipe is higher level than you are, you take a penalty to the amount that you can raise the progress and quality bars. When you're the same or higher level than the recipe, you don't.

So since we are talking about what to do...desynth...uh, so how do i start levelling that ? i am very limited on what i can do until i get a new work list...and cant do many levees anymore, they cut me off after two or three now. make me wait six hours

just start desynthing old gear i dont need instead of converting it?

Desynth low level gear first. Should be able to get away with a synth around lvl 15 or so, you'll have a lower chance to succeed but if mats are cheap it doesn't matter. Or just start with a few lvl 5 synths first. Either way it levels up fast at first, you'll get an idea what to shoot for from there; can test out synthing 1 higher level item to see your success rate on it.

Also get to lvl 20+ synths asap; those will give battlecraft demimateria I's if they're battle gear or fieldcraft if it's craft/gathering gear.

ah i thought maybe desynth was something new..i have been converting stuff for a while now if that is what you mean and getting useful materia to add to my gear. I thought desynth was something new.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CrisGer

ah i thought maybe desynth was something new..

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Desynth IS something new. Don't confuse Materia (gotten by converting spiritbonded gear) with Demimateria (obtained through desynthesis). Demimateria is a special kind of crafting ingredient used to make most of the new recipes introduced in patch 2.3.