A Step-by-Step Guide to 2 Star Crafting by Caimie Tsukino

My final contribution to the crafting community before my retirement in mid-December:
http://ffxivrealm.com/guides/a-step-...e-tsukino.176/

Many people have taken up 2 star crafting these days (using Rath's rotation, Katlyna's rotation, my rotation etc), yet as far as I can see, there are so many NQ i170 sold on the marketboard that it breaks my heart. Clearly, some people have not optimized their 2 star rotations yet. This step-by-step guide was created to help those younger crafters understand how to improvise during a 2 star rotation, and make the right decisions on the spot. I wish this will benefit the newer generation, and help them achieve a higher level in crafting.

I will be leaving the game (very likely permanently) in mid-Dec due to new job, new schedules, new home, and possibly new family planning too. Until then I will still be active on the forums.

With love,
Caimie :)

How sudden, but that's the way of life, I guess. Your contributions to the community have been invaluable, Camie. I wish you the best.

Thanks for everything since the ARR days. I've learned a lot! Hope you come back someday.

Caimie is leaviiiing ! T.T
Well that's how it is ! I should save a copy of those guide... Always helpful.

Now it's up to US, other crafter to take up the legacy and continue !
By the way thanks you so much, and like these last guide...
Remains me of yesterday for my first 2*
Had to calculate many time about my cp !

Thanks for everything thus far Caimie, I wish you the best! :)

Thanks you so much for all you have done for the community

Without your advices and guides i wouldnt have gone that far on crafting

I wish you the best for your new life

Zahira

Thank you all for your support!

I have only recent found out a new "threshold craftsmanship level" for Rath's rotation, which is 860. With 860 craft, it allows 1 extra fail FS (or 1 extra Trick of Trade during FS spam).
Here the "threshold craftsmanship levels":
718 - already sufficient for Rath's rotation. Need to get 1150 progress from MaMa+FS phase.
778 - sufficient to complete the rotation with 1110 progress from MaMa phase, thus 1 extra Trick.
860 - sufficient to complete the rotation with 1070 progress from MaMa phase, thus another extra Trick.

I shall add these into my guides soon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nekotee

Caimie is leaviiiing ! T.T
Well that's how it is ! I should save a copy of those guide... Always helpful.

Now it's up to US, other crafter to take up the legacy and continue !
By the way thanks you so much, and like these last guide...
Remains me of yesterday for my first 2*
Had to calculate many time about my cp !

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Indeed! The future is up you guys now! Pick up that hammer/round knife/frypan etc and be the amazing crafter who is ready for any challenge! When someone say "impossible", HQ it right in front of them! Show them how it's done! :)

Caimie,
You will be missed greatly but we understand that life takes priority. Your guides and advice have been invaluable to gatherers and crafters alike. Best wishes in your future endeavors.

Alright you got some good points here, but I'll offer my critique nonetheless.

You can get a lot more hasties in if you use rapid synth. Use ingenuity II + Steady Hand II. 3 out of the 4 rapids must succeed. You only need 3 under IG2, and the fourth rapid must NOT have IG2 at craftsmanship levels above like 730 or so. That'll put you in a position where one more CS2 completes it. At 749 craftsmanship I'm getting 374 progress per rapid under IG2, 220 some without it.

Furthermore. I greatly prefer Manipulation to Master's Mend II. Manipulation uses an extra turn for the same return so in effect it only costs 8 more cp than MM2, and the lower cp cost makes it more flexible. Same reason I keep Waste Not on my hotbar.

I personally think that unless you're using delineations, maker's mark is a waste of time and CP and you're better off using the skill from CUL that gives you 1/3 progress instantly. Again this is because I use rapid synth and reclaim like it's going out of style.

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Originally Posted by Immut

Alright you got some good points here, but I'll offer my critique nonetheless.

You can get a lot more hasties in if you use rapid synth. Use ingenuity II + Steady Hand II. 3 out of the 4 rapids must succeed. You only need 3 under IG2, and the fourth rapid must NOT have IG2 at craftsmanship levels above like 730 or so. That'll put you in a position where one more CS2 completes it. At 749 craftsmanship I'm getting 374 progress per rapid under IG2, 220 some without it.

I personally think that unless you're using delineations, maker's mark is a waste of time and CP and you're better off using the skill from CUL that gives you 1/3 progress instantly. Again this is because I use rapid synth and reclaim like it's going out of style.

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Sorry, but what you said there puzzles me... "You can get a lot more hasties" using Rapid Syn... Why? From what I can see, you're actually getting fewer with your method.

You're using 4x Rapid Syn (with 3 under Ingen2), and then finishes with a CS II. So Basically, you spent 25 CP on SH II, 32 CP on Ingen2, so total of 57 CP, and then gamble on all those Rapid Syn. Total durab decrease is AT LEAST 50, possibly 60 or even 70.

In my Method 2 (please see my crafting guide Ch49 http://ffxivrealm.com/guides/ff14-ad...e-tsukino.156/), I spend 6 extra CP on MusMem, and that allows me to use only 2x Rapid Syn under Ingen2, and then 1 CS II under Ingen2, and finally finishes with 1 naked CS II. This completion method is already much less risky than yours, so potentially getting more hasties than yours. Total CP consumption is 6+25+32 = 63 CP.

In Rath's rotation (Method 3), you spent 20 CP on Maker's Mark, but 14 is guaranteed to be recovered from Comfort Zone. Thus the entire MaMa phase only cost 6 CP (In fact, I can usually get at least 1 Trick of Trade here, so it's actually +14 CP instead of -6). Durab decrease is ZERO in this phase. Then SH (22 CP) and 2x PBP (2x 15 CP) totaled to 52 CP. Then 3x CS II can finish it, which 2 of the CS can be fitted anywhere in the rotation, giving great flexibility. Assuming the MaMa phase goes well, 50 durab is guaranteed to complete the item, and only 52 CP (possibly only 32 CP) is spent.

So, please tell me, how is Maker's Mark a waste of time and CP? It cost far fewer CP and far fewer durab than your Rapid Syn method. So, naturally resulting more hasties. I think at this point, it's universally confirmed that Maker's Mark is better than MusMem in most cases, with the exception that MaMa+FS requires 1 extra Cross Class slot. And also MusMem is so much faster, and more suitable for macros since it's only 1 line.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Immut

Furthermore. I greatly prefer Manipulation to Master's Mend II. Manipulation uses an extra turn for the same return so in effect it only costs 8 more cp than MM2, and the lower cp cost makes it more flexible. Same reason I keep Waste Not on my hotbar.

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Well, Manipulation gives 30 extra durab for 88 CP. Master's Mend II gives 60 extra durab for 160 CP. So using 2x Manipulation would mean wasting 16 CP for no particular reason. Is there a valid reason why one should do that?

And 16cp is lot to lose with 2 Manip...
I admit using it on basic craft because it's comfy for not 70 and 40 dura craft
But on 1 and 2 star craft where EVERY single CP is important you better save them as much as possible !

..

And the problem of rapid synthesis... The rng
The odds of failling rs are high... And I failed them more often that hasty touch =S

You only lose 8 cp from 2x manip. Every step you waste is 8 cp back from comfort zone, so using it twice is one more step than MM2. I've found the flexibility is worth it. There are a variety of what-if scenarios where it's useful. Most notably it's an extra chance for a good proc.

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Originally Posted by Nekotee

And the problem of rapid synthesis... The rng
The odds of failling rs are high... And I failed them more often that hasty touch =S

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It's the same success rate as hasty touch. You get extra hasty attempts at the cost of possibly using some of them on rapid synth. More often than not I've found it works out in my favor. And you're EXPECTED to fail one of the rapids.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Immut

You only lose 8 cp from 2x manip. Every step you waste is 8 cp back from comfort zone, so using it twice is one more step than MM2. I've found the flexibility is worth it. There are a variety of what-if scenarios where it's useful. Most notably it's an extra chance for a good proc.

It's the same success rate as hasty touch. You get extra hasty attempts at the cost of possibly using some of them on rapid synth. More often than not I've found it works out in my favor. And you're EXPECTED to fail one of the rapids.

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I can understand certain flexibility can come from Manipulation. E.g. if your CP is already very low. There's no way you can spend 160 CP, but spending on Manip, allows some room for the remaining steps of Comfort Zone to flow back in. It's pretty much the same advantage as using Waste Not except Manip is (1) less CP efficient but gains 1 more step than WN, (2) allows Trick of Trade to be taken any time comparing to WN. However, if the main CP pool is still plenty, then there's no extra "flexibility" you can get out from 2x Manip comparing to a single Master's Mend II. In both cases, you can freely take any Trick of Trade any time, which is something superior to Waste Not.

Can you please show an example of how you can "get extra hasty attempts"? If you EXPECT one Rapid to fail, so you need 60 durab for completion, and it costs 57 CP. While NOT using Rapid syn meaning a solid 50 durab for completion, and it costs only 52 CP, possibly only 32 CP if a lucky Trick was taken. I just can't understand where your "extra hasty touches" are coming from when you're spending more durab and spending more CP...

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Originally Posted by Caimie_Tsukino

While NOT using Rapid syn meaning a solid 50 durab for completion, and it costs only 52 CP, possibly only 32 CP if a lucky Trick was taken. I just can't understand where your "extra hasty touches" are coming from when you're spending more durab and spending more CP...

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This is using rapid. You need 8 FS, you can take two ToT and fail two FS. If you fail a RS, you can change a HT into RS dropping you down to 11 HT. Below is showing without ToT. The synth requires 825 craft 705 control and 456 CP.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...RS%20il170.png

Below shows taking the two ToT and has the extra progress shown that you can afford to fail. As you can see the CP from ToT does not get wasted and can easily be used for PT, Ingen 2 on bb, innovation, or any number of modifications to ensure you HQ. Note this synth also has 0 starting quality.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...202x%20ToT.png

I don't use this rotation, but I made it for a friend that wanted a different rotation for his bsm. I use the one you all call "Rath's rotation" now as I can do it by memory and have a multitude of variations I do depending on the situation. Anyways, I figured I would put it up as people have high enough stats for this sort of rotation now. One thing is to make sure you be aware of your progress gains or the cs2 under ingen 2 may finish early if you get too many FS. At that point you can alter the rotation slightly on your own to move the CS2 out of ingen2 easily enough.

Below is one way to modify it if you get too many FS due to no fails or tricks. Coincidentally it allows you to fish on bb. These mats are roughly 450k now if you buy the scrip items from the MB, so I am going to probably start experimenting with some high-craft/control requirements to find a new optimal synth for myself. Will post it once I am done playing around.
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...0many%20FS.png

Thanks for the input, Rath! I love your rotations! :)
Indeed, using Ingen2+Rapid syn can substitute the use of PBP and some CS IIs, which saves steps for more Hasties. But what Immut was referring earlier, was doing Ingen2+Rapid Syn WITHOUT utilizing MaMa nor MuMe. Thus, I don't think simply using Ingen2+Rapid Syn would save any steps when MaMa or MuMe are not being utilized.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Caimie_Tsukino

Thanks for the input, Rath! I love your rotations! :)
Indeed, using Ingen2+Rapid syn can substitute the use of PBP and some CS IIs, which saves steps for more Hasties. But what Immut was referring earlier, was doing Ingen2+Rapid Syn WITHOUT utilizing MaMa nor MuMe. Thus, I don't think simply using Ingen2+Rapid Syn would save any steps when MaMa or MuMe are not being utilized.

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I see that. I was more just showing a way RS was useful and potentially increases the number of HT. I did not see his actual rotation, but as soon as you go above 2 RS, your chances of failing at least one of them are too high to make it worth using over a rotation without it. The only way to do that is to use MuME, MaMa, PbP, or Brand+. If you use any of those besides MaMa, your Durability for progress will be at least as high as other guaranteed progress rotations, so there is no real reason to use them. Sure they may have a chance to have less durability, but on average they will not. You can get a 13 HT rotation using RS, but the craft required is 860 and you still need a large enough amount of FS that you should not risk taking a tricks anyways. I would rather take a tricks and be able to guarantee a PT on a good over an extra HT. That left me developing the 12 HT rotation I posted.