Observe?

[Wolfhammer]

Ok so to sum this up.
If I do an action to raise item quality when condition is at the poor end of the scale, I wont get as big quality increase.. By using observe when the qual is poor or normal, you're taking a gamble you will get good or higher which will boost quality gained by the quality actions?

Correct?

[Kyronex]

Ok so to sum this up.
If I do an action to raise item quality when condition is at the poor end of the scale, I wont get as big quality increase.. By using observe when the qual is poor or normal, you're taking a gamble you will get good or higher which will boost quality gained by the quality actions?

Correct?

Yes, the condition affects the quality increases of touches. Obviously, touching on Good or Excellent is best. Using Observe (or any other action) on Poor would yield Normal. Good and Excellent will only appear if the previous condition was Normal, see below:

Poor > Normal
Normal > Good or Excellent
Good > Normal
Excellent > Poor

[rkpost]

Its a essential skill after Great Stride if condition is poor/normal and you need one synthesis in order to finish the item. It depends on situation, you can replace it with Steady Hand or Synthesis.

[Astarica]

As you get more skills, and in particular as you get Byregot's Blessing, you'll find that the bulk of your quality is made by your final touch because of IQ stacks in general and Byregot's Blessing. Therefore it is quite worthwhile to use Observe a few times to ensure your last touch hits at least a Good (+50%). Of course, you shouldn't use Observe so that you can no longer use Great Strides (+100%), but hitting a Good on your last Byregot's Blessing or even Advanced Touch can mean the difference between 75% HQ or 100% HQ. It's not a big deal early on when you have no real way to build up a large number of IQ stacks let alone get Byregot's Blessing.

[Roth_Trailfinder]

Then again, it's not as if Observe is the only culprit. Piece by Piece and Flawless Synthesis are pretty poor as well, so I suppose I can't complain.

I can't speak for Piece by Piece, but Flawless Synthesis has proven valuable to me. That was the first class I took from 30 to 40, leveling them all relatively equally, and so I did not have any of the Brands, yet I had this skill. It proved valuable to me for doing the Qarn Restoration recipes prior to unlocking that class' Brand skill, enough that I have simply not bothered with the Brands yet at all, with 3 crafting classes at 50 and a fourth on the way up from 40.

[nijn78]

I don't see the point of this skill.
Why waste 14 points on observe when you can use hasty touch for free or even basic touch for 18? (keep steady hands up)
It may be useful with great strides, but I rarely use that anyway, I have almost every craft up to 50 and never used obseve.

[Deolus]

Becuase Observe doesn't decrease durability.

[rkpost]

I don't see the point of this skill.
Why waste 14 points on observe when you can use hasty touch for free or even basic touch for 18? (keep steady hands up)
It may be useful with great strides, but I rarely use that anyway, I have almost every craft up to 50 and never used obseve.

Great Stride is one of the main skills. It give you durability, essential if you craft materials with 40 durability. So, why waste a Great Stride with Hasty Touch if you can wait for a Good/Excelent Condition and then use Standard Touch?