Quote Originally Posted by mpd49 View Post
Excellent is my nemesis though.
Excellent shouldn't be your nemesis. The only time it can even be a problem is if it pops up in the step before BB - and if it does, simply use BB before you use Ing 2. The boost to quality Ing 2 gives you is FAR less than the boost Excellent quality gives you, so you still come out ahead.

I guess it could also mess up the HT following WN2 or SH2, but those are just hasties so the loss of quality should barely be noticable.

If you want to "test" to ensure you will get to completion, run through your rotation up to GS, and then use Reclaim instead of GS. If it fails, you will have a 90% chance of getting your ingreds back. If it succeeds, you likely will not HQ the synth, but a NQ Hard Hippogryph Leather is hardly a useless item - you can use it to craft double-star goods to sell for profit.