Recipe Optimal Rank?

[Velo_Vandore]

Can anyone tell me how to find out the optimal rank of any recipe? I have no idea when I'll be able to make a Bronze Gladius etc, or which recipes will help me level up.

Thanks

Vel

[tymora]

Use any of the online databases for the information. They are usually correct *most* of the time.
Yellow Gremlin - http://ffxiv.yg.com/
Allakazam - http://ffxiv.zam.com/

To calculate yourself...
http://forums.yg.com/showthread.php?t=1388

EXPGAINED = Ceiling( BASEEXP * (0.001 * QUALITYGAINED + 1) )
where EXPGAINED = what you see on screen
QUALITYGAINED = Self-explanatory
Ceiling = Round up to nearest whole number

Relative Recipe Rank/Base EXP table

-21	-20	-19	-18	-17	-16	-15	-14	-13	-12	-11	-10	-9	-8	-7	-6	-5	-4	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
0	0	0	15	20	25	30	40	50	75	100	125	175	225	275	325	375	400	425	450	475	500	600	700	800	900	1000	1100	1200	1300	1400	1500

E.g. A recipe of the same rank will give you 500 base exp.

[Aeyis]

Optimal rank depends on your crafting stats, possesion of any required training skills as well as rank difference.
So, it's not that easy to say when something is 'optimal'.
For an ungeared crafter you have to be within 3 ranks of the craft, and at/above the crafting rank if the craft has a training skill you do not have.

As for crafting ranks, if i remember it correctly each rank a particular craft is above your own adds 100 exp, with either 500 or 400 being what youd get if the recipe was the same rank as your class.

Edit: nevermind didnt see the relative part of the chart. xd

[Jet]

For the most part, you'll just find the optimal rank on recipe database sites, like Zam, Eorzeopedia, yg, or mooglebox.com. Then you'll make your choices grinding recipes depending on what mats you have in stock, or what mats you think you can get easily/cheaply.

For an in-depth look at why optimal ranks are deemed for recipes, you can look at this yg thread.

Edit: Woops, like Aeyis, I now see that Tymora beat me to the post.

[Medura]

Someone should make a calculator tool for this xD An app for phone maybe? ^^

[Velo_Vandore]

Thanks everyone for replies. Exactly what I needed

/edit

Gulp... Bronze Gladius is HARD to make! Is this right? I need leatherworker r4, goldsmith r11, blacksmith r20!, and armorer r11. By the time I make this I don't know if a rank 6 sword will be any use . Why is the bronze gladius recipe blacksmith r6 when you need to be blacksmith r20 to make one of the components?

Perhaps I'm looking at this the wrong way. Should I be keeping all my crafting ranks 10 or so above my gladiator rank? Is crafting targeted at high level/endgame players? Will I need to just buy gear for my current level (10)? At what levels should you actually think about upgrading gear?

Although I feel I've hit a lot of obstacles in the game, this isn't intended as a rant. Despite feeling really confused about things like this, I'd love to get the hang of this game because i'm curious to see what it can eventually offer, and the designs just blow me away! Also, I find solving the puzzles of this game becomes an obsession in itself, lol, and it's interesting to part part of the game as it develops and changes with players!

I'll be really grateful for any additional pointers,

See you in game,

Vel

[Sigmakan]

Will be a bit harder to figure out the recipe rank once physical levels are gone!

SE should just show the recipe rank. They already show mob rank . . .

Edit:
Its worth noting that the SP gain is ON AVERAGE half the XP gain. So if you are doing a recipe thats the same rank as you, you'll on average get 250sp a synth. That being said, there seems to be a +/-50SP variability that is completely random.

[Velo_Vandore]

It really would help if SE showed the rank! It just feels like cheating to me when I have to check the net, although in this game it seems to be essential to do so!

[Winterclaw]

And don't forget there's a bit of randomness in the SP rewards. I tried doing 2 cotton turbans last night, one gave me 500, the other 700.

[VydarrTyr]

Gulp... Bronze Gladius is HARD to make! Is this right? I need leatherworker r4, goldsmith r11, blacksmith r20!, and armorer r11. By the time I make this I don't know if a rank 6 sword will be any use . Why is the bronze gladius recipe blacksmith r6 when you need to be blacksmith r20 to make one of the components?

Not exactly.

To make the bronze gladius from the materials, you need to be a level 6 blacksmith.

To make all the component parts from scratch, you need to have all those ranks you listed. But if you don't have all those ranks, you can just buy the parts you can't make from the Market Wards, or have another crafter make them for you. At least that was the idea when SE designed it. It would encourage people to rely on others to make stuff, thereby encouraging cooperation and stimulating the economy.

Recipes are going to be changed very soon. Materials and recipes will be simplified, which I suspect is going to mean making lower level recipes possible for lower level crafters.

Perhaps I'm looking at this the wrong way. Should I be keeping all my crafting ranks 10 or so above my gladiator rank? Is crafting targeted at high level/endgame players? Will I need to just buy gear for my current level (10)? At what levels should you actually think about upgrading gear?

Totally up to you. My crafting levels lag behind my DoW/M levels by quite a bit. I'm generally trying to level everything to at least 40, so I can repair all my own gear. But you should probably do whatever's fun for you.

Crafting is definitely easiest for higher level players. But that doesn't mean there are no helpful -- or profitable -- recipes lower level players can do.

As for whether to buy or craft gear at your level, I found it easiest to just buy gear. But someone has to make it. And I understand that lower level gear is often pretty expensive or difficult to find in the Market Wards right now.

The good news is that at your rank, you don't have to worry too much about wearing the best gear. You can now get lots of gear from leves. And keep in mind that -- while you don't get the full benefit of all stats if you're under the gear's Optimal Rank -- the difference for gear scales, meaning that you won't be in too bad of shape if you wear gear above your Optimal Rank. (However, there's a huge difference when we're talking about Weapons and Tools. You generally want to stick to weapons and tools that are at or below your Optimal Rank.)

Here's what I do:

Some gear is suitable for all classes. For example, you can buy a Cotton Tunic (r11 shirt), Cotton Slops (r16 pants), Dodoskin Wristguards (r13 hands), and Dodoskin Shoes (r13 shoes). You can wear those while leveling all your low level jobs. That way, you don't have to worry about switching your gear every time you switch to a new class, and you won't have to have a full set of gear for every class you run.

That gear will generally upgrade about every 10 levels. So you can start looking for new gear as you approach 10 levels above that.

I wouldn't worry too much about getting the best possible gear until you get to end-game, or otherwise decide that you're going to focus on one class. When you start running the Darkhold at rank 45, you might want to start worrying about having Gladiator-dedicated gear. But until then, you're mostly going to be focused on leveling, so you can look at the stuff as leveling gear.

On the other hand, I'd try to keep your weapon upgraded. While you don't generally need to upgrade every possible time (for example, daggers vs. swords are just different types of weapons, and not necessarily an upgrade), you'll be surprised how much a new weapon or tool helps. Just be sure that you're generally using a weapon or tool that's at or below your Optimal Rank.

Although I feel I've hit a lot of obstacles in the game, this isn't intended as a rant. Despite feeling really confused about things like this, I'd love to get the hang of this game because i'm curious to see what it can eventually offer, and the designs just blow me away! Also, I find solving the puzzles of this game becomes an obsession in itself, lol, and it's interesting to part part of the game as it develops and changes with players!

Glad to hear you're having fun. I think the depth of FFXIV is one of the good things about it. It's got a steep learning curve, but the fact that it's difficult to figure out is one of the things I like about it.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.